Sounder mailing list etiquette and future direction

[Robert Holtzman]

On Fri, Dec 04, 2009 at 05:00:56PM +0000, Liam Proven wrote:
> 
> Damned if I know what you hope to achieve, then.
> 
> 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.

Damn, you beat me to it. I was going to post something very similar.
These people want the same bland white bread atmosphere that now exists
in our (US) schools. I, for one, get tired of being told I must walk on
egg shells because of someone's overly delicate sensibilities. 

-- 
Bob Holtzman
Key ID: 8D549279
"If you think you're getting free lunch,
 check the price of the beer"
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