Who is accountable for the veracity of new information?
In the past, a clear rift existed between the printed versus the spoken word. With the emergence of e-mail and the Internet, casual, information interactions can leave a documentable trail. In this new setting where nearly everything is retrievable, two questions emerge: (1) how do you determine which information is accurate and reliable; and (2) how do you develop a sense of trust, truthfulness, and comfort among participants? As information becomes more volitile, it becomes unreasonable to require the author or some mediating entity stand behind the veracity of every information object. Consequently, it is left to the user of the information to determine its veracity and appropriateness for the given context. Public knowledge can assume quality control mechanisms such as peer review. Shared personal knowledge does not. “If you hold me accountable for everything I share with you, I am apt to share very little.” Are there identifiable patterns of growth or learning, e.g., accretion, tu
