I don’t ask permission before citing someone, but I do just try to think about what it means (or might mean to them) to quote them. Because whatever their expectation of being public or private, there’s also the larger context of what they said, and in those circumstances my quote might well misrepresent them. (When I wrote about being diagnosed with cancer some people who wrote about my blog entirely misunderstood that I was previously career-minded, which is actually the opposite of how things were.)

But actually, once anything’s out there, I don’t think it matters whether I’m uncomfortable or not: I’ve said it and I have to stand by it. And sometimes maybe think harder next time.

Where I disagree with you a little bit, Maha, is the “little old me” aspect vis a vis the Big White Guys of the blogosphere. I think we’re all out here, with our small and large platforms. None of us gets a free pass on the ethical question of how we care for strangers. But it’s a hard thing.

I think the Coursera Honor Code is a flat-out fail for me on all of these complexities, given the size and engagement of their “Courserian” community. I’d love to see them address this.