I've gotten many responses to my appeal for blogging information from grad student and faculty bloggers in the humanities and social sciences. You've whet my appetite for more! Please go to the survey and email me your response as soon as possible: rgoetz AT fas DOT harvard DOT edu.

If you've already taken the survey, please consider linking to it from your blog. I could sure use the help publicizing this. It won't do any good if I don't get a critical mass of responses!

My fellow Cliopatriarch Ralph Luker notes a number of Tribble-responses below. The Little Professor says that Tribble has created an academic urban legend. And the folks at Crooked Timber are getting into the act here and here.

In the comments of my original post, Manan Ahmed and Scott Eric Kaufman suggest drafting a statement of blogging principles which bloggers could"sign" and then put a button indicating they've signed on their blogs. The idea is this might help mitigate fears that blogs are only good for gossip. Please use the comment space here to help give us some idea what that statement might look like. I think it's a worthy idea.

Jonathan Dresner - 9/15/2005

At risk of putting a damper on the festivities, and losing my blogging merit badge by not joining the bandwagon, I'm not sure that a "statement" even one that is signed and logo'd, is going to put a dent into the hardened thought processes of the myriad of "Tribble"s out there. (I have to say, as a life-long Trekkie, I am incensed that "Ivan" has hijacked that term. Though I suppose I could come up with a good metaphorical connection between them if I tried)

Instead, what I think we need is solid engagement, presentations of the utility of blogging in traditional venues (someone needs to write and CHE needs to publish a proper rebuttal to Tribble) like the panel scheduled for January (I won't be there, I'm afraid, except in spirit, and I expect liveblogging), the AHA Perspectives articles by Ralph and Manan, and the presentation I did over the summer.

I would like to point out that, at least in the field of history, there is already a basic statement of principles of public engagement, specifically, Part 6: History in the Public Realm of the AHA Statement of Standards of Professional Conduct which says, in part, that historians engagement in the public sphere is essential, should be, well, reasonably professional, and that our institutions should give us due credit for this work. The latter hasn't happened, obviously.