Posted by Mitchell on March 3, 2002, at 12:20:05
In reply to Re: civility, blocking, etc., posted by Dr. Bob on March 3, 2002, at 5:44:22
> > But my theory is that people do not always understand your perspective of which ... statements are acceptable and which are not.
>
> They may not. Do you have any suggestions?The civility FAQ is helpful; so is the more recent policy of temporarily blocking rather than permanently banishing those who do not recognize your policies.
This forum tends to limit emotional communication to messages that can be conveyed in written form. A problem throughout academic forums, from kindergarten on, is that they can favor those with a better command of language. And diverse forums have diverse standards. Not everyone understands that things the President can say in a speech are not acceptable in this forum. Rather than develop a treatise on the subject today, I will only suggest that ongoing dialogue may help develop a better understanding of the unique civil standards to which this forum aspires.
Whatever improvements we might conceive are only practicable in as much as they can be applied without overtaxing the administrative capacity of this forum. To answer the subject of this thread, I can suggest that there is not a double standard at play here. There apparently are not two distinct standards. The standard is singular, but, perhaps by necessity, is loosely defined, subjective and sometimes seems to be applied arbitrarily or capriciously. It sort of reminds me of the War on Drugs...
> At some point I think I have to fall back on what Potter Stewart said...
>
> ----
>
> > I have been humiliated and demeaned by Dr. Bob.
You blocked Justice Stewart? No wonder he felt humiliated. Why did you block him? Was it his "I know it when I see it" comment? ;-) If so, I would agree with your decision - justice is supposed to be blind, and the scales are used to weigh the facts. No peeking, Justice.
poster:Mitchell
thread:3144
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20011216/msgs/3249.html