but that

doesn't necessarily mean that we should use policy and admin tools instead of persuasion and other tools (such as content policies about verifiability and notability) to address them ...

I had an

experience myself when I made a statement to someone which from my perspective was a statement of fact, and the other party took it as an insult. I don't apologize for what I said since from my perspective it was valid, and the other party has not apologized for their reaction, but the point is that defining what constitutes a personal attack or harassment can be a very subjective business and I'm not sure to what extent I would trust an AI to evaluate what constitutes a personal attack or harassment in a wide range of contexts.

Hey Pine, A little persuasive rhetoric from a friend here. :)

I do agree with you that talking about these things with one another is probably more fruitful than Yet Another Policy. So how do we make space for that? How do we encourage open, honest, emotionally available discussions around what can be very hard conversations? Talking about feelings for many cultures is still very difficult. Even here in the midwest United States, guys talking about how they feel is still seen as effeminate by many. Unfortunately.

How can we elevate the awareness that despite intent, sometimes we can insult people. Knowing how to discuss feelings and that we comfortable doing so may help greatly in the perception and actuality of harassment on our projects.

I'm thinking of the example you give in my own experiences working with folks in the movement. It's important to talk about these things and try to figure out the nuance in our behaviors and how folks reading our often public discourse can get an impression of us that isn't representative of our individual selves or the movement as a whole.

Semi-related, I just read this interesting article about how to apologize. I'm not trying to admonish you here! It just seemed relevant. :) How can we build a toolkit of awareness for emotionally-connected responses like what is expressed in this article around apologizing?

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2017/06/these-apology-critics-want-to-teach-you...

Yours, Chris Koerner Community Liaison - Discovery Wikimedia Foundation