Schmoker, I think the principle I follow is, if
anyone
says they were offended by what you wrote, apologise.
Apologise, using the words "I'm sorry if what I wrote offended you", even if you think they're being absurdly literal and incredibly oversensitive.
Look at it this way -- there are only two possible situations. Either you wrote what you wrote
intending to piss people off,
or you didn't.
According to you, you didn't. Which is good, because that kind of thing is against the rules of the board.
So, proceeding on that assumption, here's the situation: you didn't mean to offend, but, bad luck, you accidentally did. So you're sorry, Q.E.D.
You can be sorry with gritted teeth and say under your breath "you absurdly literal, incredibly sensitive person you!" but you really should be sorry. Otherwise this isn't really the right place for you.
(John. AIM? Need to talk.)
I'm pleased to be used as an example of behaviour that might startle new members,
Jesse is a WILLOW-LOVING FREAK!!
because it does point out that some otherwise startling behaviour is acceptable knowing the poster and knowing the context. But I will reitereate John's post - if you offend, apologise. It seems pretty basic.
Agreed re: the variable stompiness of stompers (i.e., there isn't any unless it's stated as such).
And furthermore, for the most part stompy feet are generally administrative, and won't necessarily get involved in mediating typical disagreements. [This is, of course, my opinion. Feet please feel free to discuss. Naturally, if something starts heading out of control, we'll do what we need to do to head it off.]
We're all mature here, and I think we can settle our misunderstandings and arguments among ourselves, in the context of the discussion. The best way may often be to say, "Hey, it's getting hotter in here than I meant for it too. Truce?" It's graceful, it's adult (whether or not we, in fact, are adults) and it maintains a positive environment, which is what we all want. Right?
While not technically an adult, I certainly agree with Liese. I'm sure I've made comments that have come off as more Cordelia-esque than intended, and when that happens I definitely want to know so I can avoid it in the future. In a situation where a remark seems to be taken too literally, it's perhaps the tone of the post that offends more than the content. And the tone may be unintentional. So we should be polite. And damn, I had a point somewhere. Where'd it go?
Could we have an admin-only ID that would be used to make it clear when someone was acting as a stompy? Not (necessarily, though it wouldn't hurt) for starting threads or whatever, I'm thinking specifically of etiquette warnings.
Who was that masked, er, person?
My problem with the admin account is that there isn't a faceless omnipotent admin. There are official statements presented by one of a very faceful group of mortals. I don't think that should disappear.
