06-02-2017, 03:30 PM
Diana Wrote:I guess I want to think we already do, but for the reasons I stated it is difficult given the nature of humans and this world.
That's a fair point. "Everybody's doing the very best they can" is pretty much my motto in life of late.
Yeah, a council of some kind would be cool. I'd like to think of it as a welcoming committee, folks that make a proactive effort to greet newcomers, identify those in need of help, and do what we can to "safen up" our forums. I do think anybody taking up this project should consider ruling out any behavior on one's part that is discouraging, reprimanding, etc. To me, that's the moderator's job if it needs to be done at all. Our job is not to yell at litterers, but instead to just pick up the trash, if that's a good analogy -- a solely helpful influence that is not conditional on a mood, character of behavior, etc. prevailing in the forums. Over time, the idea is that setting this example would create the kind of culture I think we all want, without anybody needing to assert themselves on anybody else.
Diana Wrote:I do think that while we offer a safe place, there still must be freedom here for catalyst to surface. And therein lies the gray area. Catalyst is not just on one side of the equation.
I am 110% with you on that position, but I'm kind of tired of litigating it. The folks who feel alienated feel alienated; the folks who don't feel alienated don't. The discussion tends to center around policy (and I have contributed to this) in a way that doesn't really add to the spirit of what's valuable here.
I certainly don't think we can make this a catalyst-free space, nor would I want to! I would like to experiment with approaches that allow for catalyst to recognized as such, so that participating here becomes a kind of practice for dealing with catalyst in real life.
I want to reiterate that I don't think we need to organize anything formally here; it's nice to share ideas about, but ultimately if you agree with any aspect of what any of us are suggesting, start making your participation here an example!