This is in response to an article that was posted saying that I called to "eradicate the internet". The quote about the internet is being taken out of context. I most certainly would not call to eradicate the internet. That would be a foolish and futile undertaking. The quote that is being circulated around was made in the context of a post where I was very frustrated because anonymous people on the internet can circulate lies about people and not having the degree of wealth it would take to hire someone to track the person down and sue, there is really nothing the I as a target can do to stop those lies, except to refute them as I am doing here. My cyberbullies have tried to take that away from me as well, by bashing me for responding, expecting me to just sit back and let the lies spread.

I also pointed out in the same posting that the internet has positives as well and that my intent was to emphasize those positives. So, for the record, here is my view on the internet:

The internet is a double-edged sword. It obviously has both positives and negatives and since it is here to stay, what I recommend is making the most of the positives.

Regarding FSU, I left only because I graduated with my PhD and I left in good standing, with good teaching evaluations and a letter of recommendation from the person in SW who is in charge of the teaching and other faculty. The only reason I am no longer teaching there is that FSU College of Social Work has a policy against hiring their PhD graduates as permanent faculty for 5 years post graduation. I was not fired or dismissed in any way, shape or form. If anyone doubts any about this and is willing to give me a verifiable name and affiliation, I will provide references of people I have actually worked with at FSU who will vouch for all this.

Another thing certain people do not seem to understand is the concept of academic freedom. Even if a faculty member had made some sort of blanket, extreme radical statement about calling to eradicate the internet, that faculty member would not be fired, as doing so would be seen as a gross violation of academic freedom. If you keep up with the news, faculty members have made far more controversial statements than that and kept their jobs, no problem.

That being said, every faculty member I have spoken to so far on this topic has wholeheartedly agreed with my concerns about the downside of the internet, but even if they didn't, it would not be cause for dismissal.

For more about the internet smear campaign against my colleagues and I, see:

http://psychjourney_blogs.typepad.com/monica_pignotti_/