Woozle/2021/08/11

originally posted on Nextdoor as pinned post for antifa-politics group

Discussion Guidelines

Here are some general guidelines I've worked out over the years for keeping contentious discussions reasonable:

https://issuepedia.org/Issuepedia:Arguing/guidelines

In view of the recent concerns about "civility" vs. "name-calling" and mockery in the other Politics group, I think it's important to note that civility in the *meaning* of what is said is far more important than in the particular words chosen. I'd rather be cursed out and mocked by someone who *actually has a relevant point to make* than ignored or belittled in the kindest possible terms.

HOWEVER: note that Nextdoor appears to have different views on this matter, and is willing to delete content or suspend users based on *apparent* incivility (such as cursing or using advanced snark against someone's lack of reasoning) while being more lenient with *actual* incivility (repeating political myths/disinformation, punching down, assuming bad intent).

2022-03-14 Addendum: Any posted links should be accompanied by some kind of summary of the point you intend to make, the take-away you'd like the reader to get from it.

Just posting the link itself (especially if the material is a video of any length) leaves ambiguous what it is that you are trying to say -- which can provide cover for dogwhistles, baiting, and disinformation.

https://issuepedia.org/Issuepedia:Arguing/clarity

Another thing to keep in mind if you're disagreeing with the group consensus: https://issuepedia.org/Issuepedia:Arguing/respect_the_room

Please feel free to refer to those guidelines if you ever find yourself in a discussion (anywhere, not just here!) that seems to be getting heated.