Greetings
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I'd linked to an NPR report about the well-known IT blogger Kathy Sierra in the now infamous (at least to me) recent "Civility" post. "Amyloo," who has followed the case closely and actually reads Ms. Sierra's blog, which I haven't yet, pointed out that Sierra hadn't called for the code, and that that wasn't what had prompted all the ugly hate mail. NPR had oversimplified the reporting and I hadn't doublechecked the facts since I trust NPR, am naturally lazy and lack time. (But I do check the facts rigorously in my "real" job, really I do). To be properly informed, please Read here for more
OK, so official codes of conduct don't work. How about internal ones? When you find yourself tempted to say or write "that sucks" in an email, or let out with a torrent of fine Anglo Saxon...why not search for more powerful and expressive words? I promise to try to do the latter the next time a driver passes from the right and cuts me off on the highway, as many people here in Chicago love to do.
And now for an update from that microcosm of obsessed pharma bloggers who need to get a life and soon (including this one, who is, after all, writing this on a Friday night: John Mack and Peter Rost had exchanged words about the results of Mack's Blogosphere Survey (top five were pretty much what I'd predicted they'd be, with In the Pipeline and EyeonFDA among those deservedly gaining top honors, as well as Pharmagossip....oh, and of course, Mack's own blog) and about Mack's "tough love" post. He called Mack the "Howard Stern" of pharma blogging. Any rift between them is now over and all is well with the world and thank you Pharma Giles for your very kind words and Peter Rost for your chivalrous reference to this ridiculous little episode.
John, I hated you for writing it, but it and you still made me laugh and I still enjoy your blog, and I'm sure you're really a nice person underneath the prickles. Oh, and my name's not Ashley (although that is, indeed, a very fine name).
AMS