Posted by spoc on June 18, 2004, at 13:35:44
In reply to re: thoughts (not too long for me) » lil' jimi, posted by AuntieMel on June 18, 2004, at 12:15:02
....but everything's relative.
Dang, dang, dang! All new entries sound so good that I kind of wish I could just live up to the fiction that I can put something behind me so well that nothing could spur me to comment more. But alas, that's just not me I guess.
So, with loads of due respect, I just wanted to add that from my vantage point, the issue was not whether it is safe to deliver truths. That the essence (I always was here for the larger picture) was the very variance in interpretation of what passed and didn't pass itself; occurring in patterns either for or against; and not always related to any identifiable degree of offense or nature of offense. And that whether someone had received previous admonishments or even numerous previous admonishments did not consistently get used as the foundation for future administrative actions. That of course there will be some degree of oversight and some degree of inconsistency, as administration is not performed by a computer program. But that the degree of variance could be seen to be considerably greater than that explainable by chance.
Now, ok, like Jimi said, I *can* see where the subject matter being handled at the time of his block could be seen as hazardous under the principles he has just espoused. And in that way, that it could be concluded that that kind of thing is best avoided. But that is only one of many types of subjects or purposes being engaged in at the times blocks or reprimands are handed down -- or aren't, inexplicably. Sense can be made there but not so easily elsewhere; and trying to deliver a truth to someone -- brutal OR simple -- is not always involved at all.
Ya know, you'd think there would have been a psychological study by now on the effect of randomness on the efficacy of punishment! ;- ) <----- <if I could change the font, that wink would be much bigger>
Know that I was encouraged by the recent evidence that change is possible (while I would enjoy hearing something about what, if any, general impact it will have, because that has implications too. But I'm just not curious or motivated enough to ask). And I appreciate the apologies given in some senses. So I don't want to take away from any of that and I'm even satisfied to say that I'll have faith for now that something did happen here and things will indeed get more consistent. But I just wouldn't feel quite right leaving this at having been a matter of realizing what the causative factor almost always is, and the simplicity of now being able to avoid it. I think there was more to it than that.
Happy Friday everyone. :- )
poster:spoc
thread:346427
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20040527/msgs/357856.html