Michael Pavling wrote: > On 2 August 2010 16:43, Marnen Laibow-Koser <[email protected]> > wrote: >> I think it's a guru thinking that it's all right to be uncivil if you know >> enough -- an opinion I do not really subscribe to > > *cough* *splutter* :-) > > urm... Marnen, I perceive the vast majority of your posts as veering > toward strongly uncivil in their tone. I don't mean to say that to > insult you personally; just to point out that you often tell people in > no uncertain terms, without embellishment, very flatly, that they are > "wrong";
You bring up some interesting points here. First of all, do you really think telling people they are wrong is ipso facto uncivil? I do not. I don't really think anything is gained by avoiding the issue. I am aware that I tend toward the blunt side when I write my responses, but I think there's a huge difference between that and the rather mean-spirited tone that I recall noticing the last time I read ESR's essay. I certainly don't think "civil" is the same as "sugar-coated"; I aim for the former, not the latter, on this sort of list. However, I make every effort to respond to posts on this forum in a way that would not offend *me* if I were the recipient rather than the author of the post -- for example, you will not see name-calling or ad hominem attacks in my posts, and I make suggestions constructively wherever possible. OTOH, if someone obviously doesn't know what he's doing, I see no point in not (politely) pointing out that that's the case. Of course, I realize that everyone's sensibilities are different. > sometimes for even asking the question they asked. Examples? > Often > times, when you do suggest solutions, it's difficult to discern the > "help" from the "sneer". Examples? If you want a guideline: it is vanishingly rare for the "sneer" to be intentional in my posts. This is part of what I am referring to as civility. I just don't do that unless fairly heavily provoked, and usually not even then. Best, -- Marnen Laibow-Koser http://www.marnen.org [email protected] -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en.
