The New York Times has weighed in today on a blogosphere conversation about the possibility of establishing a ‘Blogger Code of Conduct.’ The Times sounds alarms:
Headline: ‘A Call for Manners in the World of Nasty Blogs’
Lede: ‘Is it too late to bring civility to the Web?’
Followed by:

The conversational free-for-all on the Internet known as the blogosphere can be a prickly and unpleasant place. Now, a few high-profile figures in high-tech are proposing a blogger code of conduct to clean up the quality of online discourse.

Without discounting the possibility that bloggers can be uncivil (the Internet is open after all), a more balanced presentation is this one from Wikia, under Jimmy Wales’ leadership:

We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation. But frankness does not have to mean lack of civility. We present this Blogger Code of Conduct in hopes that it helps create a culture that encourages both personal expression and constructive conversation. One can disagree without being disagreeable.

Or the discussion by Tim O’Reilly here.