publishing email exchanges

publishing email exchanges

Posted Mar 25, 2006 21:00 UTC (Sat) by stephen_pollei (guest, #23348)
In reply to: A day in the life of the CentOS team by kokopelli
Parent article: A day in the life of the CentOS team

Both sides handled this poorly (including the publication of the exchange -- how many managers will read this and avoid Linux because they think the community is too immature to trust?).

Actually I think publishing email exchanges are a great tool. Maybe I wouldn't use the language that the pirate bay legal uses at some point. However if everyone had a default policy publishing emails that threaten legal action without real basis then people will think a little bit more before they act like jerks... I think it was the city manager that was acting immature. The CentOS team was politely trying to help, and was asking the right questions. It was Mr. Taylor that refused to answer simple questions and try working out a good faith responce to the situation....

Larry Lessig has defined "social norm constraints: standards of appropriate behavior enforced by the sanctions of a community—whether through shame, exclusion, or force." Guilt, empathy, shame, embarrassment and contempt are parts of the emotional foundations of norm compliance and norm enforcement. Also norm enforcement is just as important as laws, and it many cases lower cost.

Jonathan Rauch defines "hidden law": the norms, conventions, implicit bargains, and folk wisdoms that organize social expectations, regulate everyday behavior, and manage interpersonal conflicts; and others write books comapring the two -- Law and Social Norms by Eric A. Posner . It's vital to see how law, architecture, social norms and markets all impact and control human behavior; it gives you more tools in your toolbox and lets you not be unduely influenced yourself. Some times you need a hammer .. sometimes screwdriver -- having flexible responces is good.

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