On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 7:19 AM, ChaoticFluffy <chaoticfluffy(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:
Pete Forsyth's strategy looks good on paper, but my feeling is that for this
particular *type* of uncivil editor (as opposed to
your garden-variety
editor who happens to have lost his temper), an approach of something like
"you know, you're talking to real people, and your words can come across
somewhat hurtful to those people" is usually met with "I'm polite to
people
I respect, and I don't respect those people", which is simply no solution at
all. Editors who see the right to not be yelled at or name-called as a
privilege someone has to earn, rather than as a default right, are, in my
opinion, not well-suited to wikipedia.
-Fluffernutter
Yes, maybe there is a mismatch here between the kind of situation Ryan
describes and the experience I was reporting. Sorry if this comment was a
distraction; I absolutely agree that there are cases where a stronger
response is called for.
I think one of the big challenges is that strategies for coping with
incivility on a day-to-day basis are often at odds with broader strategies
to effect systemic change. Sometimes, the only way to get through a specific
situation with one's sanity and dignity intact involves a bit of appeasing
or lenience; but in the long run, appeasing and lenience make civility
issues more difficult to solve. I don't think there's an easy answer to this
tension, but I do think that talking about the various relevant experiences
we've had will be useful; so I'm glad this discussion is taking place.
I agree completely, by the way, that the "I have earned the right to respect
or disrespect whomever I please" meme should be stamped out and burned with
fire.
-Pete