Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

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  oliviamck03/04/08 Report as spam
  1

  Influence, yes. Total cause, no.

  As someone who has battled depression off and on throughout their adult life, I can tell you that the blogs were just the icing on the cake. They cannot, and should not, take 100% of the blame for this man's death.
  
  Tragic as though it may be, he had a choice - to live or to die. He chose death. Was it the right decision? Only he could tell you. Those of us left behind can speculate all we want to about the "reason" for his decision. The reason is that he did not feel worthy enough to live. That's the reason.
  
  I am not saying that non-constructive criticism is wanted, but he worked in Advertising. IMO, the biggest arena for non-constructive criticism (coming from someone inside the industry). It comes with the territory and you learn how to deal with it. Unfortunately, there are some who don't learn how to and this is the result.
  
  My heart goes out to Paul Tilley's family as I grieve with them for their loss. THAT is where the energy should go - to his family.
  
  The fact of the matter is that there will always be nasty people in this world who have no regard for others. It's a shame that Paul felt they were attacking him - not his work.

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  Rafael Pagan03/04/08 Report as spam
  2

  Blog Providers should not edit posted content

  Hate speech is unprotected by the US Constitution. Those who incur in it may be held liable for libel. The Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. ? 230) specifically protects those who provide interactive computer services (such as industry blog providers) from liability. The law recognizes that they are not responsible for content posted on their blogs. Certain actions may be taken in good faith to restrict access to people who post questionable content. However, the administrator may be held liable if he/she edits the content.

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  Lady Socrates03/04/08 Report as spam
  3

  Edit or delete...

  I can see the liability arising for editing someone elses comment because it would change what he/she said, without permission. However, I can't imagine that I could be held liable for deleting a comment on a blog I control. That's *my* right!

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  patrickdh03/04/08 Report as spam
  4

  nonesense legal

  As blogger/owner/editor/administrator - your role is to create and administrate, not to hide behind these obscure legal clauses and wash your hands from the impact that comments or articles can affect someonelse. Again, one would have to question the reason behind your blog - either way, allowing it or disallowing is an editorial choice.

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  Lady Socrates03/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  I would choose two of the options - not allow anonymous posts AND delete the personal vitrol. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right, but I'm not required to provide the time, format or bandwidth for it. Someone who wants to make those comments can get his/her own blog. I need to be responsibile for mine.

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  rwingate@...03/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  Need to know more facts before we can try to judge this situation.
  RCW

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  JimBJimB03/04/08 Report as spam
  7

  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  I have a sneaking suspicion that there were some other factors going on in Mr. Tilley's life that led to his demise. The blog stuff might have been the straw that broke the camels back. Still, I don't advocate anonymous slamming, nor do I think it's appropriate to allow personal attacks. Shame on the blog owner.

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  jsadler@...03/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  Free speech is one thing but personal attacks that have nothing to do with the subject are unnecessary and inappropriate. Trying to reason with people like that does not do anything except call further attention to the matter. The company that fails to act to eliminate the forum for such attacks is enabling the person who sent the email.

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  patrickdh03/04/08 Report as spam
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  Not enough auto-control?

  The context as described may be over simplistic - nevertheless if industry blogs were tolerated or acted as amplifiers and allowed for these personal attacks, industry should take lead in trimming excesses. Unfortunately we are talking about Ad industry!! Renowned reputation for shark infested waters and creative assasins - this is business as usual really. Here the novelty is that someone actually left making more than just some noise instead of dying off in oblivion.
  I may be wrong, but I'm not surprised that the environment wouldn't intervene sooner before this drama was to happen.

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  bmosca03/04/08 Report as spam
  10

  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  How about all of the above! Clearly, comments that have no merit beyond personal vitriol have no place and should be deleted. Comments that significantly misstate facts should be challenged through moderation. And posters should at least be willing to make their email identities known to the site admin.

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  AgCreativity03/04/08 Report as spam
  11

  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  Delete the comments. Anonymity is a powerful tool for constructive feedback, and it is perfectly impractical to try to try someone down for slander. I doubt that they have the money to back themselves up in a lawsuit.

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  PowerFlite03/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  This is nonsense. Paul Tilley didn't get as far as he did in the advertising
  industry by letting insults from a few self-important ad twits cause him to kill
  himself. Whatever one may think of Tilley's creative or leadership skills, no
  creative director I've known in my 25 years of ad work would be felled by
  cowardly gossip columnists who don't even have the spine to put their names
  on their work. I don't know what demons the guy had going on inside, but
  he deserves more respect than to suggest that these clowns have that much
  impact on ANYone's life.
  
  Greg Robertson
  Principal+Creative Director
  PowerFlite Communications

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  dochi03/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
  
  Similarly, blogs don't commit suicide. People commit suicide.

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  amygny@...03/04/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  People are cruel I had my own experience at IT myspace, I was telling to the group about my experience of falling sleep while driving, living in CA it is a must, so someone jump in and said, F**I hope you fall sleep driving, crash and died, I block this person, but I still remember how cruel he was, wishing me dead with out knowing who me and for no reason. I am mentally very strong, but there are people very sensitive out there. Not everybody can deal with comments like this.
  Amy G.

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  dbldee03/05/08 Report as spam
  15

  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  This is a digital age, where a lot of what we see is virtual.
  Everyone should be constantly reminded of that.
  
  Discretion still remains the better part of valour
  
  Are we in an era where everything is to believed
  
  It could still be your dog typing these letters.
  
  After all they're still just words and only have the power that you give them

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  TrenchWriter03/05/08 Report as spam
  16

  Responsibility is assumed by blog hosters

  Ultimately, you cannot, in a civil society, impart a methodology or medium that affords unanswered vitriole and slanderous statements a place to shine, then throw your hands up and hide behind first ammendment rights when they cause destruction. Let me pose this question: If two prize fighters enter a ring, and one is killed by his opponent, who is responsible? Why? Is it the venue provider? The promoter? The killer, or the victim? Or is it no one? Obviously Paul Tilley felt what was being said about him was either true to some extent, or was affected by others believing that it was true, to the point of self-destruction. Either way, who is responsible? The person spewing vicious crap? his wife, for not getting him help? His boss for turning a blind eye to prior symptoms of his growing problem, or is he himself to blame for being so human as to have a breaking point that got broken by this particular situation? Would he have killed himself otherwise, for a different reason or at a different time? We will likely never know. Still, each of us must determine the level of responsibility we decide to take for protecting our friends, neighbors, relatives and yes, strangers. To do less is to ignore the basic tenent of why we are all here on this earth: (you fill this in).

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  kennethetucker03/05/08 Report as spam
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  THIS is vitriol?! Peter Principle victim.

  THIS is vitriol?! >> AgencySpy wrote that Mr. Tilley ???needs to go back to management 101,??? adding: ???At one point, Paul thought he could make it as a game show host. Doesn???t one need to be charming for that???? <<
  
  Please. If this is indicative of the 'vitriol' directed at Tilley, he was indeed, a VERY fragile soul to begin with and, yet another 'victim' of the underlying tenant of the Peter Principle (being promoted to a position your not qualified/suited for)? An 'artist' left-brainer vs a hard ass right brain 'rip your heart out and eat kinda guy is what i'm guessing.
  
  Where were the family and friends? Standing aside and ignoring the signs as usual? Doing nothing IS an act of complicity. The lesson here is speak up, act on similar signs shown by family and friends and prevent another tragedy.

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  dmmartin03/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  Like the ad business isn't tough enough. Cyberbullying is still cyberbullying. If they aren't willing to own the comment, they don't deserve the forum.
  D. Martin

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  kajira203/05/08 Report as spam
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  RE: Ad Exec's Suicide is Blamed on Industry Blogs

  Delete the comments. Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent (Asimov), and clearly cyberbullying is violence. If we're going to use blogging as a platform for advancing constructive, civil discussion, then we have no room for anonymous snark attacks -- participants in mainstream blogs should meet some minimum standard for acceptable behavior. You wouldn't put up with a violent or abusive patron at the local pub, would you? This isn't censorship, since they can take their attitude somewhere else (Billy-Bob's Biker Bar?); it's setting and maintaining ground rules for participation in a particular conversation.