May 27, 2008
towards a certain level of discourse
As we head into summer and towards the elections and everything else, I’d like to urge everyone to remember that we are all neighbors here. I do not want to in any way stifle discussion or disagreement, but I would like to put forth the call for civil commentary in lieu of personal attacks or negative sniping.
A reminder as well from our Use Policy:
Anonymous comments are ok and useful, if not abused. They work best, in the context of this site, if you limit yourself to as few pseudonyms as necessary. There are anonymous folks that post quite frequently, but as a reader I have a sense of what they are all about because they regularly use the same pseudonym. As a follow-up to that, posting bunches of comments under multiple names in the same discussion is confusing. Please do not abuse the ability to post anonymously.
Very spiteful comments, if posted completely anonymously and lacking other merit, might be deleted. By “completely anonymously” I mean using a fake name AND providing a fake email address.
Attempting to pretend to be someone else, ie posting a comment as Doug Wilder or Delores McQuinn or one of the other folks that comments here regularly is a no-no.
The first time that you post a comment from a given name/email/ip address combination, it will flagged for approval. Ditto if you include links in your comment. This is to weed out the automated spam comments that keep trying to slip through.
I would like to thank you for posting this…I think that those of us who have felt the negative sniping or personal attacks feel that this is what the neighborhood is NOT about. I have lived here eight years, and hope to live here many more. I just know it doesn’t feel good to know that people in the community feel negativity towards us.
Thank you, again!
Kathryn: May I suggest and even request that you move to the fan and start “improving” that neighborhood and leave us and Church Hill alone?
I apologize. I’m being a bitch for no reason. I don’t even know Kathryn. I’ve just had too many glasses of wine and need to go to bed.
Kathryn,
I think the majority of the folks who live in the area and KNOW you and Matt are very appreciative of the fine work that you have done here in the Hill. For all of the homes that you folks have restored here in Church Hill (and quality work….I might add), these “bitches” should be THANKING you for driving UP their property values and making many streets more desirable to live. How quickly they forget what some of these dumps looked like prior to your rescue! The theatre is an issue as are hundreds of properties in Church Hill. Folks should not be so quick to criticize those who have single-handedly done so much to improve the area in many ways. Ignore the garbage and keep building. All the best!
JES: I’m sure there’s a reason. You’re an idiot. It’s hard to un-say (or un-write) certain things, and five minutes of thinking it over comes across as insincere.
Kathryn & Matt: Keep it up.
Wow
Let me try this again…
As we head into summer and towards the elections and everything else, I’d like to urge everyone to remember that we are all neighbors here. I do not want to in any way stifle discussion or disagreement, but I would like to put forth the call for civil commentary in lieu of personal attacks or negative sniping.
John,
One of our house rules is no name calling.
We have lost the art of critique and debate. It is no wonder that such base programming as “American Idol” draws in the masses.
Exactly Gray. It is entirely possible to have civil discourse without taking it down the road of name calling, which turns it from an argument into a personal attack, thus putting the attackee on the defense and ending civil discourse.
I find it interesting that we often on this site have to make the judgment call between direct hurtful statements and thinly-veiled ones. Ideally, neither would have a place in this artful forum of critique and debate. Sadly, both seem to find their way to this site all too often. In my mind, there is little difference between the meaning behind my post and post #2, despite the delivery. Understandably, my post is unpopular. I wonder if that same sentiment would have been echoed about post #2 had I not posted.
Chris,
Post #2 is very hurtful and JES could have stated her/his grievances without sarcasm and bullying. Fortunately JES did apologize.
Likewise, your post #5 would say everything it needs to without the word “idiot.”
Perhaps. However, there was point I was attempting to make about how I perceive a lot of the interaction on this site. There are often posts so thick with sarcasm, innuendo, and back-handedness, that I find myself wishing people would just be forthright. We seem to tolerate insults and attacks much better when they are wrapped up nice and pretty.
You do make a point there but still, no name calling. And when folk are being bullies or sarcastic, simply call them out on it.
Chris, Re: your posts #10 and #12, since you appreciate forthrightness: calling someone an “idiot” is a personal attack, is at variance with the comment policy of this site, is just plain wrong despite your efforts to obfuscate, and would be quickly forgiven and forgotten if you would simply apologize (like Kathryn much to her credit did promptly).
#14, oops, I meant JES not Kathryn
I love that John reminds everyone to try to play nicely together and it takes about 30 seconds to begin bickering with one another again. Yikes.
We’re some scrappers here on the Hill. Folk as far away as Chesterfield read the chpn.
At least no one can say we are disinterested, apathetic or without opinions…
I thought I was quite clear with my points, and have made no attempt to obfuscate anything. If I was looking for forgiveness, I would apologize. If we were all younger, I guess this would put me out of the running for class president.
JES was right on many things said about the wileys.
[...] level of discourse keeps getting worse despite repeated attempts to redirect. I am *this* close to changing things over so that you have to register to comment, though I would [...]
John, THANKS (!!) for putting your foot down. I’ll only add a request that you also monitor/screen some of the posts containing ANY profanity/ ANY racial epithets or just plain “gibberish” ,etc.Lets keep it CIVIL out there people ! Show some smarts and some class. LASTLY-God(Allah,Buddha,Old Nick, etc,etc,etc…)Bless John for giving us this forum to practice our FREE speech ! Now thats an AMERI-CAN !!