Subject:
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Re: Are we all too nice?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Sun, 29 Oct 2000 14:46:08 GMT
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Viewed:
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199 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Todd Lehman writes:
> This is ultimately a CFD (call for discussion) for a new newsgroup, but also
> asking what I think may be an important question. It's a taboo question, so
> do try to keep an open mind.
Okay, I read it and left it for a few days. I'll be honest that
I didn't really think about it that much in that time. But here's
my thoughts.
> The question is: Are we trying to be too nice to one another?
Nothing wrong with being "too nice". But there is also nothing
wrong with being politely direct (civil) to get a point across
in a disagreement. I would say we tend to err into the former
to prevent bad things stirring up in the latter. This is not
good as, as many have already said, opinions not concretely
expressed won't particularly convey anything of value. We
have to say what we mean, even if it doesn't sound all
sweet like :]
> Now let me switch gears.
>
> Why is there an .off-topic tree of ng's here? Is it to encourage non-LEGO
Todd, the moment I read this part I knew that you were going to
suggest a .flame group. And sure enough a few paragraphs later
there it was:
> I am wondering what people would think if there were a group
>
> lugnet.off-topic.debate.flame
And my reaction was pretty much "Nnnnoooooooo"... Okay, maybe
it wasn't that strong. I did the let it stew thing and my
opinion still hasn't really changed. But with more thought
to it, here's why I think this should not be created.
People want to vent/flame beause someone really got them
cheezed off over something. The only way to satisfy that
is to vent back at that person. If they are not available
for that, then they may look for other targets. (In the
real world this can produce fearsome results...)
If when we hit that frustration level we only have an empty
room to go to to yell in, it does nothing for us. It
may not be heard and so is generally empty fulfillment. So
the premise of creating this group to help people in this
manner doesn't work in my opinion. If people want to do
that now they can technically go rant in the .test group
all they want. Same deal. Nobody listens.
If we want to be productive about it, then we need a way for
people to air their disputes. And we have that I believe.
Arguments go to .debate (yeah, I'll say arguments), and
personal beefs go to email. Simple as that. And both of
these can and do work.
I know I'm going to regret bringing up this analogy[1],
as analogies always get debated to the nth-degree, but
here it is anyway:
In Ottawa, one of the large shopping complexes in the
downtown used to have these enclosed (and heated!)
sidewalks along along the street. It was a major
hub for the transit buses for the entire city, so
all the bus stops basically had protection from
the elements. Very pleasant to have in an Ottawa
winter!!
But these "indoor sidwalks" were also frequented by
a number of homeless people and "panhandlers". And
why not? It was "indoor", and a very high traffic
area. But as always everyone thought that the
whole deal was unpleasant and something needed to
be done about it. So all of the enclosures were
torn down and the sidewalks reverted to ordinary
fully exposed sidewalks. (For reference this
was pretty much an entire block's worth of sidewalk
on both sides of the street.)
Problem solved now right? No more places for the
homeless to hang out and pester the goodly citizens.
My meandering point: don't take a "good thing" and
detract from it to solve a "bad thing". Address
the bad thing directly.
So to all of us posters, use .debate and email as
required to solve your problems. To Todd, use your
discretionary powers as required to deal with
unacceptable public outbursts. Even if we had the
.flame group, they would still show up in the
other groups. People is people. Just have to
deal with it case by case.
[1] I don't guarantee my view of this analogy to
be historically accurate. But as it is only just
an analogy, then it need not be accurate, correct?
Enough for me..., off to deal with some MOCs. It seems
*somebody*, and a truly evil person at that, started
a classic space design contest ;]
KDJ
________________________________________________________
Kyle D. Jackson, LUGNETer #203, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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