When I created this list and this group, I really want to facilitate
productive local discussions on linux and open source. We all have a
lot to learn from one another, and having a forum to share and express
that is something I think is valuable.
What's not very valuable is the tone that has happened of late. It's a
tone the reinforces the worst stereo types of geeks. Passive aggressive
behavior, not being able to get out a full paragraph without ensuring
that you've dissed something you found yourself superior to, expressing
your rage against the machine/man/small fuzzy lemur.
While I understand that there are few role models of good behavior on
the internet, just because their is junk all over your neighbors lawn
doesn't mean you should throw trash out on yours.
So, I've got a couple of options. #1 just shut down the list, because
honestly I have very little interest in reading the tone of most of the
posts anymore. I'm pretty sure that's true for many folks here. I've
walked into many an office at IBM with someone saying to me "seriously,
they are still going on about that?" I've watched unsubscribes from a
number of people of late that were valuable members of this community at
one point.
#2 try to get things back into a civil state. And to this end I ask for
some help from everyone. When someone starts a thread as troll bait,
let it lie, don't respond. Much like children or puppies acting out,
response just encourages people on that it's acceptable behavior. It's not.
I'm going to start flipping on individual moderation bits for some of
the more blatant offenders of civility here.
I have no interest in running a moderated list, it's just too much work,
and I fundamentally don't believe in censorship, so if we can't get the
tone back to something constructive I'll convert the list to
announcements only, and stop hosting a general discussion list here.
If you want to rant, get a blog. Find you audience elsewhere.
-Sean
--
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Sean Dague Mid-Hudson Valley
sean at dague dot net Linux Users Group
http://dague.net http://mhvlug.org
There is no silver bullet. Plus, werewolves make better neighbors
than zombies, and they tend to keep the vampire population down.
__________________________________________________________________
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Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org
http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug
Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium
Aug 4 - Samba
Sep 1 - BOINC
Oct 6 - Creating Firefox Extensions
