Changing the world with better documentation

Posted Feb 2, 2019 8:23 UTC (Sat) by rgmoore (✭ supporter ✭, #75)
In reply to: Changing the world with better documentation by codeofdrama
Parent article: Changing the world with better documentation

I think Stone's reply was as much a violation of the CoC as the post he was responding to. They both contained personal attacks, which are against the CoC. It makes me wonder if there's going to be some equivalent to Muphry's Law for CoC violations: you're never more likely to violate the CoC than when pointing out another person's violation.

I honestly think this kind of thing is an example of why the CoC is important. Once someone in a conversation starts to use personal insults, there's a serious risk of an escalating flame war that will wind up overwhelming all productive discussion. It doesn't happen every time- this particular case seems to have fizzled out rather than escalated- but the risk is real.

Changing the world with better documentation

Posted Feb 2, 2019 15:49 UTC (Sat) by madscientist (subscriber, #16861) [Link]

This is why I disagree with nilsmeyer's preference that people actually involved in the dispute should be left to speak up for themselves and that other people getting involved is rude or infantilizing.

I think it's much more likely (although it didn't happen perfectly in this situation) that people who are not directly involved in the back and forth will be able to step in and provide a calm and unbiased refereeing without personal attacks. Also, for people who are watching but not participating it's reassuring to see mores being upheld by influential people in the community even if they're not directly involved in the discussion.

Of course, like anything else intervention is a skill that has to be obtained and hopefully we all will get better at pushing back against rudeness without ourselves being rude about it.