Charlene Li of Forrester Research has been scribbling a great deal about blogging ethics, and how an explicit policy can engender trust:

Charlene Li

[from Charlene Li's Blog: Blogging policy examples]

Sample Blogger Code of Ethics

1. I will tell the truth.
2. I will write deliberately and with accuracy.
3. I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly.
4. I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes so as to maintain the integrity of my publishing.
5. I will never delete a post.
6. I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic.
7. I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly.
8. I will strive for high quality with every post – including basic spellchecking.
9. I will stay on topic.
10. I will disagree with other opinions respectfully.
11. I will link to online references and original source materials directly.
12. I will disclose conflicts of interest.
13. I will keep private issues and topics private, since discussing private issues would jeopardize my personal and work relationships.

I intend to noodle over this template, as well as others (like David Weinberger's Joho Disclosure, and bbrown.info). I would like to collect other samples, if people could stream them in.