Re: [gentoo-dev] Why I don't think the CoC is a good idea

[Mike Frysinger]

On Wednesday 14 March 2007, Alexandre Buisse wrote:
> The answer to that remark, and it has already been done in today's
> discussions, is that we should follow the spirit of the law and not its
> letter. But then, why do we need a Code of Conduct at all? There is
> nothing in it that people don't already know and if they choose to still
> commit the offense, it's either that they don't think it's one or that
> they choose to ignore the consequences and commit it anyway. In both
> cases, having a written code won't change a thing.

sure it does ... if you dont outline consequences, how can there be any ?  the 
spirit lives on; dont be an asshat and there's nothing for you to worry 
about ... if you start being being offensive, then you get tied down in rules

> I think that everyone should be free to participate in any discussion
> as long as some outrageous behaviours like racism are not shown and that
> the discussion stays on topic. But forcing people to not flame (and how
> does one define that anyway?) is simply an unnecessary freedom
> restriction. Great ideas can come from heated discussions, which can
> even be considered as a sign of good health, since people care enough to
> defend their ideas with passion. Or sometimes it is just funny, even if
> not everyone "gets it". As long as one doesn't have to participate to
> this discussion, I don't see any problem.

there's a difference between a heated discussion and flaming ... lumping the 
two together as being inseparable is wrong

> So my "solution" would be to just let things go as they currently are.
> If people want to make asses of themselves in public, great, let them do
> just that. If you don't like someone else, just don't read what they
> post. But if you freely choose to participate to a flame, live with the
> consequences, including the possibility of being called names by someone
> else (I don't know if there is an english equivalent, but a french
> saying goes like : "it's a gourmet delice to be called an asshole by an
> idiot") and don't complain afterwards about it, because by acknowledging
> the very existence of the trolls, you fed them and gave them a target.

we've tried this in the past and the only real thing we have to show for it 
are people leaving and offers of support withdrawn
-mike