On Tue, Apr 28, 2020 at 06:57:14PM +0100, Sam Kuper wrote: > On Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 03:52:53PM -0500, Derek Martin wrote: [snip] > > which is how you have to define what is considerate. Inconsiderate is > > doing something that is not preferred. That which is least preferred > > is most inconsiderate. > > Again, no. You are conflating two different concepts, as shown by the > following counterexample. In some *urban* subcultures, driving large > 4x4 cars is preferred: > https://www.macmillandictionary.com/buzzword/entries/chelsea-tractor.html > . Yet that is clearly not considerate.
I think that there is a simpler argument in here. Abstractions (such as The Majority) do not have preferences; individuals do. At most, it is possible to identify abstractions whose members share certain preferences. So, yes, inconsiderate is doing something that is not preferred, and that which is least preferred is most inconsiderate. This is simple manners. But I want to ask myself: preferred by whom? Each camp has legitimate concerns to which, if we wish to communicate politely, the other camps would do well to make reasonable accommodations. Two cultures in contact, which do not share customs and manners, can disengage; they can fight; or they can agree on protocols that they *will* share, even though the protocols make no sense *within* either culture. So how can the flat-text and rich-text and all-up-graphics cultures play nicely together, with nobody surrendering and being subjugated by anybody else? -- Mark H. Wood Lead Technology Analyst University Library Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis 755 W. Michigan Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 317-274-0749 www.ulib.iupui.edu
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