I wasn't paying close attention to who was posting the ugly messages. I accidentally clicked to start the Convo with you instead of the one that has been bad mouthing Zack. I'm am sorry.
That makes perfect sense to me! I very much appreciate that you all actively manage and participate in this forum.
I can tell you are doing your very best to have some community rules that foster a healthy community!
It is so hard to figure out where to draw the line. There is a spectrum ranging from spirited debate at one end to troll at the other end, and a lot of shades between them.
I love our great Constitution including our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble.
I also have an extraordinary passion and curiosity about communities of practice, bodies of knowledge, and full-blown self-regulated professions. Humbly, I am a national authority on the subject. It is my life’s work.
Emerging professions, that typically start as communities which become guilds or trades, have a grittiness about them. They definitely have spirited debates!
I love our Constitution including our First Amendment rights. I also love the ethnographic data and communications in Communities of Practice such as this Forum. It’s part of the history of how the community evolves and grows.
That said, I always have a tool in my pocket that one of mentors taught me years ago. He taught me a simple lesson: “You don’t have to respond to that!” It was a terrific counter-message to how I was raised which was: “You better answer me when I’m talking to you!”
So now the tool in my pocket is a simple quip: “Don’t feed the trolls!”
It strikes the right balance for me. I honor our God-given rights under our great Constitution and can simply choose not to respond to someone who crosses the line into being a troll.
Better for history to record the effigy.
I am just starting to check out their quail recipes!
Spirit
Greeter
Friend
Sounds delicious!
