[BLU/Officers] political correctness flame war on Discuss makes BLU and Linux look bad

[Will Rico]

I agree with Bill here with the following additional observations/thoughts.

1- I expect it is very hard to moderate these things. Finding where to draw
the line is difficult.  Perhaps some guidelines would be helpful.  Maybe
something like LibrePlanet's "Safe Space Policy" adjusted for online
discussions? https://libreplanet.org/2016/safe-space-policy/

2- It would be nice to be mindful of sensitive issues and words, while
avoiding the public shaming of people who make mistakes.  There are shades
of grey here.

3- What's the positive in this?  We can look for ways to be more inclusive
and welcoming.  Ideas are welcome.

Will

On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 1:17 PM, Bill Ricker <bill.n1vux at gmail.com> wrote:

> To BLU Officers -
>
> I am concerned ...
>
> 1. We should have intervened to request a Subject Change (so as to
> disentangle the tech topic with politico-linguistic discussion)
>
> 2. We should have intervened to request/assure civility.
>
> 3. Ned and Gordon are right, Jim-Crow era language like "Cotton Pickin'"
> has no place in polite society in this century, and we don't get a
> democratic vote on whether someone is or should be offended.
> Normally i wouldn't link the thieves at About.com but they have perfect
> reference
>
> http://racerelations.about.com/od/diversitymatters/a/Five-Terms-You-Might-Not-Know-Are-Considered-Racist.htm
> (not finding where they stole it quickly)
> Urban Dict (not known for Political Correctness!) agrees:
> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cotton+Pickin&defid=6916831
>
> 4. Decrying 'Political Correctness' (or 'language lawyers') makes our
> mailing list and by implication our meetings a less-safe space for anyone
> not protected by White-CIS-Het-Male conformity.
>
> 5. As always, the ironically named MadDog is the voice of reason.
>
> 6. We've lost at least two valued list members and unknown how many others
> will be repelled by this incivility and un-welcoming-ness.
>
> 7. Please see http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Encourage-Women-Linux-HOWTO/
>   especially but hardly exclusively page 4 "But I don't do that!"
>      (all of which applies equally to making
> underrepresented/under-empowered ​ethnic/race groupings feel safe and
> welcome too.)
>
>
> --
> Bill Ricker
> bill.n1vux at gmail.com
> https://www.linkedin.com/in/n1vux
>
> _______________________________________________
> Officers mailing list
> Officers at blu.org
> http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/officers
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.blu.org/pipermail/officers/attachments/20160316/161fd784/attachment.html>