> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On
> Behalf Of Erik Reuter
[snip]
> Maybe you're not trying the right things. Almost every single message
> between Jeroen and I that seems to offend you was in a single thread. My
> mail reader, mutt, threaded them all and put them contiguously with
> arrows indicating the hierarchy. I can just hit "next thread" to skip
> the entire thread in an instant.
I haven't said anything about individual messages offending me. What I said
is that I'm sick of checking the list and seeing that you guys are still
trying to establish who has the bigger... no, that's not it. Who is the
bigger... no, that's not it, either. Anyway, it's not about me being
offended by any messages.
> > Even if I could automate this, intuition tells me that that slicing
> > and dicing by a significant portion of the active participants will
> > destroy the ineffable forces hold communities together.
>
> So, in order to make your experience better, you require others to avoid
> saying things that upset you. Don't you see a problem with that?
Yes, I see a problem with it -- the problem is that it's not at all what
I've said. I said I'm sick of it. I've offered suggestions for ways to get
past the unpleasantness. That's it. Go ahead and continue to behave as you
have been. You are most certainly free to do so. And I'll be free to go
back to what I was doing for the last few weeks, which was to largely ignore
Brin-l. I'm not interested in winning an argument here, I'm only interested
in making it a better place and continuing to think about what makes on-line
communities work, or not. You can do whatever you like with my criticism;
it has value aside from any benefit you might receive.
> The difference is, your way is hardly feasible in a diverse group since
> just about everything will offend someone. My way, tolerance, will work
> with everyone who accepts that they should force their will on others as
> minimally as possible.
But I do believe in minimal force, and your behavior here isn't working for
me. But I also don't believe that your actions fit these words. The fact
that your force is offered passively (distracting Jeroen from attacking
Mark, for example) doesn't make it any less forceful.
> I guess you are saying you want a homogeneous
> group where everyone agrees on what is offensive and everyone has the
> same opinions, whereas I prefer or diverse group of tolerant people who
> can discuss anything.
You don't know what I believe, then. And you clearly don't understand what
kind of rules are necessary for freedom to think creatively, which is real
freedom of thought and speech. "Discuss" is an awfully kind word for what
you and Jeroen have been doing here.
Nick
