Arbitration & Mediation

Is it time for a No Asshole Rule for Blawg Review?

By Diane Levin

In 2007 management science expert Bob Sutton wrote The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn?t, a book that dared name the toxic problem that bedevils the modern workplace. His book described ways to identify and neutralize assholes and ultimately immunize your business against them.

The latest edition of Blawg Review, the weekly review of the best in legal blogging, makes me wonder whether Sutton’s ideas may have a different application.

Blawg Review, usually known for the collegiality that once inspired me to declare it an “18th century coffeehouse for the digital age“, takes a dark turn this week. Hosted by the notorious and anonymous Geeklawyer, Blawg Review #203, replete with images from Victorian era pornography and cheap swipes at legal bloggers, leads me to ask, is it time for a No Asshole Rule for Blawg Review?

Caution: this edition of Blawg Review is not workplace safe — unless you happen to work in a brothel. Click through with caution.

Full post as published by Online Guide to Mediation on March 17, 2009 (boomark / email).