Editorial

Letters to Editor Policy

One of the "perks" of editing Fidonews is reading the mail which comes in. Without this mail, putting together each issue would be a lonely chore, dry and uninteresting. Each letter which comes in, however, breathes life into the ol' Snooze. Suddenly, we have a READER! Someone cares about what was presented - Fidonews hasn't whithered and died on hundreds of hard drives around the world!

Naturally, I like to share the good news with the other readers of the Snooze through the "Letters to the Editor" column. I was cautioned recently, though, by one reader who intended his correspondence to be private, that I should be careful in what I print.

This is my dilemma: I literally can't tell from most letters whether that letter is intended to be private or public. I don't really want to betray anyone's trust by revealing something they don't want public, but I don't want to become so intimidated by the prospect that I consistently take the "safe" course and don't share anything. After consideration, I figured I'd handle "Letters to the Editor" in the following manner. Your comments would be appreciated.

WHAT i WON'T PUBLISH

1. Letters where you specifically ask me not to reveal the contents.
2. Letters which are obviously of a personal nature.

WHAT I WILL PUBLISH

1. Letters where you specifically ask me to publish.
2. Letters which relate to Fidonews or articles published therein, where publication shouldn't embarrass the author.
3. Letters from public echoes which are deemed of interest to Fidonews readers.

Hopefully, the above policy will balance confidentiality and the objective of making Fidonews interesting reading.

-Doug Myers