Posted by alexandra_k on May 14, 2005, at 18:56:25
In reply to Lou's response to alexandra_k's post » alexandra_k, posted by Lou Pilder on May 14, 2005, at 6:46:30
> > If you ask someone to be civil
> > Then you seem to be implying that they are not being civil.
> > Imo such a remark is not abiding by civility guidelines UNLESS 'being civil' just means abiding by civility guidelines. And seeing as it does, why not be clear about that???> In what you wrote the above, are you saying that there could be a difference between a person being civil here and not abiding by the guidlines of the forum and that a person here could be a civil person and write something that is unacceptable in relation to the guidlines of the forum without being uncivil?
Yup.
I was thinking that someone could breech civility guidelines here even though what they said would not be considered uncivil IRL.
In other words that the term 'civil' was ambiguous. It has a special meaning here, and a slightly different one IRL.
I also worried that saying that someone was uncivil (in the IRL sense) was itself a breech in civility guidelines.
But...
After further thought the warning isn't 'you aren't be civil - so please be civil'. It is a request to 'please be civil' so doesn't imply that they weren't being uncivil. But I do think that that is how people take it. And understandably so when parts of their post are quoted back...And especially when you get 'you have been asked to be civil before so now I'm going to block you...' later.
Hmm....Civil - adequate in courtesy and politeness... Civil - often suggests little more than the avoidance of overt rudeness...
(Miriam Webster online).So it isn't that the term is ambiguous, it is that what is considered 'adequate in courtesy and politeness' varies across different settings...
So what is considered uncivil in one context may be considered civil in another...
I don't think there is a problem with the phrasing after all...
But...
I think
'please abide by the civility guidelines of this site' would be better.
Because it makes it clearer that civility is relative to context.And wouldn't it be against the civility guidelines of the site to say
'what you said was overtly rude'???
Yet that is what uncivil behaviour is according to Miriam Webster.Better to avoid that sort of confusion.
Maybe that sort of confusion is why PBC's can upset some people.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:493677
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050417/msgs/497808.html