Off-World, you're making some good points, I think. Insults can fall anywhere
on a line continuum, from a 1 to a 10, with sarcasm being a 1. So where do we
draw the line on the line? Well, sarcasm is considered a fair strategy in a
formal debate. Name-calling isn't. Implying that someone's reasoning isn't
sound, or even saying so outright, is also allowed in a formal debate.
Outrightly calling someone stupid isn't.
It is inconsistent, now that you've pointed it out to me. But somehow, people
have to be able to talk together without hurting or angering one another to the
point of a discussion being wrecked. When things get personal, egos rise and
the subject under discussion gets lost in the emotional havoc. I think that's
why there are rules in public debates, in chat rooms, even in wrestling
matches. Certain words or actions are just above and beyond what the consensus
sees to be fair.
You punch a guy in a certain place in the ring, and you're out. You punch him
in another spot on his body, and the crowd goes wild with cheers. Pretty
inconsistent. But there's a line, everyone knows what it is, and they know if
you cross it the referee will blow his whistle and a penalty will result. That
is limiting in a way, but the very limits allow for the sport to happen. If
there were no limits defined, the sport would turn into a brawl. Then there'd
be no sport at all.
What would a basketball game be with no rules? There wouldn't be a game.
Rules -- the good ones -- exist to promote the game, to protect people's fun,
not to spoil it. After much discussion by all of us, Rick, as moderator, drew
the line that defined what our policy would be: if it's not acceptable saying
it at a party, it's not acceptable saying it here. Sarcasm at a party would be
acceptable. Calling people assholes to their face would not be, even if the
other guy had provoked the remark.
Rick is by nature a sweet and gentle guy who values friendship and peace.
That's why we all like him. It's not easy for him putting on a referree shirt
and having to blow a whistle. He's not by nature the referee type. I'm sure he
didn't think he was signing up for that when he started FFL. Now he's trying to
get the chat room on track as an enjoyable place to visit, and it's turning out
to demand things from him he wasn't expecting. He can learn to do the job, but
we could make it lots easier on him and ourselves if we self-monitor a little
and hit the backspace key sometimes when we get too worked up writing a post.
- Bronte
off_world_beings <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
--- In [email protected], "lurkernomore20002000" <
<<Far, far better than the usual fare
of this page.>>
Derogatory remark about the whole group. Insulting the intelligence of
the whole group = Flaming.
OffWorld
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