| [Rant] IT'S TIME TO RESPECT EACH OTHER | ANN.lu |
| Posted on 07-Sep-2004 17:34 GMT by Darrin | 140 comments
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Before reaching comment #150 in an earlier debate, I suggested a "wild idea":
Who on each side is prepared to bury the past, treat the other side(s) with respect and DEBATE instead of ARGUE? One golden rule... whoever signs up should try and remeber the names of the others doing the same and treat them with the respect which they would like to be shown to themselves. Anyone against it should then be ignored by the group in order to avoid flamefests.
Here is the reasoning behind the idea:
Let's forget about everything Amiga Inc, Gensei, Hyperion, McEwan, Buck, Fleecy, Hermans, Schmidt, KennyR, Eva, myself, Sammy... EVERYONE has said in the past. Yes, that's right - let's FORGET IT ALL.
It's group hug time!!! Let's accept that OS4, MOS, AROS, AmigaDE and Amithlon are all great pieces of software. Let's accept that the latest Pegasos and Amiga boards are worth buying if you want to. Let's also remind ourselves that several years of blasting each other with wild accusations and insults have got all sides NOWHERE.
I'll start. I apologise to everyone I've insulted on ANN. I'd like to thank everyone I've debated with. I want an AmigaOne for myself. I'd like to pay the same price as the Pegasos for it, but I accept the fact that I want OS4 so I have to buy an AmigaOne and I'd appreciate it if everyone would recognise that it's my choice. I wish the Pegasos and MOS good luck in this small market. I hope OS4+ manages the suceess of the classic OS. I like Amigaworld.net and I'm sure that MorphZone is a wonderful place full of satisfied customers.
Let's cut out the crap. Let's talk to each other as if we were face to face and not hide behind keyboards.
I'd much rather spend my time commenting on what software is being developed for the platforms than talking about what where my T-shirt is or whether a business card was genuine or not.
Can we stick to what's important? Can we agree to disagree? I don't recall the Amiga v ST war being anything like this, but then we usually had to meet each other face to face.
Damn, this reads like a bloody John Lenon song ;-)
This is a chance to start a multi-platform news-site that we can ALL enjoy? I'd like to give it a try.
This may be pointless, it probably won't work, but who is willing to try? Comment below and let's bury the past and respect those who respect us. Thanks for reading.
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| IT'S TIME TO RESPECT EACH OTHER : Comment 56 of 140 | ANN.lu |
| Posted by gary_c on 08-Sep-2004 02:21 GMT | I'm not sure if there will ever be peace among the factions, given the history and the personalities of some of the people involved. It's a noble effort to try, but maybe it's best to take it a step at a time.
I don't think it's realistic or even necessarily a good idea to make *subjects* or *topics* off-limits. Discussing the AmigaOne vs. Pegasos or Amiga, Inc. and its partners vs. Genesi isn't inherently bad. In fact it's interesting and fun. What makes all the difference is *how* people do it.
The problem seems to be that people don't respect basic ideas that make civil discussions possible. How about keeping things like these in mind:
* Debate ideas, don't attack the writer personally.
This means don't call people names, don't say things calculated for maximum emotional reaction, etc. (The anonymity of the Internet means some dysfunctional people will use web forums as an outlet, but for the rest of us (I hope a majority, but sometimes I wonder.... ;-) ), it's common sense to be civil.)
* Try to focus on the ideas themselves rather than the writer.
The mere sight of my avatar at a certain site puts some people on guard and ready to argue, it seems ("He's blue, so what he says is crap." ;-) ). Try to accept everyone's words on their own merit rather than prejudging based on who the writer is, what color his/her camp flag is, etc.
* Avoid infinite loops. If you find yourself restating a position repeatedly, especially in an argument with just one other person, just call it a draw and stop wasting other readers' time. (Subpoint: Any time the discussion is more about trying to clarify what you already said rather than about saying new things, it's time to move on.)
* Be prepared to cite valid sources for claims made.
People tend to say things, especially in attacks against an adversary it seems, that they have only second- or third-hand information about. This information often turns out to be bogus or otherwise not applicable. It would save a lot of trouble if people either qualified their claims by saying "I've heard that..." or "Mr. XXX said that...", etc. (or better yet, "At this URL it says that....") rather than "This is what's true:...." But that would take the wind out of a lot of arguments so it may be too much to hope for.
Well, these ideas are just what come to mind quickly; people probably have other things they could add. The main thing is to be civil and focussed on ideas in the discussions. Stay fact-oriented and accept others' opinions as their legitimate priviledge. Like Darrin said, debate instead of argue.
-- gary_c |
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