Posted by Larry Hoover on May 12, 2006, at 12:45:48
In reply to Re: guidelines, posted by Estella on May 12, 2006, at 11:24:29
> er... what happens if someone breaks a rule?
>
> should they be blocked?Certainly not as a matter of course. I was blocked for using passive voice in an I statement. Give me a f*cking break. Something like "(something somebody said) was felt as an insult", vs. "I felt insulted by what somebody said". In either case, I am reporting my feeling, and relating it to prior statement(s). As one who has done a significant amount of academic writing, adopting the passive voice isn't uncommon for me. It just depends on my mood. But, surely the intended meaning is clear, nonetheless. And the passive voice is itself de-escalating in tone.
It is as if you were asked to administer a criminal code where the only available penalty is amputation. One would hope the consequences would be doled out quite sparingly. Moreover, if escalating penalties are also mandatory......
I would be looking very hard for mens rea, a guilty mind, and animus nocendi, a mind to harm, both, before I handed down *any* sentences under the existing blocking system. Unfortunately, one has to learn of the idiosyncracies here by other methods than by simply reading the FAQ. E.g. Bob's imagined "could". Perhaps a glossary might be a feature of the FAQ, in future? Words as they are defined here?
Lar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mens_rea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animus_nocendi
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:614568
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060412/msgs/643016.html