Keith Moore wrote:
On 6/22/22 15:45, Miles Fidelman wrote:
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 agree with that much, except that it's nearly always a bad idea to
"take people to task". That's almost never a constructive means of
feedback, especially in a forum like IETF which has consensus-making
as its explicit goal.
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.
Such feedback sounds really presumptuous and at least borderline
offensive. It creates more heat than light.
Instead, I recommend,"Hey, <your name>, I'm trying hard to understand
where you are coming from. Do you think you could explain in a bit
more detail?"
I was thinking, specifically, of a list admin, or well respected person
having a "side chat" with someone. "Private social pressure" if you
will. It seems to work pretty well on some neighborhood lists I run -
neighbors talking politics - in a Boston suburb known for it's political
correctness. I maintain a hands-off moderation policy - we're a public
forum, if you don't like something, hit your delete key or call your
lawyer - I want neither the headache, nor liabilities associated with
active moderation. But... we do have our issues - and one of my
co-founders - a former city councilwoman - is known to have private side
chats with people when things get out of hand. Seems to work
exceptionally well at toning things down.
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
