[Foundation-l] Plea for candidates: WMF Movement Communications Manager

[Ray Saintonge]

On 04/15/11 4:02 PM, Sarah wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 16:53, Risker<risker.wp at gmail.com>  wrote:
>> On 15 April 2011 18:36, Sarah<slimvirgin at gmail.com>  wrote
>>> On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 16:30, David Gerard<dgerard at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>>> * Should you have been consulted?
>>> But here we see something that happens on this list a lot. Someone
>>> questions or disagrees, and they're attacked. Why is that? What is it
>>> that makes questioning a bad thing?
>> I'm sorry that you're feeling beleaguered, Sarah; that is not my intention.
> It wasn't you, Risker. It was David's comment: "Should you have been consulted?"
>
> I am tired of seeing these comments on this list. It's the first time
> one has been directed at me, but I've watched other people be treated
> the same way. It makes no sense. Questioning, disagreement, and
> transparency are important; it's what Wikimedia is all about, in fact.
> I know people sometimes go too far, and occasionally gentle rebukes
> may be needed, but they happen way too often on this list, with very
> little provocation -- and they're not gentle.
>
> We can't say we want new editors, old editors to stay, and a good
> atmosphere onwiki, then have these kinds of exchanges.
>
It is a valid point about David's comment. Maybe us old hands have 
become too accustomed to David's sarcasm. Other than that it seems to 
have been a conversation where one person was offside to everybody else. 
I've been there before and know how uncomfortable it can become.  The 
insensitive comment was certainly not essential to the main topic of the 
thread,  but if in raising it the only result would be to have David 
personally change his ways nothing of significance to the community 
would have been accomplished.  One person would have been fixed while 
the rest of us could go smugly on believing that that was the end of it.

The continuum from valid on-topic comments, through insensitive sarcasm 
to outright personal attacks is not made up of discrete and easily 
identifiable steps.  Where is the middle ground between insensitivity 
and hypersensitivity.

Ray