I thought today's article on the BBC about Kathy Sierra and her threats that led to her being (for the time being) silenced, was quite good. I am glad the word has gotten around the blogosphere so quickly, especially with so many words of support and encouragement.

In this light, I think Josh Bernoff's post on his Forrester Research blog (shared with Charlene Li), where he is doing an "unscientific sample" to explore the question "how big is this problem?" is a step in the right direction by asking people to share their experiences and answer a few simple questions. I only wish he would have tried to explicitly state what the problem is that he is investigating.

Perhaps the problem itself is the real problem? Is this a free-speech issue? Is it bullying? Slander? Intimidation? Virtual or real violence? Sexism? Theatening? Name-calling? Regardless of how we researchers quantify or qualify data to try to get the pulse of the online community, what happened to Kathy was wrong and horrible.

I hope we can discuss and explore what exactly is the problem, for only then can we consider our options for how to address it.