Tea at Trianon: Online Etiquette

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Online Etiquette

From Patricia Rossi:

It’s hard enough to figure out someone’s intent in person; trying to “read the room” online can be even more frustrating. In an article in a recent Wall Street Journal, I caution readers that social media is similar to face-t0-face interaction. You are there to engage, educate, and encourage others. To do this successfully, consider the following tips for managing your online communications:

Treat each social-media page differently — be more professional on LinkedIn, for example.

Write down a social-media goal and statement and only post things that reflect that brand and your values.

Post just once a day on most sites. More frequent posts are OK on Twitter.

Ask for permission before posting anything that shows or tags another person.

If someone is rude or profane on your page, delete the post immediately.

(Read more.)