[Commons-l] Commons-l Digest, Vol 69, Issue 21 - Friendliness

[Alex Brollo]

2011/2/28 <Turelio001 at aol.com>

> "users from Germany are the root of the problem" (Lars Aronsson, Commons-l,
> 27 Feb 2011)
>
> Wow. I never expected to read such a phrase on Commons-l. Though I hate to
> possibly fulfil Godwin's law, when reading Aronsson's above cited claim, the
> infamous Nazi slogan "The Jews are our misfortune" (sv: "Judarna är vår
> olycka") came to my mind.
>

I don't like some statements of this 3d. My English skill is very limited,
and what I'd like to tell is rather complex, so please consider this point
when reading.... don't be hurted: I don't want to hurt anyone.

First of all: thanks to any admin engaged in partolling and fixing
innumerable mistakes that I currently do.

Second. I learnt from Konrad Lorentz how difficult is communication between
different cultures. The same behaviour, the same gesture, the same words can
sound perfectly sound or very cold and hurting: it's simply a matter of
differencies in habits and conventions, with different, deep roots into
local culture. I presume that such feel of kindness / rudeness emerges too
from written language, just like it emerges from body language.

Third. I'd like that any new user could be alerted about this point. A new
user have no idea about troubles of patrolling, and about how hard, and
annoying, such a work is; nor he can imagine the number of edits that are
needed to try to keep consistent something complex as Commons, and the mean
time that a patroller can devoid to any one edit (five seconds? two
seconds?). So, I presume that a big effort is needed to let new users known
about this point, much more than trying to write "kind statements" that
invariably will turn out far from perfect, in one or the other cultural,
specific setting.

Alex
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