Book: Captain, you mind if I say grace? Mal: Only if you say it out loud.

'Serenity'


Bureaucracy 2: Like Sartre, Only Longer  

A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.

Current Stompy Feet: ita, Jon B, DXMachina, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych


Fred Pete - Apr 01, 2004 5:29:37 am PST #8754 of 10005
Ann, that's a ferret.

If it's unacceptable behaivor to, say, make a personal insult it's still unacceptable even if the person has done good things for the group.

In fact, to me it's a little worse. A person who's a fixture around here DOES know better. If anything, the apology and any amends should be all the quicker because of that knowledge.

I can't argue with the above. Especially since so many of us know other Buffistas offline as well as on.

But our policing system depends on people calling others on unacceptable behavior. And it's human nature to take a comment in context. People are more likely to overlook a wrong post from someone they know, someone who's played by the rules over months or years.

Maybe that's a flaw in our system. We're not perfect. But the new kid in town always faces problems fitting in. And I don't think we do a bad job of dealing with newbies.


bicyclops - Apr 01, 2004 5:30:59 am PST #8755 of 10005

Of COURSE there is an innner circle.

I think it's more like a nebula or dust cloud. There's no circular edge to define the binary state IN or OUT. You can be closer to the center or further away. You can move based on your behavior. Social capital can be thought of as inversely proportional to your distance from the center.


Fred Pete - Apr 01, 2004 5:33:09 am PST #8756 of 10005
Ann, that's a ferret.

Clash of beliefs. It's all very interesting to me.

And it would be a very dull board if we all thought alike. I mean, there's only so much Spike to go around.


Allyson - Apr 01, 2004 5:33:51 am PST #8757 of 10005
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica

I doubt anyone is the American dollar, though.

I'm two chickens.


Steph L. - Apr 01, 2004 5:34:42 am PST #8758 of 10005
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe

It's happened a good deal here. I remember a heated "The military SUCKS!" "*I* have a brother in the military!" mini-fluffle, and I think some social capital was applied there by some people.

That's where we lost Jen, actually.

I remember. That's why I said "some social capital was applied there by SOME people." We could easily have lost more people.


Jessica - Apr 01, 2004 5:36:16 am PST #8759 of 10005
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

You can't legislate the humanity away. You can just urge people to remember just because it looks like ethernet packets when it hits your computer doesn't mean it didn't start out organic. With brain chemistry.

If you want social capital to disappear, you need to start outside this narrow hall.

Very well said, ita. Thank you.


Allyson - Apr 01, 2004 5:38:16 am PST #8760 of 10005
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica

No one has to tiptoe around the Jen K/Allyson kerfuffle. Time has passed, I think I can discuss my personal responsibility on that without heat.


Astarte - Apr 01, 2004 5:40:22 am PST #8761 of 10005
Not having has never been the thing I've regretted most in my life. Not trying is.

I'm not in every thread, but I can't think of a single personal attack being posted by anyone, new, old, popular or un, in recent memory.

I'd say I've seen two in the last two days.

No, I will not name the examples, since YPAMV, but since you asked, Jess, I'll answer the question.


Trudy Booth - Apr 01, 2004 5:41:49 am PST #8762 of 10005
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart

We could easily have lost more people.

We probably did.


Jessica - Apr 01, 2004 5:42:32 am PST #8763 of 10005
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

And were they dealt with in-thread? Did anyone ask for a warning to be issued?

Why are we discussing this in such vague terms if there are specific incidents that should be addressed?

[edited to clarify: I feel like there are two groups of people in this conversation. There are people who know what's being discussed, and people who don't. And if the people in the first group aren't willing to let the rest of us in on what's really going on, then perhaps it should be dealt with in backchannel. The vague accusations are helping no one.]