[PLUG-TALK] a superset of censorship

[glen e. p. ropella]

I've often been accused of being a troll.  Perhaps I am a troll.  I
don't know.

I do, however, know that ignoring (apparent) trolls is not the way to
treat them.  Yes, it (often) causes them to go away.  But ignorance
doesn't solve anything.  Ignorance will make you comfortable (perhaps
even blissful); but it won't fix the problem·  Ignoring the troll
sacrifices the community in exchange for personal comfort.  Ignoring a
troll is really a bit selfish.

There are 3 basic ways to actually, constructively, fix the problem:

1) ridicule,
2) balanced, patient, and respectful persistence, and/or
3) exile.

(1) can either shame or tire the troll into learning the boundaries of
the community.  The work done by the ridiculers is valuable and
necessary.  We often don't credit them for the work they do to help
define and maintain a community.  Good ridiculers (e.g. the cast,
writers, and producers of Saturday Night Life, Jeme Brelin, etc.) do it
in such a way that the ridiculed even begin to _enjoy_ being ridiculed.
 And that helps build the community even more.

Few of us have the time or desire to engage in (2).  Priests, pastors,
and teachers of all sorts (from K through college through death) are
_paid_ to do such work.  Why does society pay them?  ... Well, because
it's a very useful function.  Many of us are amateur teachers and take
time out of our personal lives to educate people like MR.  And those
people deserve our thanks.

(3) is the worst of the constructive options.  It minimizes the damage
done to the community by trolls (and their mewling, selfish, victims who
abandon the community at the drop of a hat).  But exile removes any
benefit we may get from any positive contributions by the trolls,
assuming there is some.

Unsubscribing is selfish enough (and we all have the right and
obligation to be selfish when necessary).  Unsubscribing _loudly_ and
nastily is unnecessary and self-righteous.  Not only do you damage the
community by leaving; but you damage it even more by throwing a childish
tirade as you grab _your_ toys and stomp out the door.

Further, plugging your ears, eyes, nose, and mouth to the likes of MR
(or Nazis (Haha! I'm the first to mention Nazis on this list in 2009!),
pornographers, racists, Christians, scientists, harley riders, etc) is
the first step on the path to censorship.  Once you come to the
realization that ignoring people makes them go away, you hop onto the
slippery slope of _encouraging_ others to ignore that class of people.
And if you don't see enough success persuading others to ignore a class
of people, then you may well be tempted to use the law to _coerce_ the
ignorance of that class of people.  You may eventually coerce that class
of people to desist from their behavior entirely.

So ... in conclusion ... unsubbing just because you don't like a
particular troll or a particular thread is a gateway method for much
harder and less tasteful methods for shutting people up.  Unsubbing and
ignoring MR are methods in the common superset that also contains
censorship and discrimination.

-- 
glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095, http://tempusdictum.com