[Noisebridge-discuss] My Last Statement on Prior Meta-Restraint [drama]

[John Menerick]

Crutcher,

http://imagedir.org/Icons/arguing.jpg


Crutcher Dunnavant wrote:
> On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 2:20 PM, Jeffrey Malone 
> <ieatlint at tehinterweb.com <mailto:ieatlint at tehinterweb.com>> wrote:
>
>     Adding the most appropriate drama tag here.
>
>     I won't waste my time responding to the substance of your post.  I
>     will point out that you just called many of us nazis.
>     Think about that.
>
> Um, yeah. It seems I invoked the meta-clause of Godwins law. Almost 
> like I'd done it on purpose. Fancy that. 
>
>     Jeffrey
>
>>     On 1 Nov 2009 13:49, "Crutcher Dunnavant" <crutcher at gmail.com
>>     <mailto:crutcher at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>>     A number of people have been very rude and personally insulting
>>     in insisting that I should be 'nice' and not make personal
>>     attacks. This is, however you look at it, hilarious. But I
>>     suppose I'll succumb to the cudgel of the populace, if only to
>>     demonstrate its effectiveness (again, ironic considering my
>>     stated goals in the original discussion, haha).
>>
>>     So this will be my last such 'corrective' statement. You are, as
>>     always, free to ignore it, but I would suggest that you think on
>>     it. Surely, my zeal has a point of origin? Otherwise, why piss
>>     off people who's company I enjoy so much?
>>
>>     NB has reached a point of transition. We've grown to a larger
>>     space, with a larger overhead budget. We have need of a good deal
>>     of money and people's time, just to continue to exist; much more
>>     so than we needed in the past.
>>
>>     But transitions shake out old patterns, and permit new
>>     connections; and ours has raised the hackles of a strange new
>>     conservatism. Perhaps proximity, in a space that can
>>     now accommodate more, so more frequent it. Perhaps
>>     'officialness', now that we have a 'real' space. I'm not sure the
>>     causes, they likely differ for all involved. But it is in the
>>     air. I can't go a week without hearing a threat of prosecution
>>     for a breach of moral decorum lodged by one NBer to another. And
>>     I've seen this pattern before, several times.
>>
>>     This is not my first self-governing nerdery. I've been involved
>>     with many of them, my college dorm, scifi cons, a theatre
>>     honorary. I'm not unique in this, even in this space. They tend
>>     to have wild swings of lifecycle, being full of individuals with
>>     personal agency (eg. Assholes), and being too small to support
>>     effective institutional memories. So, that's my background.
>>
>>     So, I'm concerned. I see witch hunts in our future. I see
>>     'excellence trials'. "Be Excellent to Each Other" used to be used
>>     to explain why you'd done something awesome, now its used to tell
>>     others to stop doing something you don't like. A virtue
>>     transformed into a cudgel. People threaten to call the police on
>>     each other, frequently. People threaten to kick each other out of
>>     NB with the use of the consensus process, frequently. We've not
>>     actually done it yet, but the tension seems to be growing, not
>>     abating.
>>
>>     To quote a great musical: "Nice is different from Good".
>>
>>     I feel that there must be balance in the force. There must be a
>>     degree of wooly contempt towards the opinions and arguments of
>>     others. We are hackers, let there be proof, let there be working
>>     code, let there be cited case study, or exploding underwear, or
>>     something, anything other than "I'm disappointed".
>>
>>     I am saying, openly, here for the last time; a duel at dawn on
>>     the rooftop is better than an expulsion by consensus. A war of
>>     pranks and one-up-manship and sheer awesome (such as the
>>     DJ-booth, A+ all around) is the whole Point.
>>
>>     When you find yourself wanting to say "Don't do that", please,
>>     show some restraint. Be 'nice'.
>>
>>     First they came for the E. Coli, and I did not speak out -
>>     because I was not E. Coli,
>>     Then they came for the Smokers, and I did not speak out - because
>>     I was not a Smoker,
>>     Then they came for the Drunks, and I did not speak out - because
>>     I was not a Drunk,
>>     Then they came for the Stoners, and I did not speak out - because
>>     I was not a Stoner,
>>     Then they came for the Cooks, and I did not speak out - because I
>>     was not a Cook,
>>     Then they came for the Homeless Hackers, and I did not speak out
>>     - because I was not a Homeless Hacker,
>>     Then they came for the Assholes - and there was no one left to
>>     speak for me.
>>
>>     -- 
>>     Crutcher Dunnavant <crutcher at gmail.com <mailto:crutcher at gmail.com>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>>     Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>>     <mailto:Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net>
>>     https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Crutcher Dunnavant <crutcher at gmail.com <mailto:crutcher at gmail.com>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>