On 9/2/19 5:19 PM, Melinda Shore wrote:
On 9/2/19 1:08 PM, Keith Moore wrote:
At the same time, I emphatically object to "tone policing" by the SAA or
other IETF leadership as being both arbitrary and counterproductive to
IETF's purpose, and consider it an abuse of power when it happens.
I don't agree with this, as you might have guessed. The term
"tone policing" has been used throughout these discussions in
a manner inconsistent with the intent of its creators at Geek
Feminism.
I'm not aware of that definition, and don't recognize the right of a
creator of a term (even if they did create it) to dictate use of that
term, particularly when such term overrides the simple and obvious
English meanings of the words used.
To be clear, by "tone policing" I simply mean policing people's speech
because of their (perceived) "tone", rather than substance. Such
policing is quite often a distraction at best, and sometimes
deliberately an attempt to distract away from their input.
The problem that they were trying to address is that
people who've been on the receiving end of bullying, harassment,
and so on are often told that they're being emotional when they
talk about it, and can be dismissed on that basis.
That's interesting. That's not quite what I was talking about, but
I've certainly been "tone policed" by that definition even in IETF.
But again let me try to be clear:
It's wrong to dismiss someone's input because of their "tone". It
doesn't matter why they have that "tone". It could have been because
of current or past abuse, or simply because they're frustrated. Or
both. Sometimes the stakes of IETF discussions are high, and sometimes
that leads to frustration.
Ignore the tone as much as possible, concentrate on the substance. To
insist on doing otherwise is an insult to the speaker.
It was
emphatically not intended to protect bullies, harassers, and so
on, and I don't think it's appropriate to use it to lift
harsh language in IETF discussions above criticism.
"harsh" is again hopelessly vague.
I'm really tired of people using such excuses to shut down substantive
discussion. It is too often either an inappropriate form of political
manipulation or simply yet another form of abuse.
Keith
