On Thu, 6 Dec 2007, Guy Chapman aka JzG wrote:
If you create anti-Giano type rules because you want anti-Sweaty-Cunt type rules, your rules need a little more fine tuning. Don't use extreme examples of something to justify going against the non-extreme examples.
Anti-Giano rules? Which rules do we have that were designed to inhibit Giano's article writing?
Please don't interpret statements with ridiculous levels of literalness. It should be clear that I meant "rules aimed at this behavior of Giano's", even if they aren't literally anti-Giano in the sense of not letting him do anything at all.
The point is that Giano *isn't* Sweaty Cunt; his behavior was much milder and had at least some justification behind it. If you have to justify preventing Giano's behavior by claiming you're preventing Sweaty Cunt's behavior, there's something wrong.
I'm sort of reminded of the spoiler warning argument. Opponents kept pointing to spoilers on Romeo and Juliet and nursery rhymes. Was the ban on spoiler warnings limited to Romeo and Juliet or nursery rhymes, or equally serious cases? Of course not. The extreme examples were used as an excuse to justify banning the less extreme examples.