Brian Leiter's Law School Reports

Is the On-Line ABA Journal Turning Into a Cyber-Cesspool? Research Help Sought!

A partner at a Chicago law firm has recently called to my attention that the on-line ABA Journal is increasingly playing host to "comments sections" on articles that are full of sexist and racist abuse, as well as just general unprofessional nastiness and creepiness.  The editors have been shockingly stubborn about cleaning up this mess.  The partner who called this to my attention reports that she and a number of colleagues are interested in supporting some empirical research into whether the abusive comments on the ABA Journal site are falling into certain (unsurprising) patterns, namely, disproportionately targetting women and minorities who are mentioned in stories.  It would also be useful to measure the frequency of abusive comments and their character.  If you have the pertinent expertise, and would be interested in looking into this, please e-mail me and I will put you in touch with the Chicago attorney interested in the project.  She reports that she and her colleagues will be able to provide financial support for research assistance needed for this project. 

Turmoil in the World of Law Blog Comments

Jack Balkin (Yale) has finally had to pull comments on his fine blog.  "Above the Law"--whose comments sections are a cesspool of juvenile nonsense, misogyny and racism rivalling Autoadmit--isn't really cleaning things up, just trying to hide it a bit more.  Orin Kerr (George Washington) comments on his efforts to maintain a worthwhile "comments" culture on his blog postings.  My own comments policy is here.  At my philosophy blog, where I have the same policy but open comments more often, the approach has been quite popular with readers; as one wrote: 

The vast majority of discussion on the internet is worthless, your blog being a rare exception. If comments are not moderated it is safe to assume not only that there will be more junk comments, but that this decrease in average quality will cause a decrease in the number of worthwhile comments as well. Many of the most informative and best-considered comments in current discussions come from well-respected, and no doubt very busy, philosophers, whom I imagine would have little desire to spend their scant free time engaging with belligerent internet trolls.

Cincinnati Law Student to Record His Legal Education On-Line

Neil Wehneman, who is starting law school at the University of Cincinnati, will be recording the whole experience on-line!  His first audio entry is up.

UPDATE:  James Milles (Law, SUNY-Buffalo) points out to me that a law student at the University of Missouri at Kansas City is doing the same thing.