Attention All EvC Members

Hi, Ben.I've had a unique opportunity to experience an extreme instance of this problem. As you recall, my one suspension was due to a single cold, appallingly venomous post; I think of it as the Dragon of Eden Rant, written while my reptilian brain was in complete control, and written while I was medicated with opiates after surgery. I ascribe that disaster to the disinhibiting effects of the drug. I accept responsibility for it, because, hey!, I'm the driver here, but I was as shocked by it as anyone else, I think.I believe that the peculiar combination of intimacy created by forums, and the incorporeality of forum participation, combine to create a similarly disinhibiting effect; in addition, the persistence of posts changes a passing exchange of verbal bricks, an ephemeral conversation, into an eternally present quarrel. We cannot forgive and forget contentious histories at archived forums precisely because we cannot forget them. They are with us always.Our relative anonymity here, the mask of our avatars, encourages blunter, even ruder, speech than most of us would engage in face-to-face. Sparks fly, and the "on the record" nature of our exchanges preserves them like red ants in amber. That's not going to change.Still, once you understand the source of a harmful behavior, you are fully responsible for it: maybe you shoplifted because your parents sold your bike when you weren't looking, but once you gain that insight, the excuse expires.So we have a dynamic that both sustains anger and disinhibits its expression. We need to find a way to live respectfully with our neighbor, but the ground of our shared experience here complicates the effort with its psychological and emotional terrain, so different from that we share with our actual neighbors. It's good to avoid personal attacks; it's also good sometimes to let a cross word pass unmet, because we know where it came from.That means I agree, Ben This message has been edited by Omnivorous, 12-27-2005 10:37 PM

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What I refuse to accept is your insistence that your beliefs about your beliefs constitute evidence in support of your beliefs.

Okay, point, smartie pants......still, you didn't have to look me in the eye when you thumbed your rhetorical nose at me, didja?But I'll let it go, just to encourage the others.

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What I refuse to accept is your insistence that your beliefs about your beliefs constitute evidence in support of your beliefs.

I remember when e-mail took the corporate and institutional worlds by storm in the 80s and 90s: the tales of disaster in that new hot medium were endless...Write, Click, Regret.When I was working at a medical institute in Boston, we were being assisted by a systems analyst from Trellis who was well connected with senior management; like a gnarly Zen master, he was both useful and frustrating.One night a fellow manager and I sat and composed an e-mail J'Accuse! of his performance--it was detailed, unrelenting, accurate--and boozily absurd. I enjoyed the fun of composing it, we agreed to delete it, and as I turned from the monitor my friend clicked Send.As it turned out, he was under the impression that we were using my e-mail account, but, in fact, I had stolen his password that day in the latest sally of our ongoing, good-natured cyberwar (stealing passwords, hijacking peripherals, etc.), and we were logged into his account--not as part of a scheme, but simply as happenstance: I was preparing to e-mail the department secretary from his account with a declaration of undying love. The consultant gave us an A- for content, an A+ for guts, and bought us drinks. Then he taught us a great deal for the next several months.Where was I? Oh yeah.Go thou and do likewise. Whatever.This message has been edited by Omnivorous, 12-27-2005 11:36 PMThis message has been edited by Omnivorous, 12-27-2005 11:36 PM

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What I refuse to accept is your insistence that your beliefs about your beliefs constitute evidence in support of your beliefs.

How very tingly. Absolutely not--I think short (but escalating) suspensions are the only way to go. The effective force here is the participants' addiction.

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What I refuse to accept is your insistence that your beliefs about your beliefs constitute evidence in support of your beliefs.