Webchat with Jon Ronson, Tuesday 24 March, 8-9pm (See post below re: time change)

[RachelMumsnet]

The peerless Jon Ronson is joining us for a webchat on Tuesday 24 March from 8-9pm. Jon is an award-winning writer and documentary-maker, as well as being a regular at Mumsnet events. He followed up at BlogFest 2013 with an equally brilliant appearance at our recent Mumstock event, where he spoke about his new book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed.

The book details his experiences of, and involvement in, the various Twitterstorms that have blown up over the past few years, which he connects to the historical tradition of public shaming. He interviews infamous shamers and shamees, exploring how public ridicule and vitriol can have devastating consequences for all involved. Did the individuals who made one offensive joke on Twitter deserve to have their lives ruined?

Join Jon for what will be a fascinating and entertaining hour on Tuesday evening between 8 and 9pm. Don't worry if you're unable to join us at that time - you can post your early bird question for Jon on this thread right now.

[RoonersisNOTRoonerspism]

Ooh

[RoonersisNOTRoonerspism]

Can I have him to myself?

[Hullygully]

Hello Jon, I have (may sound like a creep alert) read all your books except the latest. Very splendid they are too, and jolly funny to boot. I have always thought it was terribly brave to sneak into the Bilderberg camp. But all that aside, what I want to know is this: some years ago you wrote in one of your Guardian columns/articles, it may have been the visiting Father Santa one, that you wanted Joel to have a magical life untainted by unpleasant reality (words to that effect) and I have always wondered how long you managed to sustain it? Frankly, with my own children, I managed about seven minutes.

[Pagwatch]

I'm about a third of the way through So You've Been Publicly Shamed.
Jonah and the live Twitter feed was so awful I had to put it down and walk around a bit to get rid of the cringe.

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

Yes, how is Joel? And Mrs R? I used to like your Guardian column.

[EnolaAlone]

I've recently been to see Jon talking about his new book. He also told the story about Joel and 'limone', still funny! He's just as entertaining telling his stories in person as in his writing.

[SuggestmeaUsername]

Hi Jon What is your happiest memory and saddest memory as a student at PCL?

[GettingFiggyWithIt]

Similar question here. As a journalist/writer how often do you manipulate people in order to get a story? How do you feel about this later?
Please do not think I am having a pop at you, I am genuinely interested. In particular about your choices in framing Adria Richards as aggressor rather than victim, having purported to have been interested in telling 'her' story.
I have bought and enjoyed much of your work over the years, am currently reading Frank, and what I love most is the humour and self awareness about your own neuroses. So I wondered whether you ever felt guilty about the effects of promoting of your novel or about how your interviewees feel upon publishing?
(Justine not having wanted further exposure, Lindsey being published yet again with the photo she wants distance from, Adria feeling you misrepresented yourself as caring about sexism in the tech industry).
Thank you.

[GettingFiggyWithIt]

Having read this back, it looks like I am trying to, shame you...
Let me rephrase, where do you draw the line between the perilous/morally ambiguous nature of being told not to quote something for example but it not having been stated it was off the record and knowing as a writer with an arc, that it will add something or is just plain interesting/juicy/funny?
What governs your choice of words which may add bias, when describing a situation or person, do you let your personal sympathies/humour/how you would react govern what you write?
Am off to download now, fair play for meeting up with three uni guys, face to face confrontations for someone who seems non-combative takes balls. Ooh, last one, were you saddened that your 'frivolous' (!) psychopath book did not go down so well with the guy who invented the test or were you not really surprised?
Thank you.

[GettingFiggyWithIt]

*robert hare (sorry, forgot his name and cannot google and type on kindle at same time...)
I did recommend the psychopath test to others btw. I also sent it to someone as a xmas present along with the film seven psychopaths. That might have been a mistake

[GettingFiggyWithIt]

Noone else is asking questions so although I am limited to my first post I am hoping to sneak a few more in...

I just read all of SYBPS in one sitting, like I did with the psychopath test. It made me think, which is always a good thing and on more than one occasion I laughed out loud - as a sleep deprived mum thank you for that less so the binge reading but that's my fault

Just how often do people ask you if they are sociopaths?!

I know the film Frank was your baby, have not yet seen it, but how was it cast and did you prefer the finished product to TMWSAG? And what was your favourite Frank Sidebottom cover?

Given your experience with Them, and your experience as an investigative journalist, what are your views on the consecutive cover-ups of abuse in carehomes, Elm house etc ever being truly exposed once and for all?

[hackmum]

I thought your latest book was fascinating. There's a lot I'd like to ask about it, but I'll confine myself to one for now: you spoke to two people, iirc, who took part in the Zimbardo experiments at Stanford University. Did you try to speak to any more, or do you plan to? Given that the Zimbardo experiment was hugely influential and brought Zimbardo himself worldwide fame, I'm surprised that that bit of your book where you pretty much debunk the whole thing hasn't had more attention.

[HomeHelpMeGawd]

Do you miss KFM, Jon?

[cloudspotter]

One question...... better not blow this....

What I really want to know is how do you carry on living "normally" after some of the exposes that you've done?

After Bildenburg, after the psychiatric classification thing....do you find it hard to put the blinkers on and carry on with normal life - or do you become irretrievably cynical?

[voscar]

Shame, to use its workng name - is the first book I've read of yours.

My question is "How did you reconcile to yourself that your objectives in creating a successful book (with all of the publicity accompanying it) were at complete odds with the objectives of the shamed parties?" I.e. they all wanted their shaming to go away, and in some cases you attempted to aid that (Lindsey Stone), but you knew even in offering her obscurity that you needed her to be on the front pages again to achieve your own success?

You hint at this as a wider journalistic tension when discussing Michaels internal fight with his empathy for Jonah over his own need to publish - but never really answer the question yourself.

[Dr0pThePirate]

Hi Jon,

DP and I have just finished reading So You've Been Publicly Shamed. We both really enjoyed it.

In chapter 11 you talk to Clive Stafford Smith who asks about the worst criminal act committed against you and the worst thing you've ever done to somebody. Your answer to the latter is intriguing "It was a terrible thing. It was devastating for them. It wasn't against the law."

I hope you don't think it's impertinent (or even down right creepy) to ask what it was you did?! I spent the rest of the book waiting for the big reveal!

I swear this is purely in the interests of closure/satisfaction, but I need to know...

Thank you!

[sarahsusannah]

Hello Jon - I really enjoyed So You've Been Publicly Shamed, though some of the situations you describe are a bit like watching someone being pelted with debris in the village stocks (or worse). You take a pretty compassionate line on people who have fallen foul of social media but do you see your book as a wake-up call or there anything that the law can do to protect them? (I thought of your book when I read that the producer who got into the 'fracas' with Jeremy Clarkson had been getting abusive tweets...)

[MuddhaOfSuburbia]

I haven't got a question, but the thread looks a bit quiet so I thought I'd pad it out with some fawning

we think you're fucking brilliant. And we loved Frank. Even my brother liked it and he's a BIG Frank fan, so it could have gone either way

(me too- named firstborn Little Frank in utero and he became Frank in RL. Cue many awkward 'after Sinatra?' 'no...errr...Sidebottom, actually' exchanges)

I shall no doubt be getting your new book. I still read your What I Do when poorly, or glum

oh and you're super over on the twitter, too

when you get bored of doing exciting stuff please come back to London and do more Guardian columns about Family Bollocks

[EnolaAlone]

Do you often find yourself diagnosing people as psychopaths when you meet them? As I do, since reading your book!

[hackmum]

This is related to voscar's question. In the latest book, you talk about how two reputation management experts created lots of blog entries and other internet accounts so that when someone googled Lindsey Stone, these would come up rather than the Arlington Cemetery photo.

Like everyone else (probably), as soon as I read that, I googled Lindsey Stone, and what came up first was the Guardian excerpt about her from your book. But the next few hits were all about the original story - no blog entries or anything innocuous at all. How did that happen - any idea? And how does Lindsey feel about your book? I seem to remember she thought her new employers didn't know who she was.

[Pagwatch]

Irritatingly I have to go out but will catch up with this later.

Can I ask a Richard Madeley style question in amongst all the more intellectual ones? Of all the situations in which you have found yourself whilst researching your books, and all those people you have spent time with, which one was the most pant crappingly scary?

[Pagwatch]

Actually I might be home by about 10.15 pm now, so if someone could keep him talking tonight that would be great.

[RachelMumsnet]

URGENT: Please note that the webchat will now be taking place between 8 and 9pm this evening. We're sorry about this last minute change but Jon is doing the webchat from the US and annoyingly US clocks went forward last week - Jon was in the UK at the time and we didn't foresee. He has other engagements later in the afternoon so we're going to have to bring things forward an hour. We realise this can be a tricky time for some folks embroiled in bath/bedtime, so do please post your question for Jon ahead of the webchat if you're no longer able to join us at that time and he'll do his best to answer as many Qs as possible.

It would be great if you can help us spread the word about the time-change via your social media. THANKS