A big part of the Zipper app is the ability not only to get and offer local news in real time to your smart phone but also do the same with local gossip. The shear ease of adding, reading, and finding local information with this app was bound to result in some local gossips whiter by design or by accident. It\’s almost impossible to avoid it since after all, we\’re human and gossip is as much a part of human civilization as….civilization itself. That being said, there\’s got to be some rules to keep it someone what clean. Some people immediately assume the two are mutually exclusive. You can\’t have gossip that\’s clean. Well, you can and have to for some very simple reason. Let\’s take a look at how to handle mean or untrue gossip.

First, what\’s the definition of mean gossip? Good question. First, let\’s take a step back and decide what gossip is. Essentially, gossip is third party news of a personal nature. It\’s that simple. Gossip also has a certain unverified quality about it. Otherwise, it\’s just news. There are bits of personal news though that are mean or hurtful, especially with younger people. The Zipper has no tolerance for this. How do you handle mean gossip when it pops up on the Zipper? We have the first two rounds of weapons to use against mean or incorrect gossip built right into the system. The first defense is the Thumbs. This is a quick and easy way to not only discredit (with a Thumbs down) any piece of info on the Zipper or support a piece of info (with the the Thumbs up button). If a particular mean or vicious piece of local gossip hits the wire, hit the Thumbs down. Too many of these Thumbs down votes will quickly dismiss the mean local gossip to the depths of Zipper oblivion. The second tool is the process or ReZips or responding via the thread like message of Zips. If you know something is not correct or just generally want to show your discust for a particular message, you can add your 2 cents to the ReZip or thread from the original message. To some extent, ReZips figure into how long the message stays aloft but sometimes, you just need to express your view on something, or better yet add a piece of information or vantage point not available yet which refutes the original mean gossip. SO that\’s our toolkit to start. The Thumbs down is the fast and effective way to Vote down on the message. Too many of those and it disappears. The ReZips lets you add information set the record straight. In the real world of local gossip, you usually can\’t do this on a wide scale with mean gossip that travels in the typical routing. Al least you now have a voice to counter mean gossip.

What if there\’s something particularly mean or abusive not to mention wrong. Keep in mind that the Zipper is just an electronic tool. It magnifies and makes easy all means of communication local news and local gossip that already exist. Hopefully, it does more good than harm (if you believe that people generally weight towards the good side of the scale). The Zipper does not preclude local, State, and Federal laws however and if you break the law online, you are still breaking the law. If you\’re not sure if something is legal, don\’t do it! The anonymous post of the Zipper for local news will not protect libel, slander, or hateful posts and you run the full affront of the law if you break it.

Dennis Jarvis writes extensively about local news and local gossip smart phone apps.