From: Alex Ramonsky (alex@ramonsky.com)
Date: Mon Aug 12 2002 - 18:49:08 MDT
Harvey Newstrom wrote:
>
> On Monday, August 12, 2002, at 03:45 am, Alex Ramonsky wrote:
>
>>> It would be such a simple thing to agree to halt all communication
>>> with anybody using personal abuse. Let them post; just don't reply,
>>> _Except_ for a cut-off one-liner, such as "This discussion has
>>> descended into personal abuse and is no longer a reliable indication
>>> of sentient thought. I therefore withdraw." If half a dozen people
>>> posted that in reply to abuse, and then _kept their word_ the abuse
>>> would have nowhere to go, and the people would have a reputation for
>>> competence in communication.
>>> Does _this_ really need to be said?
>>
>
> Sadly, I have tried this approach, but it doesn't work. The abuser
> usually keeps on abusing. Every one-liner is likely to prompt them to
> reiterate their why their viewpoint isn't abuse. Supporters on the
> other side of the argument will see such a one-liner itself to be a
> form of abuse and an attempt to end their sentient thought. The
> following silence will allow them to continue their abuse unabated.
But who reads the abuser's posts? Who replies to them? If nobody does,
the abuser may as well not exist.
Another list I'm on has the 'football' system (english soccer, that
is)...Anyone out of order gets a 'yellow card' from the list owner or
admin. This is a warning, and the offender can ask why. If they
transgress again, they are off the list for a few months ('red card').
Appeals are allowed in case of misunderstandings. It's harsh, but it
works. It's list quality censorship by the owners and originators of
that list. I don't see a problem with this. If people don't like it they
can start their own lists, can't they?
...Or perhaps I'm just a secret list-control tyrant : ) Next it will
be the Site Police fining you for topic drift and someone getting
arrested for uploading without a license? Stop me now.
Narf!
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