Keith Moore wrote:
On 6/22/22 13:42, Miles Fidelman wrote:
How much more effective it would be if someone posted a periodic
"netiquitte reminder," and maybe "how to ask good questions / craft
substantive responses" post -- and then folks took rude people to
task PRIVATELY.
IMO that would destroy what value IETF still has by having a chilling
effect on technical discussion. Taking "rude" people to task is
almost never helpful; it just increases the overall level of hostility
in IETF.
If you want to offer private feedback, maybe start by trying to
understand the position of the person who is so frustrated that it
causes them to be "rude". In a great many cases you might find that
they're not being heard or are otherwise being slighted by others, at
least in their perceptions. Also keep in mind that private feedback
is most useful when it comes from someone whom the receiver respects.
People can say what they like in private email, but I suggest NOT
"taking people to task", but rather listening. Then maybe that
person can figure out a better way to say what they're trying to say,
ideally without being prompted for how to do that.
All I'm saying is that better take people to task privately, not
publicly - and FAR better than imposing "moderation" or expelling
someone from a list.
I learned this from a neighborhood association list I host. The woman
who originally set it up likes to have a personal discussion with each
new member, and is known to contact people off-list, who get too
destructive in their online behavior. Seems to work like a charm.
Sometimes, a simple "Hey <your name>, That was a bit out-of-line.
Perhaps people might take you more seriously, if you dial it back a bit"
- is more than enough to rein someone in. Sometimes it leads to a
chat." And sometimes, a "you know, if you provided a little more
detail, you'd get better responses" helps a lot, too.
Cheers,
Miles
--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra
Theory is when you know everything but nothing works.
Practice is when everything works but no one knows why.
In our lab, theory and practice are combined:
nothing works and no one knows why. ... unknown
