Browsing through the online comments on my Sunday column about Duane North, the would-be tourist in Vietnam who was immediately deported for lack of a visa, I'm struck once again by the refrain I've heard since this feature debuted: "This isn't a Whistleblower story!" It's actually encouraging to me that readers have decided for yourselves what is, and isn't, a Whistleblower story. And that you're so eager to tell our team about it.

Every story we do has an element of personal responsibility. Everyone who takes out a mortgage or makes an investment or buys an airline ticket signs a contract. I can't think of a single story that I've written under the Whistleblower aegis that hasn't prompted at least one reader to say, "This isn't news. It's obviously that whiner's fault, if [he or she] hadn't made that decision, none of it would have happened."

In Mr. North's case, commenters piled on, finding no sympathy for North's fate because of his own admitted blunders. But imagine if he had made these travel arrangements 20 years ago, when buying an airline ticket and a hotel room meant sitting down at a desk with a professional in an office. Do you think he would have left that office without knowing he needed a visa to travel to Vietnam? The printout that he got from a friend's computer showing his travel arrangements told him there was a toll-free number to find out visa requirements. But he would have to go online to find out what that toll-free number is. Whistleblower team researcher Jane Friedmann discovered that the State Department doesn't even have a phone number for that kind of information.

Finally, Whistleblower is all about investigating the stories of people who talk about bad things that happened to them. From the moment Duane North called me, I wanted to know: how could this happen? If the answer to that question points the finger at a company or an organization, or merely to the individual's mistakes, I'll leave that with you. I just want to ensure I give you enough information to make that call.