I am in a whimsical mood tonight so decided to do something irreverent (and maybe irrelevant). What I shall call the 10 commandments of gahmen blogging.
1) Thou shalt not flame, troll nor comment spammeth thy fellow blogger, no matter how tempting. Instead, thou shalt seek to use tactful and civil ways to engage thy fellow citizen.
2) Thou shalt abide by the Official Secrets Act and Instruction Manuals at all times. Thy livelihood dependeth on this.
3) Thou shalt aspire to be helpful, transparent and accessible at all times. Subject to provision 2) above (of course).
4) Thou shalt remember that sometimes thy best friends and thy worst enemies are also thy tax payers.
5) Thou shalt speak in a human language, and not shield thyself with stilted, policy speak.
6) Thou shalt honour thy agency, ministry, government and country. Thy next meal dependeth on them.
7) Thou shalt seek to explain the thinking behind government initiatives as best as thy ability could when the occasion calls for it. Be it in online forums, coffee shops, and other social occasions.
8) Thou shalt not disclose details which could jeopardise the effectiveness and efficiency of one’s job. A good cop is not somebody who shares clues and leads on www.tomorrow.sg
9) Thou shalt seek to be a positive testimony to thy blogosphere, subject to being believable and accessible.
10) Thou shalt always remember that thy mission is to serve the public, not chastise or criticise thy fellow tax-paying brethren.
By the way, the above is NOT an official statement, so please don’t quote me.
Have you got any thoughts about how gahmen bloggers should behave online?
