[WikiEN-l] Freedom of Speech in WP

[Stan Shebs]

Marc Riddell wrote:
> But, in the context of WP, how does this apply? How does what two people say
> to each other on their personal Talk Pages disrupt the Project? For that
> matter, in that two-way conversation, if it is one person flailing at the
> other, can¹t that other person simply not respond? How does what one person
> writes in this Mailing List disrupt the progress of an issue being
> discussed? Simply ignore it ­ or, as computer challenged as I am, even I
> know where the DELETE button is :-).
>   
I suppose if someone had a note on their user page - "no need to be 
civil here", then it could be an exception to the general rule. I don't 
think there are very many people in that category though. One of the 
interesting aspects of online communication is that body language and 
nonverbal cues seem to be more important than anybody ever realized - 
misunderstandings in online interaction happen far more, and are more 
likely to spiral out of control. For instance, somebody could be saying 
something nasty-sounding in person, but they're smiling and relaxed 
while saying it, so you know they're probably leading up to a sardonic 
joke. Satire without a smiley face is routinely taken seriously, no 
matter how well-written. People who are good editors, but take other 
people's statement to heart, can get so upset that they no longer want 
to work in WP, and that's certainly a loss to the project. So the 
civility rule is partly about backing down to a level that reduces hurt 
and misunderstandings across a broad range of individuals.

The civility rule is also for one's own self-protection - everything you 
say online is publicly visible and recorded forever. I don't know about 
other people, but I've had things I've written online quoted back at me 
in job interviews - fortunately they were good things!

Stan