Posted by Dr. Bob on May 4, 2002, at 1:38:51
Hi, everyone,
I hear there's some unhappiness about, in addition to everything else, the civility section of the FAQ, in particular, the Potter Stewart quote ("I know it when I see it") and my civility theory.
I apologize if I hurt anyone's feelings. I've deleted the theory.
Regarding the quote, I do *not* mean that I have any special gift for discerning the "true" degree of civility of anyone's comments. What I do mean is:
1. I can't spell it out any better. Maybe more precise than "I know it when I see it" would be "not until I see it can I know it".
2. It's subjective. I may think I know it when I see it, but others may think they know it when they see it, too -- and we may disagree. So maybe even more precise would be "not until I see it can I form an opinion about it".
This isn't always easy, and I know I'm not perfect. I want to be open to feedback, but if you could also please try to accept what I decide and to trust that I'm doing my best to be fair and to do what I think will be good for this community as a whole, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.
Bob
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:4891
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20020420/msgs/4891.html