"The majority on this thread think that . . ."
"the minority think . . . "
Bob, Please speak for yourself. You might be surprised what many of us think.
To ALL:
In my own individual opinion, I see a SMALL NUMBER of posters (from BOTH camps) submitting the rest of us to endless, incessant, time-wasting, boring, repetitive, juvenile, petty, mean-spirited, gratuitous, irritating gossip, name-calling and bickering.
In fact, I notice that as the posting rate and vitriol soar, the number of "contributors" diminishes. Large numbers of former regular contributors drop in only occasionally, or have walked off permanently in disgust.
As a fanatic for moderation, I'm calling for us ALL to display a little self control and restraint.
HERE'S MY CHALLENGE --- to ALL of us folks.
For THREE DAYS -- from now until Sunday at Midnight
I'm looking to see who --- NO MATTER HOW PROVOKED
-- can REFRAIN FROM the following:
1) name calling
2) gossip -- i.e., one poster complaining to another about a third poster (or group of posters)
----- the "game" is called "Ain't It/He/She Awful?!)
3) any use of the words "yea-sayer" or "nay-sayer"
4) any comments as to who is -- or is not -- meeting this challenge
---- You won't NEED to comment. It will be OBVIOUS.
---- Pointing out the obvious insults people's intelligence and irritates them (IMO)
-------------------------------------------------
If many of us are successful in this
- the posting rate will go down --- which I'll regard as a plus.
Let me state right out that this is NOT a FREE-SPEECH issue(IMO).
Those who do not share my concerns are free to ignore them.
I'm talking about standard TECHNIQUES for achieving EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION on controversial subjects, among a diverse population.
There are plenty more good techniques, but these 4 could give us a good start on a worthwhile experiment.
Respectfully,
Cheryl Galt
Again -- ALL of this is ONLY my own opinion
PS - I am NOT on ANYONE'S side in this matter.
PS - If anyone piggy-backs on this post -- and uses it as ammunition to attack any poster, I will regard that person as the lowest of the low! <G>
PS - I do NOT want to BLAME anyone in this matter. (IMO, blaming is always counterproductive. Let me be the FIRST to say that I am not blameless in this matter.) I just want the junk to STOP. |
