NEW YORK - 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 the high-tech industry are proposing a blogger code of conduct to clean up the quality of online discourse.

Last week, Mr Tim O'Reilly, a conference promoter and book publisher who is credited with coining the term Web 2.0, began working with Mr Jimmy Wales, creator of the communal online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, to create a set of guidelines to shape online discussion and debate.

Chief among the recommendations is that bloggers consider banning anonymous comments left by visitors to their pages and be able to delete threatening or libellous comments without facing cries of censorship.

A recent outbreak of antagonism among several prominent bloggers 'gives us an opportunity to change the level of expectations that people have about what's acceptable online', said Mr O'Reilly.

He posted the preliminary recommendations last week on his company blog (radar.oreilly.com).

Mr Wales has put up the proposed guidelines on his company's site (blogging.wikia.com), and is now soliciting comments in the hope of creating consensus around what constitutes civil behaviour online.

Mr O'Reilly and Mr Wales talk about creating several sets of guidelines for conduct and seals of approval represented by logos.

For example, anonymous writing might be acceptable in one set; in another, it would be discouraged. Under a third set of guidelines, bloggers would pledge to get a second source for any gossip or breaking news they write about.

Bloggers could then pick a set of principles and post the corresponding badge on their page, to indicate to readers what kind of behaviour and dialogue they will engage in and tolerate.

The whole system would be voluntary, relying on the community to police itself.

The code of conduct already has some early supporters, including Mr David Weinberger, a well-known blogger (hyperorg.com/blogger) and a fellow at the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.

'The aim of the code is not to homogenise the Web, but to make clearer the informal rules that are already in place anyway,' he said.

But as with every other electrically charged topic on the Web, finding common ground will be a serious challenge.

Some online writers wonder how anyone could persuade even a fraction of the millions of bloggers to embrace one set of standards. Others say that the code smacks of restrictions on free speech.

Mr Wales and Mr O'Reilly were inspired to act after a firestorm erupted late last month in the insular community of dedicated technology bloggers.

In an online shouting match that was widely reported, Ms Kathy Sierra, a high-tech book author from Boulder County, Colorado, and a friend of Mr O'Reilly's, reported getting death threats that stemmed in part from a dispute over whether it was acceptable to delete impolitic comments left by visitors to someone's personal website.

Distraught over the threats and manipulated photos of her that were posted on other critical sites - including one that depicted her head next to a noose - Ms Sierra cancelled a speaking appearance at a trade show.

She also asked the local police for help in finding the source of the threats.

NEW YORK TIMES