Posted by lucie lu on December 16, 2008, at 14:57:14
In reply to I don't think that's ever been the claim here » caraher, posted by Racer on December 15, 2008, at 11:07:45
> So no, this isn't a place where people are allowed full and free expression. Personally, I think the guidelines are a good idea, because they do protect some of the more vulnerable posters here. I also believe in them because I think they're helpful for teaching a certain sort of communication skill, which I do believe is valuable.
Racer,As one who sometimes feels emotionally vulnerable :) I thank you for protecting the civility guidelines. I don't know much about other boards but I do think that the psych board is pretty unique. Unlike meds, politics, or a range of other topical boards which no doubt might thrive on, and maybe even be spiced up by, a more free-wheeling posting style, the psych board has a decidedly different tone and, I believe, raison d'etre.
On the psych board, people are "free" to talk about very personal things that are nearly impossible to talk about anywhere else in their lives. This freedom is created by the explicit expectation of civility from other posters. Interesting how this is a distinctly alternate interpretation of "free speech."
People simply will not talk freely, openly and honestly about highly sensitive, personal material in the absence of some civility guidelines for the board. Because that is exactly the environment that exists outside of Babble, where talking freely about these things is really difficult or impossible. The psych board is fairly unique in that it is open yet protected cyberspace, which fosters its existence and mission. It is, to my knowledge, unusual among bulletin boards precisely because of the civility guidelines. On the contrary, "free (unrestricted)speech" seems to be found *everywhere* on-line or off, for that matter.
It has been written in many posts on many threads already, so I won't reiterate, that civility does not imply lack of disagreement or controversy, only some restraint in how it is expressed. To my mind, this would be a more refreshing way to discuss a controversial topic, anyway.
I want to note that my comments concern only the psych board, since that is where I post almost exclusively. If it were not for the civility guidelines, the willingness of the psych board posters to respect those guidelines, and deputies to help protect the guidelines, I frankly would have no use for Babble at all. There are plenty of other boards out there on the 'net, but IMO none with this unique sense of community.
Since not all boards are the same, perhaps different civility guidelines can be used on different boards? Then again, I guess, without the guidelines, this wouldn't be Babble, but someplace else.
Lucie
poster:lucie lu
thread:868896
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20081003/msgs/869114.html