Disclaimer
If you do any blog reading you have probably come across a fair share of “disclaimers”. They basically say…”the things written on this blog are my own views and thoughts…they do not reflect the views of my (church, school, family, business…etc).”
For a while I kept a nice little disclaimer in the “about” section of my blog. I thought, “hey why not tell people that my views are my own, not somebody else’s.” Then I started thinking about it and I read this by Fred McKinnon and it made a lot of sense to me. He said:
“All that stuff about the disclaimer you have on your blog, and how it’s your own, and you can say what you want, and it doesn’t reflect the views of your church … BULL CRAP (sorry) … if you use your blog as a forum to discuss the specifics of your job and role at your church, and you do it by name, you are linking the two, I think your leadership has a right to speak to you about how you represent your employer.”
I totally agree with Fred. Here are some of my thoughts on it.
- Anyone can figure out that what I write on my blog is reflective of my views.
- Anyone who blogs about their job/school/church is reflecting it. I am on staff at a church and what I write is reflective of what my church is and stands for. People who read my blog not only get to know me but it lends insight into my school, my family, and my job.
- As far as I know a disclaimer doesn’t stop an employer from firing you over your blog.
- A blog is reflective of who you are and your job is part of who you are.
- A disclaimer communicates that you only want judgment to fall on yourself but that is never the way it works in life.
- People are going to think whatever they want and a disclaimer definitely does not stop that.
said: 
said: 
said: 
said: 
said: 
said: 
Tyler Braun.
Tyler,
Thanks for the link and quote … you know, when I posted that a while back, I just KNEW that I was going to get bashed and flamed. On the contrary, most people have agreed, or it’s opened their eyes. Of course, I think it’s ironic that I still have a disclaimer on my blog, haha!
my only thought – other than what you posted, which is great – is that a disclaimer might protect your church in this way. It allows me to say these are my own thoughts, don’t think is an official church statement. When I posted on the troubles we’d gone through in the past few years I didn’t want anyone to think I was writing for the church. I was very careful, but you just never know. For me, my disclaimer is not about me, it’s about saying “this is my own journey. blame me if you don’t agree with my conclusions.” With that said, obviously anything we do reflects on our church. Anything. This is why I no longer run to the grocery store in my pjs.
This is why I really speak mostly of my own journey on my blog and don’t spend any time dogging on anyone at all. I try not to gripe on my blog. (much!) All of that is because I know someone will think badly of my church if I do.
Disclaimers: who knows. I think in some ways it’s simply us Americans afraid of getting called into account for what we say by who knows who. I have one, but then, I never blog about work, church etc. so I dunno. There’s a fine line. On one hand, if you’re employer or someone can speak into your blog and they assert some sort of control over it, shouldn’t then be work related and not personal? But on the other, there is an accountability factor if you’re not speaking well of them. They could make a stand anywhere, you just happen to be an employee.
I honestly don’t think a disclaimer could be a blanket for what I could say about the things i wouldn’t mind ranting about. I suppose its just common sense that we don’t go around ranting and raving about other people and businesses with out just cause.
On a calmer level, I find I can’t talk about certain aspects of my work because of this, and a disclaimer wont cover it. (sad face)
I agree with you tyler, you have to be careful especially when you talk about your Church, and even more so because you work there.
Fred- You are totally welcome. I’ve been meaning to post about this for a while.
Jan- Yeah I wouldn’t go to the store in my pjs either but that is mostly because I just wear shorts to bed, so I’d either freeze or not be allowed in the store
Jay- There definitely is an accountability factor. I agree with you there. If you are going to bash your employee or voice that you are an employee of Company XYZ, then you should be held accountable for how you are making it look. I do my best to think about that when I post, but I also want to be myself, so sometimes I flirt with “the line” in order to be honest and real.
Randy- I bet that is tough coming from your line of work. Being that it is so internet based, you can get away with far less. Most of the higher ups at my church probably don’t read blogs. And I agree, ranting and raving carelessly is against common sense. I think it is sad how easily people can tear each other a part on blogs and then not even confront the person in real life. Very sad.
I used to have a disclaimer on my blog because when I took a certain position at a certain church up North, blogging wasn’t really a household word. Some of the leadership were uncomfortable with the concept of writing one’s thoughts and putting them on the world wide inter web.
So I said, “hey, what if I put a disclaimer on their so nobody gets confused?” They agreed, everyone smiled, I continued to blog.
Of course what I knew then is what you bullet pointed now. It’s doesn’t mean a danged thing, legally or otherwise. But it kept ‘em happy.
I completely agree!!! The hard thing is always remembering that……
Matt- That seems to make sense, doing it for the sake of keeping the “powers” pleased. I guess if it was the only way I could continue blogging the way I do then I would have one too.
I disagree. I think a disclaimer is fine because as individuals we very well may have a perspective about situations or life that are not agreed upon or accepted by our employers or churches. Disclaimers can be incredibly useful for a person who is trying to avoid giving their employers a bad name but has a personal view that is different. The company I work for, and it will remain nameless, is not under any circumstances a “christian” company and does not promoted religious views. However, I believe in Christ and I don’t want anyone walking around saying the my company is Christian company b/c I am or isn’t b/c of what I write. Another example…politics. Just b/c you may or may not have favorable things to say about Barack Obama doesn’t mean your church should or will promote him. Most churches err on the conservative side and why should you be subject to thinking like them or vice versa. Your blog should reflect you, not your employers/churches. And a disclaimer does let people know that it’s about you.
I see your point Ash.
I think my broader point is that anyone can figure out that what you say is what you believe, not someone else. And beyond that, if you associate yourself with a church or a business, then anything you write is associated with that, positive or negative. That is just how people think, with a disclaimer or not. I’m saying that a disclaimer doesn’t really change anything.
When I redesigned my blog, I left the disclaimer of on purpose. I am who I am. You get me at church, out of church, at a restaurant, at home, it doesn’t matter. If who I am is a misrepresentation of my relationship with Christ, then I’ve got issues. The guys at church know I blog and most of them read it. I am held accountable by them and need to be guarded that way. My biggest concern is that I am honest and myself. If I can do that at the office and people are comfortable with it, I can do that on the blog or anywhere else.
Ash’s comment made me think of something that bothers me. I struggle with man-made standards. A lot of churches try to tell people these standards are “biblical”, but they aren’t. There are so many rules in church and church leadership that have nothing to do with scripture. If one of those rules is broken or bent due to blogging and a person is fired for it…that is really sad. It’s really bothers me when churches or church leadership try to force people into a mold, instead celebrating the person God created them to be.
Done ranting for today
Brent, here’s the thing- for me, personally, I make a disclaimer by not mentioning my company (tyler works for the church and the church I think can be a different issue but it can also be same). I work for a secular, media company. For me to make endorsements and those be associated w/ my comapany makes them look bad b/c we are to be as unbiased as possible. But being who I am and pursuing some of my goals that are not encompassed by my company puts my job in jeporady right now, and I’m not prepared to be unemployed. I am who I am at work as well as in my personal life- but that doesn’t mean I should put my well respected company in a bad position…that’s wrong. So I do what I feel is necessary to pave the way for my self, to express who I am made to be and still protect my company, who is not bad but- who may not stand behind my opinion. There is nothting wrong with that.
Ash- I totally agree your situation is different. You get paid to be informative and unbiased, and if you were opposite of that on your blog it probably wouldn’t be a good thing. Is there anyone advocating for Ash sharing all her opinions on topics she tackles as unbiased in her job? I’d love to hear why you think so.
Ash, I agree with you. The business world is all about “look” and “competition”. There is, in any situation a respect that needs to take place.
My sentiment is pointed specifically at the church world. Growing up in the church, I have seen the good and the bad of the church becoming or being “business”. It is when the church is more interested in how it looks as an institution, than how God looks, that I start to become frustrated.
I have watched Godly men get destroyed by church “rules” that had nothing to do with anything Biblical or Godly…only man made. I have issue with that. Especially in a church that is not run by men, but is run by God’s truth. It is not run by popularity, competition or how good it looks, it is run by the living breathing Spirit of God, that at times can make zero “human” common sense.
Does that make sense? I feel like I am rambling
My bigger point is that say you (Ashley) had a disclaimer on your blog, and you still shared your opinions on the same things you were unbiased with in your job. I don’t think that disclaimer stops your readers wondering if maybe your company shares the same thoughts as you. The disclaimer doesn’t stop a thing, is my point. And I’m glad you don’t have one
brent- yes, it is unfortunate that churches, in general, have mandated a school of thought/theology and their members or staff is expected to follow that. christ is truth. but there are so many ideas around him that seem grey and as christians we have to wrestle with those things. it is a sad circumstance that some church leaders cannot handle people around them disagreeing w/ their philosophy. it is also sad that people/the audience cannot read a script and dis-associate the person from their church. sad how closed society can be.
tyler- i don’t put a disclaimer, b/c it would give me away. also i don’t b/c i want to be seen as me-period. i also, at the core of who i am- am very journalistic- i really do believe that if a car crash happens and 3 people see it, there is an element of truth in 3 different stories. i try to present many of my ideas (though not all) that way to readers and let them decide for themselves.
Ash,
Ya, this is big for me. It can be a control/power thing. as a leader in a church, I have no right to it except to be faithful to lead. God has the only rights to it. Good thoughts Ash.