YOYOW
Encyclopedia
YOYOW is a storied example of Internet slang
, an acronym for a phrase coined by Stewart Brand
when he launched The WELL
. It is short for "You Own Your Own Words."
Members of The WELL have fought about the implications of the term for many years. In the book "The Well: A story of love, death and real life in the seminal online community," historian Katie Hafner
quotes Brand as saying, "I was doing the usual thing of
considering what could go wrong... One of the things that could go wrong would be people blaming us for things that people said on The Well. And the way I figured you get around that was to put the responsibility on the individual. It meant that you're responsible for your own words, and if you libel somebody they sue you, not us. And what that turned into was copyright insanity, where people thought that their precious words should not be copied in other contexts."
Beyond The WELL, this term has also been interpreted variously over the years. In March 2007, Chris Locke
used it to defend refusing to remove trolling that Kathy Sierra
reported as threatening messages that made her afraid to leave her house, but defending removing the whole site instead. On her blog, Creating Passionate Users, she denounced a pattern of intimidation. Chris Locke stated that his motivation for not removing hurtful posts was inspired by YOYOW.
The WELL now has a more specific (and longer) members agreement.
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
, an acronym for a phrase coined by Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation...
when he launched The WELL
The Well
- Titled works :* The Well , 1986 novel by Elizabeth JolleyMusical albums:* The Well , by Waking Ashland* The Well, 2001, by Jennifer Warnes* The Well, a song from the "Come to the Well" album by christian group Casting Crowns...
. It is short for "You Own Your Own Words."
Members of The WELL have fought about the implications of the term for many years. In the book "The Well: A story of love, death and real life in the seminal online community," historian Katie Hafner
Katie Hafner
Katie Hafner is a journalist who writes books and articles about technology and society. She was a technology reporter at The New York Times and was a contributing editor for Newsweek...
quotes Brand as saying, "I was doing the usual thing of
considering what could go wrong... One of the things that could go wrong would be people blaming us for things that people said on The Well. And the way I figured you get around that was to put the responsibility on the individual. It meant that you're responsible for your own words, and if you libel somebody they sue you, not us. And what that turned into was copyright insanity, where people thought that their precious words should not be copied in other contexts."
Beyond The WELL, this term has also been interpreted variously over the years. In March 2007, Chris Locke
Christopher Locke
Christopher Locke is a widely read blogger, author and the editor of the e-newsletter since 1995. Starting in 2005, he has been writing the blog....
used it to defend refusing to remove trolling that Kathy Sierra
Kathy Sierra
Kathy Sierra is a programming instructor and game developer.She is the co-creator of the Head First series of books on technical topics, along with her partner, Bert Bates. The series, which began with Head First Java in 2003, takes an unorthodox, visually intensive approach to the process of...
reported as threatening messages that made her afraid to leave her house, but defending removing the whole site instead. On her blog, Creating Passionate Users, she denounced a pattern of intimidation. Chris Locke stated that his motivation for not removing hurtful posts was inspired by YOYOW.
The WELL now has a more specific (and longer) members agreement.