From 8bd49ff208339f16d998c6d83225ead262668458 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Spek Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2018 01:11:01 +0200 Subject: Update Discourse Without Drama section based on kline's input --- .../2018-08-15-the-perl-conference-in-glasgow.adoc | 64 ++++++++++++---------- 1 file changed, 36 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-) (limited to '_posts') diff --git a/_posts/2018-08-15-the-perl-conference-in-glasgow.adoc b/_posts/2018-08-15-the-perl-conference-in-glasgow.adoc index bdc256e..6118d50 100644 --- a/_posts/2018-08-15-the-perl-conference-in-glasgow.adoc +++ b/_posts/2018-08-15-the-perl-conference-in-glasgow.adoc @@ -29,14 +29,19 @@ Organiser’s Forum 2018]. == Discourse Without Drama This was the first talk, and the only talk available at this timeslot. I am -personally very much against the diversity ideology footnote:[I am not against -the concept of diversity, I wholly support the idea of equal opportunities. -What I do not accept is the idea of equal outcome, or forced diversity based on -physical traits. This is what I refer to with "the diversity ideology", as this -is what it has become in recent times.], and must admit I am skeptical of such -presentations from the get-go. Nonetheless, I did stay until the end and tried -to give it a fair shot. However, I cannot sit idle while she tries to force -her ideology on this community I care very deeply about. +personally very much against the diversity ideology, and must admit I am +skeptical of such presentations from the get-go. Nonetheless, I did stay until +the end and tried to give it a fair shot. However, I cannot sit idle while she +tries to force her ideology on this community I care very deeply about. + +[NOTE] +==== +I am not against the concept of diversity, I wholly support the idea of equal +opportunities. What I do not accept is the idea of equal outcome, or forced +diversity based on physical traits. This is what I refer to with "the diversity +ideology". I also don't think anyone has a right not to be offended, as this is +impossible to achieve in the real world. +==== One of the things that stood out to me is that the speaker tells us not to use logical fallacies to condemn her ideology. This on itself I can easily agree @@ -45,28 +50,31 @@ fallacies to promote her ideology. Most notably, she pointed out the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum[_argumentum ad populum_]. This basically means that just because a lot of people do or say something, doesn't make it right. And this applies to the idea that we need to push the -diversity ideology in the Perl community as well. +diversity ideology in the Perl community as well. Try to bring facts and +statistics to show that this ideology will actually improve the community in +the long term. I've personally not seen any community improve with increasingly +harsh punishments for increasingly minor offenses. Another thing which slightly bothered me is the useless spin into radical -feminist ideology, which has no place on the Perl conference. We're not at a -political rally here, we're at a Perl conference. Surely, things can (and will) -get political from time to time, but the way the presenter forces us into -talking about her ideology seems unfit for this event. - -Next, the speaker raises the point that people should *not* grow a thicker -skin. Instead, people should get softer hearts. While I can get behind the -latter part, I disagree with the former. Different people have different ideas -of what counts as offensive, which is part of why it's impossible to guarantee -a "safe space" where nobody will ever be offended. If everybody can just be -offended at anything and have the other party suffer repurcussions for it, it's -just a clear invitation to abuse by the perpetually offended. - -The speaker was also very defensive about being called a "social justice -warrior", and informed the crowd that if she were to be called one, she'd -gladly take up a sword. This gives off a feeling that the presenter isn't -interested in civil discourse to come to an agreement together with everyone. -Instead, she'd rather strike down any and all who don't completely accept her -ideology. +feminist ideology, which to me seems very off-topic for a Perl conference. +We're not at a political rally, and these kinds of remarks have been very +divisive in all sorts of other environments already. I'd rather not bring this +kind of behaviour to a community which I have loved for being so incredibly +friendly without needing special rules and regulations for it. + +Next, a point is raised that people should *not* grow a thicker skin. Instead, +people should get softer hearts. While I can get behind the latter part, I +have to disagree with the former. Reality shows that communications don't +always go perfectly. This is even more true in a community that exists mostly +in the digital space. Context is often lost here, and that can lead to +situations where someone may feel attacked even if this was not the intention +at all. I can safely say I've been in many situations where my comments were +perceived as an attack when they were not ment to be. + +People need to be able to handle some criticism, and sometimes you'll just have +to assume good faith from the other party. Telling people they should never +have to consider context and have a right not to be offended fosters an +environment in which people will be afraid to give genuine, valid feedback. She seemed very much in favour of an overly broad code of conduct as well, of which I am also a strong opponent. There are various articles online, such as -- cgit v1.1