[uf-discuss] Re: Getting legal help (was: inappropriate behaviour)

[Eric A. Meyer]

At 10:10 PM -0400 8/2/07, Manu Sporny wrote:

>It is vital to have people that can challenge
>the status quo, people such as Andy, involved in a community such as this.

    I agree that challenges to the status quo can be useful, but it is 
NOT valuable to have members of community who will challenge it in 
abusive ways-- any more than it is useful to have members who will 
defend it in abusive ways.
    (I'm not saying you are such a person, Manu; just pointing out 
that the need to be non-abusive extends to everyone, regardless of 
where they stand on any issue.)

>His replies reflect reservations that several members of this community
>choose not to express out of fear of retaliation.

    To date, the administrators-- of which I could be considered an 
unofficial member, though I've done next to no administrative work 
since the list was founded-- have not "retaliated".  Ever.  They act 
to defend and preserve the community's nature, and do so with great 
reluctance.  Too much reluctance, in my opinion, but that's the 
nature of this community.
    Andy does not get banned for challenging the status quo or 
expressing reservations.  Andy gets himself temporarily banned from 
time to time because he can't seem to bring himself to treat other 
members of the community with respect and civility, nor to avoid 
borderline trollish behaviors.  I think that's a shame, because much 
of the time I find myself in at least partial agreement with what (I 
think) he's trying to say.
    But if that sounds in any way like a defense of Andy's attitude or 
criticism of the administrators' actions, it is neither.  Nobody has 
the right to poison discourse and damage the community, no matter 
what they're trying to say.

-- 
Eric A. Meyer  (eric at meyerweb.com)
Principal, Complex Spiral Consulting   http://complexspiral.com/
"CSS: The Definitive Guide," "CSS2.0 Programmer's Reference,"
"Eric Meyer on CSS," and more    http://meyerweb.com/eric/books/