You need to be prepared. The Coalition for Networked Information
(CNI) Working Group on Legislation, Codes, Policies, and Practices has
been charged with working on these kinds of issues. Under the leadership
of Peter Graham, associate university librarian for Technology and
Networked Information Services at Rutgers University, and Richard
Akeroyd Jr., state librarian at Connecticut State Library, this group is
targeting its efforts on, among other things, developing strategies to
help you prevent these types of situations from spinning out of control.
     The group plans to focus on products that will help you prepare for
such situations by using a draft press kit that suggests what to do when
a local problem arises and the press is immediately on the scene, as
well as by establishing a model policy for appropriate use of the
network. In addition, the group plans to provide guidelines on such
issues as confidentiality, privacy, pseudonymity, anonymity, free
speech, and responsible use.
     Thus far the group has issued Information Policies: A Compilation
of Position Statements, Principles, Statutes, and Other Pertinent
Statements, which brings together the original texts of official
statements of organizations and associations, principles, and laws
related to information policy. The document is available in the
coalition's ftp archive at ftp.cni.org.