On 19/12/06, Abigail Brady morwen@evilmagic.org wrote:
On 12/19/06, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
Yes. AGF can be thought of as a nicer way of saying "Never assume malice when incompetence will suffice."
For historical interest, you may which to see the initial version of AGF that I wrote. It wasn't some "let's all hug and be happy" type thing, it was some practical notes about how assuming good faith is a good debating tactic because you can give your opponent Enough Rope (tm).
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Assume_good_faith&ol...
-- Abi
I don't think it is okay to assume malice. If you think something is malice you should have some proof, including an effort to discern the nature of the action. I guess it depends also on whether you are thinking about the idea in the context of a discussion, or in the context of vandalism on articles or otherwise.
Peter Ansell