Breakin the rules

This is just how backwards the media has become. It lists rules for the internet like these (thanks for the link Clint):

* Be careful who you 'friend'. Since this is a tricky subject, The Times suggests that its reports "imagine whether public disclosure of a 'friend' could somehow turn out to be an embarrassment that casts doubt on our impartiality."

* Don't specify your political views. This includes joining online groups that would make your political views known.

* Don't write anything you wouldn't write in The Times on your profiles, a blog or as commentary on content you share.

Do they not understand the boundary between your work and home life - much less being a real person. A reporter is not a movie star whose life should be under a microscope or a pastor who preaches piety and is the example to reach heaven.

This one is particularly irksome: "Don't write anything you wouldn't write in The Times on your profiles."

Think about how much that would be that you can't write anything you wouldn't want to be printed on your official work product? Come on. This is a new world. Stop treating reporters and your readers like children. Use more common sense. And let people be honest in the way they live.