- Kickimanjaro
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- Intrepid Mythic Member
“Oh, it’s a little bit of everything, it’s the mountains, it’s the fog, it’s the news at six o’clock, it’s the death of my first dog, it’s the angels up above me, it’s the song that they don’t sing, It’s a little bit of everything.”
- Dawes, A little bit of everything
Many people consider their opinions to be fact. Whether this is a simple discussion about games, or one more serious around politics or religion, the same is true; battles of opinion often end with both sides thinking the other is either a moron or an -blam!- and neither opinions have been swayed.
The difference between debate and argument, while not what this thread is about, should be understood. We can disagree with what others say without insulting them personally. Sadly, many people lack this ability and any mention of something that collides with their perceived truths is taken personally.
These aside, it is our responsibility as members of this community to uphold that which we would like to get out of this community. Do we want a place filled with vitriolic speech? No. Do we want a place filled with unhelpful users who simply post to mislead others and start arguments? I do not think so. How do we make this a place that we would like to inhabit? Easy, we do just that.
We have the tools to do this, it is simply our voice. We can let people know when what they are doing is completely idiotic, so long as we do so constructively. When we see things that break the rules, we can report them and not respond. We do not need to be rude, we can let the mods lock the thread and inform the user as to why. We do not need to be so controlling, we do not need to tell others when what they are doing is wrong. If it is wrong, we have a system for that. As for idiocy, that is something we can handle (as from what I can see being an idiot is not a reportable offense).
I do not like to be a mean person, and I try to live my life by following my obligation to do the right thing. I do not think that calling someone an idiot and humiliating them is the best course of action. However, I have tried the polite approach many times before and it has had mixed success. If there is a problem, then we must find a solution. I do not think that we have found it yet, but perhaps as we further this dialog we can come to something that we all agree with.
To add a little bit here, under the "Stuff That Sucks" section of the Code of Conduct, we find the following (paraphrased slightly and omitting a few):
- Being a jerk.
- Harassing, defaming, or antagonizing others
Let us not cross the line into harassment, jerkdom, or other bad stuff. Keep it clean, but do what must be done.
[Edited on 08.09.2012 9:35 PM PDT]