Ryan....no.  I'm sorry, but there are very good reasons why I would not be
supporting any such initiative from you.  I think you are well aware of
what they are.  Frankly, some of the stuff I see being referred to as a
personal attack should get the person calling it a personal attack blocked.

Risker

On 24 February 2016 at 22:20, Ryan Kaldari <[email protected]> wrote:

> What I don't understand is if administrators like Risker and Mike Peel are
> so concerned about civility on Wikipedia that they object to Keliana's
> swearing, why aren't they the people that are making hard blocks against
> vested contributors who are unambiguously violating civility with personal
> attacks? Instead, Keliana is the one doing that. She's the one actually
> putting herself on the line to try to change the civility climate on
> Wikipedia. Banning swear words from the Signpost isn't going to do that.
> Consistently blocking users who attack other editors as "worthless" or
> "low-lifes" or "idiots" (or a million other non-swearing insults) will.
>
> Risker: I will be happy to support a ban on swearing if you will support a
> ban on personal attacks and be willing to act on it. What do you say?
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 7:03 PM, Pete Forsyth <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Regarding "swearing is not in itself uncivil" --
>>
>> I agree strongly with that sentiment. However, in group communication it
>> can be valuable to have clear lines that must not be crossed, in order to
>> keep everybody on the same page. As an analogy, it seems to me that a clear
>> expectation of avoiding ALL CAPS in various Internet forums has been
>> positive. It's not that anybody thinks all caps is in itself uncivil or
>> disrespectful; but very often, they are used in ways that accompany
>> disrespectful communication. Establishing, and adhering to, a clear
>> expectation of avoiding that format tends to keep people cognizant of the
>> idea that their mode of expression matters.
>>
>> I am not suggesting that the Signpost should rigidly adhere to a "no
>> swearing" rule. But I do think it would be good (as you have already
>> acknowledged) for varying expectations around swearing to be incorporated
>> more carefully into future decisions.
>>
>> Also, Daniel raises a good point. I had forgotten that Emily had joined
>> ArbCom. I agree, that probably colors many people's reactions, whether or
>> not it's consciously acknowledged. Another analogy...a good friend of mine
>> is a judge, and also a big fan of rock music. I have always been impressed
>> with her courage in resisting the unwritten expectation that she would
>> steer clear of dive bars and house parties. But as I got to know her, I
>> realized that she put a great deal of thought into how she conducted
>> herself in such venues. You might find her at a table of people
>> pontificating about a local news story, but you wouldn't find her weighing
>> in. You might see her with a drink in her hand, but you wouldn't see her
>> drunk. And you might hear her expressing strong opinions (unrelated to what
>> she would hear in court), but you wouldn't hear her swearing. It's not that
>> she felt that strong opinions, getting drunk, or swearing were awful things
>> -- but given her position, they were things that could compromise her
>> relationship with the people she served. My takeaway -- I think there are
>> many good reasons for people (and perhaps publications) in a position of
>> trust observing rules of decorum that *exceed* expectations of civility
>> that they might apply to others, in order to earn and retain the respect of
>> their peers.
>>
>> Rob, I very much appreciate your perspective on this as an experiment
>> that yields worthwhile lessons. I am glad that a diverse set of opinions
>> have emerged, and that you are engaging with them. I believe that in the
>> long run, the heightened emotions around this one will seem
>> unnecessary...but of course, the emotional responses are real, and I don't
>> want to discount what drives them. At any rate, I appreciate the candor
>> everybody is bringing to this conversation, and continue to read with
>> interest.
>> Pete
>> [[User:Peteforsyth]]
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 4:39 PM, Robert Fernandez <[email protected]
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> A number of us who are concerned about civility on Wikipedia do not see
>>> swearing in and of itself as uncivil.  Many people may include
>>> professionalism and decorum under the umbrella of civility, but others do
>>> not, and they are not hypocritical because they do not.   The problem is
>>> not the words themselves, but when those words are used by editors to
>>> attack other editors.
>>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 24, 2016 at 7:08 PM, Daniel and Elizabeth Case <
>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> >In any case, it seems like it has long been settled that the general
>>>> use of profanity on Wikipedia is accepted but not celebrated. Only in
>>>> >extreme cases is it considered actionable when *actually directed at
>>>> an individual*. So it's hard to understand why many editors of
>>>> long->tenure have reacted in such a strongly negative manner to this op-ed;
>>>> it may be the unique nature of the Signpost, but like Gamaliel I >would be
>>>> surprised to learn that many users regard the Signpost in the same way
>>>> devotees do the New York Times. The most likely >conclusion is that
>>>> profanity and vulgar language are almost exclusively deployed by men on
>>>> Wikipedia, and the difference here is that >readers were shocked
>>>> --shocked!-- to read it from a woman.
>>>>
>>>> While I think this has something to do with it, I suspect some of the
>>>> commentators may have seen this as hypocritical: A member of the
>>>> Arbitration Committee, newly elected as one of several arbs committed to
>>>> restoring civility and mitigating our gender imbalance, writes a Signpost
>>>> op-ed using profanity in the headline, while some users (and, more
>>>> importantly, their supporters) who believe (whether reasonably or not does
>>>> not matter as the belief informs their actions either way) that last year’s
>>>> ArbCom results effectively painted a bullseye on their backs, know that use
>>>> of such language by them in discussions is routinely hauled out as evidence
>>>> against them in AN/I threads and (more importantly) at ArbCom.
>>>>
>>>> I don’t fault the Signpost for its editorial decision to run it. But I
>>>> wonder if someone should have talked to Emily about this before she did it.
>>>> Because now it’ll be hard for her to cast votes in cases where a user’s
>>>> profanity has been brought up as evidence of consistent incivility without
>>>> a whole host of users bringing this up immediately on the talk page. It
>>>> will haunt her effectiveness as an Arb for a long time to come, I’m afraid.
>>>>
>>>> And for what it’s worth, it is not acceptable to curse onwiki where I
>>>> have anything to say about it. I have blocked people for this when they
>>>> have refused to cease and desist and/or apologize. I have declined unblock
>>>> requests without review of the edit history if people used foul language
>>>> (this usually results in a new request with a profuse apology and more
>>>> reasonably stated case for unblock).
>>>>
>>>> Daniel Case
>>>>
>>>>
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