The balance between rights and reponsibilities

[BigV]

Cellar Meta Users, threads, etiquette, posting, usage, forums, why this place matters or doesn't

I do believe this place matters. Therefore, I care when there's a problem. Some of you may not even view these as problems at all. I'm a born fixer, but I don't think I can fix these problems. But even if I can't fix them, I can point them out.

Look, I understand "Everybody Poops". Normal. Necessary. What's neither normal nor necessary is wallowing in it, making more of it, flinging it. This BS, this is a problem.

Insults - give it your best shot!

Is Duck_Duck Dying?

QUACK! This just in!!!

Who is the most hated dweller?

The Mercenary: Asshole?

Poll: does Cloud start too many threads?

etc, etc. Why all the personal attacks threads? What's the purpose of all the hatin'? How is it constructive?

The whole clone thread fad. Maybe one in ten or one in twenty gets a laugh. The very concept is defined by some other (presumably) valid thread, and if the clone is ... what? Successful? It makes a contribution? Mostly, it's just more noise; they increase the noise to signal ratio. Clutter.

And most especially the vitriol. The hatred. The meanness. The personal attacks. In this post I won't repeat the names I've called out elsewhere. I've made a mess in this area too, and I'm sorry. The substance matters, the content matters. Whether or not a point of view has unanimous support is not important. The big meaty ideas never have that kind of support, and rarely do the smaller lighter ones. Consensus is not imperative or even desirable.

But the quality of the discussion as the dissenting voices are clamoring for attention is raised when civility and respect are present. And the quality of the cellar is, frankly, *completely* dependent on the quality of the discussions. It's not a big fotobucket of IoTDs. It's not a filesharing repository. It's not place where individuals come to play games *alone*. And it didn't used to be a cage match to the death no holds barred poo flinging neener neener fuck you back - athon.

It is about the conversations. When the shouting starts, the communication suffers. Eventually one of them stops, and lately, the shouting has won. Our cellar, we, lose when that happens. We lose members, we lose connection, we lose communication, we lose the cellar.

Yeah, I love the First Amendment. You can say what you want. But any right comes with a corresponding responsibility. There is an unavoidable tension in that relationship. And they're proportional--big important rights bear heavy responsibilities. Lately its been all Rights all the time and precious little attention to Responsibility. I can personally say what I want, and I have a personal responsibility to exercise, guard and value that right. I exercise it with posts like these. I guard it by accepting others' use of the same right. And I value it by using it well, not using it for shit-work.

I value the cellar for the interesting, informative, useful, entertaining, stimulating conversations and relationships found here, and the good people making those posts. The cellar is a nice place and I will work to keep it a nice place. I will not stand idly by while it is demoted to a useless slag fest of libelous insults.