Posted by Dinah on July 27, 2008, at 12:45:01
I've been here since 2001. In that time there occasionally arise issues regarding posting styles which some or many posters have found annoying. No matter how many posters find any particular posting style annoying, Dr. Bob has been clear. He is not going to sanction posters just because some or many people find their style annoying. Annoying is not uncivil. Annoying is also subjective. What one person finds annoying, another might find thoughtful or perceptive or incisive. But it wouldn't matter if every single poster on Babble found something annoying. Dr. Bob does not sanction for annoying, and never will.
Dr. Bob will also never screen posts for usefulness, good grammar, depth, meaningfulness, good spelling, or even whether or not the content is factually accurate. He relies on other posters to point out factual errors, in a civil and respectful manner.
I cannot even imagine a Babble where Dr. Bob sanctions someone for having posts that aren't worthwhile. For heavens sake, sanctioning uncivil posts causes enough trouble. Evaluating for usefulness is not something he's likely to do. And I don't think it's something we want him to do.
Yet I've also noticed over time that people posting in response to feeling annoyed is sanctioned. Because it's pretty hard to express annoyance without treading into incivility.
So here are the facts. Dr. Bob is not going to screen for the worth of posts, and he isn't going to screen for posts that some might find annoying. But he is going to screen for incivility.
It can be very therapeutic to talk about one's reactions to posts. But this is not the place to talk about negative reactions to posts. Any more than the family reunion is the place to talk about how annoying Uncle George is, when Uncle George is right in front of you. And when moreover, many of the people at the reunion think Uncle George is a perfectly nice guy and enjoy being with him.
The cycle can continue indefinitely, but it doesn't have to. I've also noted that once people really really accept that a posting behavior is not going to be Administratively sanctioned, they can learn to live with it, or ignore it, or whatever it is that they need to do.I want to be absolutely clear here. I am not talking about one poster, or even about a few posters. I am talking about a process that happens over and over again on Babble, and that claims casualties each time it happens. And it never ever achieves the apparent goal. Because Dr. Bob does not sanction annoying. He sanctions uncivil.
It doesn't need to happen, any more than some wars need to happen. I'd like it never to happen again.
poster:Dinah
thread:842329
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20080719/msgs/842329.html