EFF Legal Guide for Bloggers

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a non-profit advocacy group that works to preserve the right to freedom of speech (see the First Amendment to the United States Constitution) in the context of today's digital age. They work to educate the masses about their civil liberties and rights when it comes to technology.

In 2006, they created a Legal Guide for Bloggers to help bloggers understand what their rights are and, essentially, what they can and cannot get in hot water for. It is extremely practical and helpful and easy to understand.

Click here to check out the EFF Legal Guide for Bloggers.

If you have any questions about the legality of something that you plan on posting, I highly recommend referencing the guide before posting it.

It's Easier to Ask Permission than Forgiveness...Especially When Asking Forgiveness After Being Sued for Unlawful Likeness Use and Invasion of Privacy

Attributions in blog posts are not limited to instances when you use information or quoting from different sources, such as a book or another website, or when you provide images or video from other sources; you also need to attribute in times when you use another person's story, image, or general likeness.

While I encourage taking pictures at your service sites or while you are all meeting together, it is important to make sure that it is o.k. with the other people there that you are taking pictures. Some people are not comfortable having their picture taken at all and you should be mindful of their wishes. It is even more important to explain to them that their image may end up online, on your blog. Most people do not have a problem with their image being posted online but it is never a good idea to assume that a person is cool with it. Even if someone is comfortable with you taking their picture, you need separate permission to put their picture on the blog.

You also need to be sensitive when taking pictures of minors; people can get very worked up over people posting pictures of kids online without permission. In addition to making sure that the minor is comfortable with you taking their picture at all and putting it online, you also need to get permission from their parent or legal guardian.

It also helps to be aware that you will be working with people in sensitive situations and it is important to be aware of their feelings. They are not just your service projects; they are people with real concerns and should be treated with respect. You should not pressure them into letting you take their picture nor should you try to "sneak" a picture of them. You should also explain to them exactly what you will use their image for; as an additional gesture of goodwill, you should also offer up the blog information so, if they have access to the Internet, they can check it out.

Generally, you do not need to have them give written consent or sign anything; verbal permission is fine.

These tips do not just extend to photos or videos of people; you also need to get permission before discussing their story or situation on the blog. Even if you do not use their name or any identifying facts, it is still better to play it safe than risk really offending someone (or some group) or risk a lawsuit. While, technically, the court system has ruled that people can take pictures of anyone out in public, even without their permission, and then post the photo online, let's try not to set a new legal precedent.

On the Font Lines

Readability is an extremely important component of the successful blog post. If a post is not readable at first glance, chances are readers will not take the time to decipher it and will instead just blow past in, on to the next readable post. One of the most significant ways to make blog posts readable are through the font styles used; by using the right, readable font style, you have already cleared a major hurdle of readability.

Also, when you are posting on a team blog, where there could be dozens, if not hundreds, of other people posting as well, font styles are a great way to make your posts stand out. When people are just scrolling down the page, scanning all of the posts, they are more likely to stop and read your post in its entirety if it jumps out at them by looking different from all the blog posts.

Here is a list of tips on how to put font styles to their greatest use to make your blog post successful:

• Choose the right font. On most Internet publishing, the font options are limited; you can usually pick from a handful of fonts offered, such as Arial, Times, Verdana, etc, or pick from two or three font groups, which are fonts grouped by styles like "serif" and "sans serif." Because of Internet coding and because programmers generally understand that some fonts are easier read on the screen than others, they usually nudge Internet posters along the best path for Internet publishing. However, sometimes even the fonts offered by programmers are not the best for your blog. Therefore, it is important to test each font on the blog and see which is easier to read. It is also important to test fonts if you know coding and can use fonts other than the ones offered. On some blogs, a font like Georgia is the most reader-friendly font and the most aesthetically pleasing. On other blogs, it is better to go with a sans serif font like Verdana. The best way to find out is by trying each font offered and using the right one. (HINT: Be wary of Courier. While it can be a cool, austere, sort of modern-yet-retro font, it is also pretty difficult to read on-screen; use it sparingly, for emphasis or use it in instances where you prefer style to readability.)

• Choose the right size. Generally speaking, Internet font sizing is different than font sizing for hard copy; on the Internet, font sizes are not usually assigned a number but are labeled as "smallest" to "largest." Again, finding the right size for your blog depends on the blog colors and the blog layout. When choosing a font size, it is important to remember that people with all levels of vision will be reading your post. So while you should not make all of the copy of your blog post "largest," which does not usually look that great, you should not choose "smallest," either. The extreme font sizes are best used for emphasis or illustrating a point. You need to try each size before determining which is best for your blog.

• Choose the right style. While it can be cool to do your entire blog post in italics or bolded--or some other, more advanced style--to set it apart from the pack, it can also be extremely difficult to read. Therefore, it is important to choose styles smartly. The simplest way to use different styles is to limit the bolding and italicizing to points that you want to emphasize; while this may not seem all that exciting, it does go a long way as far as readability goes. However, if you really want to use a special style for your entire post, there are steps you can take to make sure that the post remains readable. Look at the font size. Italics and bolding generally make the spaces between the letters smaller, which makes them harder to read; it is a good idea to increase your font size a bit so you still get the style that you want, but so the reader will not have to squint at the screen to decide if that is an "e" or a "c." Also look at the font color. If you have stylized fonts in a dark font color, on a dark background, the post will be harder to read.

• Choose the right color. One way to really make your blog post pop off the screen and stand out from everyone else's post is to make your post a different color. However, using different colors on a blog can lead to a world of unreadable posts, so it is good to be aware of what works for your blog and what does not. Contrast is important for readability; if your blog has a dark background, do not use a dark-colored font. Also, some colors are just more difficult to read on-screen than others. While yellow can look cool and it really jumps off the screen, staring at a yellow post for a while can have the same effect as staring at the sun; your eyeballs start to burn and, after looking away, it takes the photoreceptor cells in your eyes a minute to recover. Feel free to work with different colors to see what you like, but remember to keep it readable.