• Political dangers

Blogging can sometimes have unforeseen consequences in politically sensitive areas. Blogs are much harder to control than broadcast or even print media. As a result, totalitarianandauthoritarianregimes often seek to suppress blogs and/or to punish those who maintain them.

InSingapore, two ethnic Chinese wereimprisonedunder the country’santi-sedition lawfor postinganti-Muslimremarks in their blogs.[87]

EgyptianbloggerKareem Amerwas charged with insulting the Egyptian presidentHosni Mubarakand anIslamicinstitutionthrough his blog. It is the first time in the history of Egypt that a blogger was prosecuted. After a brief trial session that took place inAlexandria, the blogger was found guilty and sentenced to prison terms of three years for insultingIslamand inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mubarak.[88]

Egyptian blogger Abdel Monem Mahmoud was arrested in April 2007 for anti-government writings in his blog.[89]Monem is a member of the then bannedMuslim Brotherhood.

After the2011 Egyptian revolution, the Egyptian bloggerMaikel Nabil Sanadwas charged with insulting the military for an article he wrote on his personal blog and sentenced to 3 years.[90]

After expressing opinions in his personal blog about the state of the Sudanese armed forces,Jan Pronk,United NationsSpecial Representative for theSudan, was given three days notice to leave Sudan. The Sudanese army had demanded his deportation.[91][92]

InMyanmar, Nay Phone Latt, a blogger, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for posting a cartoon critical of head of stateThan Shwe.[93]

• Personal safety

See also: CyberstalkingandInternet homicide

One consequence of blogging is the possibility of attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without apparent reason.Kathy Sierra, author of the innocuous blog "Creating Passionate Users",[94]was the target of such vicious threats and misogynistic insults that she canceled her keynote speech at a technology conference in San Diego, fearing for her safety.[95]While a blogger's anonymity is often tenuous,Internet trollswho would attack a blogger with threats or insults can be emboldened by anonymity. Sierra and supporters initiated an online discussion aimed at countering abusive online behavior[96]and developed ablogger's code of conduct.

• Behavior

TheBlogger's Code of Conductis a proposal byTim O'Reillyfor bloggers to enforce civility on their blogs by being civil themselves and moderating comments on their blog. The code was proposed due to threats made to bloggerKathy Sierra.[97]The idea of the code was first reported byBBC News, who quoted O'Reilly saying, "I do think we need some code of conduct around what is acceptable behaviour, I would hope that it doesn't come through any kind of regulation it would come through self-regulation."[98]

O'Reilly and others came up with a list of seven proposed ideas:[99][100][101][102]

1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.

2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.

3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.

4. Ignore the trolls.

5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.

6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.

7. Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.