Jimmy Wales wrote:
Now, does anybody else think that orders of "zero
tolerance and shoot
on sight" seem to fit better for the East German Stasi guarding the
Berlin Wall than for anything on Wikipedia? Where's the Wikilove in
that? (Have I just triggered some relative of Godwin's Law?)
Folks, before you write this off as an excessive rant - please think about
it some.
Yes, think about everything some. But also realize that there is such a
thing as an excessive rant from someone who really really has crossed
the line in comparing a 24 hour block for trolling to the "East German
Stasi".
Just to be clear, Jimbo, Dan wasn't comparing the Stasi to Durova's
block, but rather to your request to shoot on sight. I agree that his
post was hyperbolic, presumably for effect. But wasn't your bit about
shooting also hyperbole?
Having read a fair bit from both of you, I subtracted that hyperbole to
get to what I think are the serious meanings. But I think Marc's point
is that for people who don't know the background, it's easy to
misunderstand. For example, when David refers to a class of people as
"the idiots", I read it as what I might call, "the less helpful
participants, some of whom I trust will become better contributors down
the line". To-may-to, to-mah-to.
If I understand rightly, Marc is concerned that a lot of people take
these harsh words too literally, absorbing an attitude that subtly
causes deleterious social effects. Personally, as a guy with friends who
lovingly bandy insult and obscenity on a daily basis, it doesn't worry
me much. But plain text is a notoriously easy medium to be misunderstood
in, so like Marc, I think it's worth a little thought.
William
--
William Pietri <william(a)scissor.com>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:William_Pietri