Its dishonest to imply the degree is from University of Maryland. UMUC is not UMCP. It is in the University of Maryland system, it is not "University of Maryland".

UMCP is no more the definitive "University of Maryland" than UMUC. While they may be the "flagship" university in the system, according to their site, they are still UMCP, not simply UM.

Saying you made a few phone calls does not constitute proof of anything. Dvorak put forward more evidence to support his claim than the author of the nextgov piece. Yeah, that claim is from the article, but are we supposed to simply take his word for it?

I don't say I "believe" the nextgov piece simply because he published it. There is less of a barrier to publication there since its not tearing down a person. But if your going to publish an accusation like Dvorak did, you better have done _all_ your homework.

Sure thing. That's the way it looks here too.

So now he's got to live with this Charlie Foxtrot for the rest of his life. Digging down into the sewer with him and throwing it around some doesn't help anybody.

All the other "Charlie Foxtrots" (btw, wtf?) that he's perpetrated up until now, he doesn't have to live with those? How many inflammatory fuckups does a person get to commit before its fair game to point out that they're a jackass?

Charlie Foxtrot is phonetic speak for CF which is sometimes used to mean cluster fuck.

I believe that's for you to answer, since you're the one calling him one.

What's your number? Three? Four?

Guy might end up losing his job and being a mockery the rest of his life and all you've got to offer is to pile on? What is this, kindergarten?

Wow, you really think he might lose his job over this? I hadn't even really allowed myself to dream such a thing. That would be peaches, though.

Let's be clear: Dvorak isn't just some guy, he's a professional troll. We're not picking him out of obscurity and pantsing him in front of his classmates. He chooses to be a writer, to push people's buttons, to publish inflammatory material without doing any kind of research. If he loses his job, it'll only be because this is somehow the first time he's actually crossed the line into libel, and if he's a mockery for the rest of his life, he's in the same state he was a week ago, except now maybe some political junkies are in on it, too.

Wasn't he one of the 'journalists' who bought into the SCO vs Linux thing?

One way to not risk your job and reputation is to be very careful prior to publishing lies about people in widely circulated publications.

I think the followup to this story -- the impact on blogging, relationship of a columnist as a reporter, the degree of fact-checking needed before publishing, what, if anything happens to Dvorak -- is going to be much more interesting than the story itself.

I think that would be great if it happened, but I don't think it will.