On 1/31/07, charles.r.matthews@ntlworld.com charles.r.matthews@ntlworld.com wrote:
Marc Riddell wrote
I have been doing minor editing in WP for a year now and, time permitting, would
like to
participate more actively in the project. And, like anything a person is considering becoming a part of, I want to get a sense of its beliefs and values.
My work and passion has been, is now, and probably always will be,
persons
and their interactions. That is why this issue is so important to me.
An argument I have produced before, is that bad language and aggressiveness as a routine form of interaction appeals mostly to the young and male. It happens that males 20 to 25 might be the most significant group here. I think it is also the case that such forms of verbal interaction and self-assertion are likely to put off many other demographic groups. So civility policy is one way of trying to broaden the base of contributors, or to retain people who profile is not a good match to those who think freedom of speech is mostly about the right to be f****** rude all the time.
Charles
I totally agree with this; being civil is a good way of ensuring that you're trying to interact in a positive manner with all possible types of contributors. Online, you never know who's on the receiving end of your comments: what their background is, what their beliefs are, or how they'll take something you'll say.
As for free speech, the vast majority of the time it's possible to get ideas across either politely or offensively. I can say "I don't agree with this policy, and here's why <list of thoughtful reasons here>"; or I can resort to Godwin's law: "people who support this policy are nazis and fuckheads!" Generally, the former should carry more weight. That's not about free speech; it's about being coherent and respectful of other people (both their time and their intelligence); we are, as Charles said, colleagues here trying to get work done on a project. This isn't (shouldn't be?) a forum for acting out simply because you can*.
-- phoebe
* unless maybe the end result is really, really entertaining.