[WikiEN-l] Can we ban 172 now? And VV too! (in response to Stan)

Wed Jun 2 20:06:42 UTC 2004

Abe Sokolov wrote:

> Re: "Here is a typical example of 172's ad hominem that really ought 
> to be
> out of bounds, and yet quite a few people seem to be OK with it.
> Why is anybody willing to put up with these kinds of low attacks?"
>
> Why didn't you quote me in full, huh?
>
Because there's no possible excuse for personal attacks. It doesn't
matter how strongly you feel about the issue, your personal history,
nothing. Critiquing behavior and statements, sure, go wild - if Fred
or I say something stupid, it's perfectly fine to respond "that was
a stupid thing to say". But to go from that to "Fred is senile", that
is not OK. Calling it "harshness" or "ineloquence" is not an excuse;
I know you're smart enough to know full well the difference between
an attack on what someone says, and an attack on them personally.

If that's not convincing, then consider the likely outcome if
*everybody* on WP is allowed to cut loose with the personal attacks
all the time. Rest assured, I have some pretty nasty thoughts about
people here, plus the vocabulary and creativity to make attacks that
will amuse the audience while ulcerating the victim. (Fish with
Google Groups to get a partial sample of my youthful and less-honed
flaming - alas, some of my best material seems not have been archived.)

Stan