I am a regular blog-reader, as well as a college student. As some of you might recall, back in late November, the Aurora Citizen owners were kind enough to post a link to a survey for my research class report, and many of the blog-participants were good enough to respond. Now, I’m back to share the results.

There were 55 unique respondents to the survey. As explained on the blog back in November, the “Local Citizen” in the survey actually refers to this blog. Below are the survey questions and the results. Personally, I found the results rather interesting — and my mark on the report was 100%.

Thank you again to the blog-owners and those who participated in the survey.

-A Local Student

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1.  Have you ever posted on the “Local Citizen” blog?

14% responded “Yes, once or twice.”
46% responded “Yes, a few times.”
35% responded “Yes, too many times to count.”
5% responded “No.”

2.  Have you heard about the lawsuit filed against the owners of the “Local Citizen” blog?

75% responded “Yes, from local news outlets.”
8% responded “Yes, saw it on the blog.”
14% responded “Yes, someone told me about it.”
3% responded “No, this is the first I’ve heard.”

3.  Have you ever hesitated to post a blog comment due to the threat of legal action?

85% responded “Yes, I am careful what I post due to the recent lawsuit or threats of lawsuits.”
9% responded “Yes, I think about the risks, but post my opinions regardless.”
6% responded “No, I never hesitate to post what I think.”
0% responded “Other.”

4.  Have you ever posted a blog comment and feared legal action because of it?

24% responded “Yes, I have posted and then worried about legal action.”
24% responded “Yes, it’s occurred to me, but I don’t worry about it.”
47% responded “No, I don’t post risky statements.”
5% responded “Other”.

5.  Are you confident in your understanding of the law in Canada regarding libel and defamation?

51% responded “ I am intimidated at the idea that my postings may leave me vulnerable to a lawsuit.”
8% responded “ I can freely express my opinions with no risk of legal actions.”
38% responded “ I understand what constitutes fair comment and what constitutes libel.”
3% responded “ Other”

More than once, someone has visited this blog and referred to its posters as a group — either using terms like “groupthink” or saying that this is a “pro-somebody” blog or an “anti-somebody-else” blog.

I can see why it might look that way. I can see how a new visitor here might wade through some of the postings — particularly the more political postings — and feel like the poor new kid stepping into a ritzy private school where everyone knows the “in” jokes and the cool kids run the lunch-room.

It probably feels like we’re all of a single mind, wearing the same tee shirts, drinking the same Kool-Aid. The truth is, I’m an occasional poster on this blog, and I’ve never met any of the others here. Not a one. I wouldn’t know them if I tripped over them on Yonge Street. I wear my own tee shirts and drink my own drinks.

I post here through the kindness and generosity of the blog owners and moderators. The mere fact that I have actually read those postings about “groupthink” or the blog being “pro-somebody” shows that the blog-owners are not, in fact, promoting a single-minded outlet reserved for only one tailored view.

In past months — maybe in past years — there has been a veritable river of strong opinion on this blog with respect to members of our town council. That, I believe, reflects the sheer frustration of many residents toward the actions and words of our previous council.The blog did not manufacture the frustration — au contraire — the blog has provided a never-before-available place for the frustrated to talk about their frustration.

It is not “groupthink”. It is not an orchestrated attack on anyone. The blog has provided a slate for the honesty of outraged voices. At the same time, it has also provided an outlet for some who were content with the prior political line-up. If it appeared that the outraged populace heavily outweighed the contented ones, well, that only reflects the audience — those local residents who were outraged, who happened to surf the Internet looking for information and who decided to post their opinions clearly outweighed those who were content with the status quo.

How do I know this? Certainly not because I know the blog-owners or bought into anybody else’s agenda. I know this because — like I said — I’ve seen far too many postings that I disagree with. I know this because nobody here knows who I am. Nobody has told me what to think or what to post. I just showed up one day, uninvited, and started typing.

I don’t see this blog as being much different than letters to the editor of a newspaper. The difference is, here in the blog, people can quickly and easily comment on the opinions of others. Anyone can write the editorial of the week — like this one. And nobody’s buying full-colour weekly ads — there is no worry that the opinions of the audience might offend those who financially support the venue.

It’s human nature to lump people into groups: soccer moms, liberals, rednecks, hippies and puffed-up-business suits. People don’t like to admit that they make generalizations, but it’s not necessarily a hateful trait. It’s simply our brains providing shortcuts by which we can process information about people.

I don’t think the posters on this blog can be so easily shaped into a shortcut. Each of us is too different from the others. Some people here know other posters. Some people here are active in town politics; others are only interested when there’s an election.

Some, like me, simply enjoy reading what those who live in the same town think, as well as blathering on about my own opinions.

Like this one.  🙂

Stephanie