"Credibility" vs. "etiquette": keep in mind the reader's point of view

I'm working on an article for Tech Republic that discusses the posting of items on forums or chat sessions. My original title was going to deal with "etiquette when posting online."

I thought about that title, and then said to myself, "Who is ever going to read an article with that title?" Is that a dull and boring topic, or what?

Then I thought some more, and said to myself, "how can I make the title more attractive?" I thought even more, and said, "Well, if people fail to follow my advice, they could end up sounding less persuasive, or more foolish."

Therefore, what about a title such as "How to protect and enhance your credibility when posting to discussion groups"? Isn't that a better title? It conveys a more concrete benefit to the reader, right? Keep this thought in mind in your own writing and presentations, i.e. try to stress how your material benefits the reader.

Joe Pruitt, of DevCentral, discussed my Computerworld article

Joe Pruitt, host of DevCentral, recently discussed my Computerworld article on career suicide. A video of Mr. Pruitt is at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0SDlvoSMA


Here is a link to Mr. Pruitt's blog:
http://devcentral.f5.com/weblogs/dcdaily

The Computerworld article

How to resolve the diet dilemma?

No matter what your job or where it's located, the ability to work through differences with others is key to your career success.

How would you handle the following situation? It's based on something that happened a long time ago, but I've updated it to fit today's context. Let me know your thoughts. I'll post the actual results shortly:

You have been selected for a leadership development program. For six weeks, you will be at a special training location, where you will learn topics such as communications, resolving conflicts and dealing with change. During your time at this location, you are to eat a special diet that will enhance your learning and your overall fitness.

The trouble is, this diet violates certain religious beliefs you have. You'd rather not take part in this diet. However, your stance has created a problem for the manager of the leadership program. This person is concerned that your failure to take the diet will affect your appearance and your performance, and hence will hurt this person in his/her own career. You don't want to cause harm to this person's career, but you also want to be true your religious beliefs, and you want to stay in the program and company.

What do you do?

Should I have told?

In my Computerworld article "5 Easy Steps to Career Suicide," I relate an incident in which I call a client company and reach a person there that I haven't done work for previously. I tell that person that "Carl" (my client contact, and therefore a co-worker of this person) has been pleased with my work. The person said in response, "Why should I care what Carl thinks?"

In other words, one person in the organization is "dissing" another person to me, an outsider. This remark demonstrates a lack of unity and professionalism on the part of the person I called.

As you can guess, that call really went nowhere. Afterwards, I didn't do anything in follow up. However, I'm wondering if I should have told "Carl" what this person said. On the one hand, it's good for him to have a "heads up." Also, that person never really expected that remark to be confidential. On the other hand, might "Carl" "shoot the messenger?" And, does it make me a tattle-tale?

What do you think?