Preface: Some people may consider it petty to care about this. I am not trying to be petty. I honestly feel sad and hurt every time I see this language on these lists. The language over the last few weeks has me feeling sick inside. I'll admit that I'm likely in a small minority here, but I do not believe that I am the only person who feels this way.
On Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 4:08 AM Sam Hartman <hartm...@debian.org> wrote: > > >>>>> "Eldon" == Eldon Koyle <eko...@gmail.com> writes: > > Eldon> Thank you for your thoughtful reply. > > Eldon> I think I did a bad job of explaining. I'm talking about > Eldon> English words that universally accepted as swearing. I have > Eldon> not seen this class of words used constructively in lists, > Eldon> and they are already forbidden. > > I'd be against that. > I think the blanket prohibition of profanity in the list code of > conduct is outdated and harmful. > Does the belief that a rule is harmful somehow nullify the rule? Does the belief that a rule is outdated give you license to disregard it? I cannot accept either of these points. If you think the rule needs updated, you should go through proper channels to try to update it rather than simply disregard it. <snip> > But I think a blanket prohibition would be harmful: > > * Sometimes you are quoting others or quoting something with artistic or > literary value. I have not seen much of this, however as a counterpoint: the FCC is not a tolerant organization. People have subscribed to these lists using packet radio. The language in your last reply was such that the FCC would absolutely take official action against anyone who _received_ it (if it came to their attention, that is). I hope nobody is doing this anymore, but it makes me sad that we are unwilling to support people doing interesting things in a Debian context. > * Tone policing is a thing. <snip> If I understand the argument against tone policing correctly, it is that focusing on the language/tone within the discussion detracts from the main point of the message. If the message were sent back for revision before it was posted to the list, I think that would actually be a net win as it reduces the chance of tone policing on the list -- especially where it would be done by a machine with no emotion involved. I think the project at large would have been better off if all of the recent messages with profanity had been kicked back for revision. > * Sometimes profanity directed at a situation really does let you get > off a little steam. <snip> Getting off steam often leads to escalation. Also, these lists have a lot of members. Does an individual's desire for catharsis outweigh the wish of multiple people to keep the language on the list free of profanity? I apologize to anyone who feels I am wasting their time with this, and I will try not to drag it out any more. -- Eldon
