On Monday, the School of Continuing Studies’ Technology Management Program sponsored a lecture by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Andrea Weckerle – founder of the cyber-etiquette organization CiviliNation – on the need for civil discourse on the Internet.

The talk, entitled “Upholding the Core Ideals of Democracy & Freedom of Speech: the Need for Civil Digital Discourse,” focused on the need for a healthy online environment that fosters a thoughtful exchange of ideas. However, neither contributor saw this as the present reality.

“Because we haven’t yet developed online social norms,” Weckerle mused, “we have allowed this to become a truly global problem,” citing intentional provocation, release of private information, Facebook attacks, Google bombs, cyber stalking, and generic spreading of lies online.

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If someone asked you to pick the greatest innovation of our day, it might be a pretty tough choice: Our generation has witnessed the birth of such life-changing inventions as iPads, smartphones, and jeggings. But if you ask me, the answer is obvious: Wikipedia.

Which is why those who are still at Georgetown should get excited for Monday, June 13. According to an email sent yesterday by the University, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales will be speaking this Monday at 6:00 p.m. in Copley Formal Lounge, along with Andrea Weckerle, founder of CiviliNation.

The title of this discussion is “The Need for Civil Discourse,” and it is sponsored by the School of Continuing Studies’s Technology Management Program. The two speakers will focus on issues about the “epidemic” of online hostility, a topic which our very own Nico Dodd tackled in the Voice a few months back.

The two speakers are more than qualified to speak on the subject. Wales, of course, revolutionized the spread of information with a website that allows users to update it themselves, but in doing so left room for biased or outright false information to spread widely (until it gets taken down, which is usually momentary).

CiviliNation, the nonprofit organization that Weckerle founded, is aimed at promoting a healthy, civil atmosphere in cyberspace. According to their website, the group aims at “fostering an online culture in which individuals can fully engage and contribute without fear or threat of being the target of unwarranted abuse, harassment, or lies.” Wales serves on the organization’s Board of Directors.

Anyone wishing to attend this event should RSVP on the School of Continuing Studies’s website here.