Was Kathy Sierra's Life Threatened?

Kathy Sierra, high-profile blogger, writer and speaker, feels her life is in danger based on comments left at a now-closed site. Her post regarding the incident can be found at her site, Creating Passionate Users.

From reading the comments at her post and from trying to search out responses from those accused, it is apparent that charges and denials are flying about the blogosphere. It also appears that many of us our willing to come to conclusions without a thorough understanding or knowledge of what happened.

I have spent much of the past two hours researching this. I think there are still lots of unknowns about who did what and their intentions. At first glance, I think Kathy has been hurt but that she may have made some unsubstantiated accusations (guesses), as well. Furthermore, I am not a fan of going public, as Kathy did, when apparently the police are conducting an investigation, and evidence is still being gathered and processed.

On the other hand, my heart goes out to her if she truly feels threatened and at risk. I don't know any of the characters in this real-life drama, actually had not previously heard of them, nor have I ever read anything they have written. So, I have no way of knowing what Kathy or any of those accused must be feeling at this time.

One of the problems that concerns me as a long-time writer is that once in print, everything written becomes fact in someone's mind, and in our blogosphere the danger of passing along untrue accusations can be as harmful as Kathy's concerns are for her safety because of hurtful and irresponsible comments that seemed aimed at her.

I guess it's the former journalist in me that is unwilling to take a side or pass judgment on this specific incident other than to say that hurtful language is never to be admired and if it becomes threatening it is to be condemned. Meanwhile, I urge all of us to take a deep breath and let the facts in this case surface before reaching conclusions.

Note: Check out Seth's Misogyny and anonymity for a smart take on blogging inspired by this incident.