[Theforum] Re: (no subject)

[John Handelaar]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: theforum-admin at lists.evolt.org
> [mailto:theforum-admin at lists.evolt.org]On Behalf Of Martin
> Sent: 11 May 2002 01:18
> To: theforum at lists.evolt.org
> Subject: Re: [Theforum] Re: (no subject)
>
> On Saturday, May 11, 2002, at 12:48  am, Ron Dorman wrote:
>
> >  Most of my remembrances of your
> > involvement with evolt.org are that you have been argumentative,
> > confrontational, disrespectful, disruptive and very outspoken against
> > dan.  I feel that evolt.org would benefit from your absence until the
> > ill spirit is changed.
> >
> > If the other people here feel that I am out of line with this post I
> > will quietly bow out of this area of evolt.org.
>
> Ron
>
> I feel ad hominem (ad feminem?) attacks are out of line. And that's not
> related to who's making them on whom. Dispute facts. Disagree
> with interpretations. Contest opinions. But really, please don't
> attack the people.

While I agree - in general - Ron's not the only person
who's getting frustrated by that particular limitation.

Gradually, it starts to become apparent that the ad hominem
attacks are tolerated from some quarters but not others.
Over an extended period of time, the end result is the
rather bizarre situation in which we now find ourselves:
there's a constant 'drip, drip' of venom and those many of
us who find it repugnant constantly bite our tongues for
fear of 'taking it personal'.

Responding to ad hominem attacks (in kind or otherwise)
results in admonishments for lowering the tone.  No-one ever
seems to be prepared, like Ron just did, to call a genuinely
shitty troll-post for what it is.  And I suspect, mate,
that your post above illustrates why that is so.

This forum was supposed to be not only about defining how
evolt.org works, but increasing the pool of volunteers able
to contribute.  What several people here are doing, yourself
included (and make no mistake please, I'm not suggesting for
a moment that this is *your* intention), is enforcing a kind
of social engineering which hampers the latter of those two
goals.

After all, if we change the processes and the net result is
that not a single additional person contributes to evolt.org
other than in some assistant-to-the-ancien-regime manner,
what do we gain from all of this turmoil?  Crap all.

There are, indisputably, one or two individuals within
evolt.org for whom that zero result is the entire point of
their contribution to theforum.  If you *really* doubt that,
see if you can find me a single contribution from that
quarter in the archive which suggests otherwise.

[See, that could have been an entirely different post.  We
are *trying* to not let rip here.]

------------------------------------------
John Handelaar

T +44 20 7209 4117       M +44 7930 681789
F +44 870 169 7657   E john at userfrenzy.com
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