Sounder mailing list etiquette and future direction

[Cybe R. Wizard]

On Fri, 4 Dec 2009 17:00:56 +0000
Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com> wrote:

> Part of the nature of humour, free-ranging discussion and learning is
> sarcasm, irony & a modicum of gentle mockery. Prevent me from using
> these techniques, you are restricting my freedom of expression. When I
> am restricted from expressing myself, in effect, I consider myself to
> be censored, and I am not tolerating that.
> 
> Basically, to me, all these comments about "people shouldn't need to
> be thick-skinned" and so on sound like some idealistic and impossible
> desire to create some lovey-huggy
> let's-everyone-be-nice-to-everyone-else-all-the-time-OR-ELSE sort of
> atmosphere, like some kind of demented kindergarten class with a
> far-too-strict leader.
> 
> Not only am I not willing to play along with these rules, but frankly,
> I find such insipid and characterless discussions - something I find a
> particularly American sort of tone in some online fora - to be
> hatefully and intolerably dull.
> 
> In other words, by attempting to *force* everyone to "play nice" or be
> banned, the only result is to kill open discussion and debate.
> 
> I'm not saying there should be no guidelines at all. I know - although
> have absolutely zero sympathy - that some people find certain
> swear-words or explicit mention of sex violently offensive. I agree,
> reluctantly, that this should not be allowed. (But then, in Scott
> Adam's blog today, the comment board auto-censored the word "shaved",
> which is manifestly ridiculous.)
> 
> OTOH, the chap here that kept issuing some kind of muslim dedication -
> that is violently offensive to me, as a hardcore atheist. I am not
> posting any message dedicated to anyone's  god, nor am I even replying
> to one. I myself would move for a total ban on all mention of any
> religion, including those to me rather hateful sigs proclaiming that
> people espouse any particular variety of primitive superstition.
> 
> But attempting to moderate out, or enforce rules to get rid of, banter
> and joshing, and you're castrating a community and a tone.
> 
> You may not kill it, but you will very probably turn it into somewhere
> I have no interest in reading or participating in.
> 
> Summary: be careful what you wish for.

Very well-stated.  You couldn't have possibly expressed my own attitude
more fully.  I do like Ubuntu and hope that it doesn't come to
censorship here (or on the users list) but, if it does, I am long gone
and for just those reasons.  

Debian /does/ await.  So does (spit) Mint.  ...and many, many more...

"Humanity," seems to be the catchword of the day but it seems that few
really know what humans do/are.

Cybe R. Wizard
-- 
The censors and bookburners are more of a danger to 
civilization than the Hitlers and Hussiens!
They only kill people - the censors kill ideas!
	Ærchie Ærchive