Muted somebody on MB whom I had previously un-muted.
There is a type of trolling that is most corrosive to a community, and it comes in a form that is not obvious. These people are skilled at hiding their crappy behaviour behind sets of well-chosen words, a skill honed from being overly online.
@pratik I don't follow them; I thought that would get the job done but I don't have the capacity to see them in the timeline at all. To be fair, this is the only mute I am currently using so it's a specific type of troll that jabs at my brain.
@Ddanielson Yeah, I'm not a fan of this type of post and already regret making it — if I didn't have a wider thought about community and the MB community in particular then I wouldn't have said anything.
Aaaand then I got carried away. I need to make time to refine my thoughts here, though I'm confident community gatherings will be the most best way for a lot of us to work on these issues.
@SimonWoods @Ddanielson I would love to discuss this issue (online community health), but now I'm afraid, any disagreement might label my responses as corrosive 😀 I'm sure everyone reading your original post might have thought it's about them. That's the beauty (and horror) of such a post.
@pratik That's exactly why I'm regretting it. I think there's an air of uncertainty in the community with regard to what the team considers inappropriate when it comes to this issue — if we were to use names would we then be breaking the rules, or even if not the rules would that be terrible either way since it's just mudslinging? IDK... I think each situation is relevant, that the context is important since using names is not always bad so long as you also put the work in to justify such a thing.
@SimonWoods If you are stating your preference and saying this is why you don’t want to follow, then it’s ok. I can’t say for others but if it’s me, I can understand it and in fact even like if people are upfront. I may not agree or like it but I’ll not attack you for your decision. Not everyone may react the same.
Things may be different if Manton, Jean, or Vincent say something coz they’re part of the Micro.blog company so might come across as the view of the company/platform.
@pratik Yep that's generally my viewpoint as well. My feeling is that people should feel free to discuss and debate their thoughts and feelings even in what many consider to be unfair language — the context being that it is for the discussion and not personal. I'm also perfectly fine with people making mistakes, specifically if they are open to being called on those mistakes and making the appropriate corrections.
And this is why I've become mostly unwilling to jump head-first into big debates on the timeline; I lack confidence that everybody is aware of other people's thoughts and feelings such that we share enough understanding to truly have these discussions and debates. Without that understanding a lot of it feels shallow and less valuable as compared to even remote in-person exchanges. Though that's my own bias of assuming whatever easiest is most likely to be of the lowest quality possible.
@SimonWoods @pratik I don’t think I would, nor want to, have any “official” say in any matters. That’s up to Manton and Jean. If there is something I usually take it up internally.