From: Nicola Taylor (nmtayl@YAHOO.COM.AU)
Date: Mon Nov 27 2006 - 00:20:16 EST
> > I find your contribution to this problem very > imaginative. Instead > > showing ways of how a problem might be solved you > are suggesting to > > discriminate against a member of the list. Rakesh > may have not chosen > > the right way of expressing his concerns but this > does not give anyone > > the right to say ignore him. Dogan, I share your wish that the problem of flaming on this list be solved in some way. However, the problem of flaming has plagued academic (and other) lists since their inception; it is a difficult and intractable problem since the flamer must be genuinely willing to modify his/her own behaviour. In other words I can tell a person that his/her language (or style of communication) is offensive to me and request that he/she modify their behaviour, but if the person refuses to do so, what then? In my post I shared a PERSONAL solution to the flaming problem: ignore the person who persists. I shared this solution as I have found that it works very well in defusing situations. It takes two to argue, after all. On your suggestion that I have no "right" to ignore Rakesh: well, I've yet to meet someone who reads EVERYTHING that comes into their mailbox. More importantly, avoiding someone who continuously harasses me is a choice that I would prudently exercise in real life, everyday situations (both online and offline). Would you put up, for example, with harassment in your home or classroom? Would you accept harassment from a partner or stranger? Frankly I would not. Imo nobody has a right to harrass another. On the contrary, Jerry, myself, indeed everyone on this list, has a right to communicate free from personal harassment. Finally, please note that I did not advocate that anyone/everyone 'discriminate' against Rakesh by ignoring him; on the contrary I clearly upheld his right to express himself and communicate with anyone/everyone who wants to talk to him. If his form of expression produces negative reactions in some of us, and if some of us choose to ignore him, this is not discrimination but a direct, understandable and legitimate reaction to his own behaviour. In solidarity Nicky Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
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