From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Mon Sep 23 19:54:53 2002
Subject:Re: Posts and Language

Hi Tony,

>PS....I got censored by the group for some
>reason...I'm not sure what I said that was wrong, but
>it said it was sexual discrimination. Am I missing
>something??? I would have thought it was the "slut"
>comment icw Joey, but Bruce was able to send that to
>me no problem, so I'm not sure what's up. If anyone
>has a clue, clue me in, cuz I'm REALLY NOT trying to
>offend anyone. THANKS!

Yeah, my reply got to the group, but it bounced from one of the members, probably because I sent the reply with a verbatim copy of your paragraph.

All,

This might be a good time to caution everyone about the wording used in the emails. This list tends to run like a bunch of friends sitting around chatting at a party or something. As such, there is a certain amount of ribbing, name-calling, and the like in the posts that are acceptable between friends. That said, there are three issues that counter what I just said. None of this is directed at Tony or anyone else in particular; it's just something to think about:

1. Sometimes, self-effacing humor and comments said in jest don't translate well onto the printed page. The author can come off looking like a jerk, a bully, or even offensive. Smiley faces (emoticons) help to put things in context, but even they don't have enough range to cover all the bases. Read over your comments before pushing the Send button, to see if there's another meaning that might get read into your post.

2. Certain words that are considered offensive can be used in particular situations among close friends without creating offense. Be aware, however, that once you publish these words, the "among close friends" pretty much disappears. In a group as large as this one (475+ members), it's risky to assume that everyone else understands and accepts the context.

3. Some of our members use company email accounts to receive their posts. This opens up a whole new world of issues involving harassment, offensive materials, etc. The fact that you might say something to a friend in private has little bearing on whether his/her employer would allow the same comments in a work environment. And many companies consider all email sent to a work account as the "work environment." Please keep offensive and risque terms out of your emails when possible.

I realize that this whole thread smacks of censorship and PC, two concepts that are distasteful to this author. (That's "political correctness," not computers. I don't hate computers -- OK, sometimes when they crash I do.) Sometimes, though, the concepts that they represent have to be acknowledged, especially with a group as diverse as this one.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions™ http://consult.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group and HiNote moderator
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com