This is a really interesting article about how some people managed to talk like adults about a piece of art they didn't like. Whether or not you like their solution: it appears they came to a solution that made a variety of people who disagreed but who all cared happy.
Basically, they solved this thorny public art problem by not allowing drive-by comments.
Without fail, people arrived at these events primed to make public comments, only to be surprised when they could not find a formal body to make a speech to, as there were only small-group conversations to join. They didn’t want to spend their time having to speak and listen at human scale. Indeed, listening, in small groups or one-on-one, over long periods, tried the patience of some participants. But it also bled out the cursed public discourse that had surrounded the issue for so long—exhausting those who had just one point to make and no interest in connecting or communicating, only in winning.They point out that the usual process--people lining up to give a speech to an assembly of other people (most of whom were also there to give speeches) was tried and, as usual, didn't work.
It's worthwhile thinking about how many online platforms are basically that: someone who will monologue but is not expected to engage getting access to a big audience of people who all want to engage or, themselves, monologue. Forums are like that, Twitter is like that. (People who write blogs but don't answer the comments are like that.)
And it's worth thinking about which kinds of people thrive in specifically those environments--people who have a deep belief in one-way communication and not being fact-checked. People who are twitter-famous or familiar forum-faces but not well-known as creators tend to be, basically, righteous trash.
So that's that.
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Anybody curious about court news with Gencon--it's on appeal to the higher court now. If you didn't see that coming you haven't been paying attention.
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12 comments:
I think I'm getting a deja vu vibe about Gencon, I'm not sure if I remember this happening once or twice before.
I can be horrendous for drive-by comments, mostly as a result of time constraints when I happen to stumble upon something I am passionate about one way or another. However, I remember Zak's rules on Google+ that (to paraphrase) if you had time to make a comment you were required to respond to questions. I found the rule (and no personal attacks) lead to productive communications and more conscious and thoughtful consideration of whatever topic was at hand. Today when I comment I check back to see if there are questions or additional information I hadn't considered.
I have to admit this struck a chord as I can see my own behaviour falls into that category. That’s a big step toward humanisation.
I’m afraid Art is the only field where people can agree / disagree without risking having a fight (unless artists are involved, I suppose) because for the average Joe, the feeling produced by art can only be enriched by discussion (or remains the same). If you don’t like it, you just ignore it...
All others topics (if important for the parties involved) may unleash violence among people, even trivial ones (in France, some would kill somenone for supporting a rival soccer team...)
@gannaeg
The fact that disagreements _can_ lead to violence does not mean they will. Conflicts about all kinds of things that _could_ lead to violence don't every day all over the world.
I’m afraid Art is the only field where people can agree / disagree without risking having a fight (unless artists are involved, I suppose) because for the average Joe, the feeling produced by art can only be enriched by discussion (or remains the same). If you don’t like it, you just ignore it...
All others topics (if important for the parties involved) may unleash violence among people, even trivial ones (in France, some would kill someone for supporting a rival soccer team...)
What is going on here you two?
Sorry, a copy / paste mistake (only one computer left for Arnaud and I - our dog has crunched Arnaud's last week)
Recent administration change in my town. First step: covering murals allusive to popular struggles, and now everyone is angry. Yeah, we should improve dialog first.
fully agree, i think systems boost those that best fit into them, and bend into shape those that don't but can accomodate such pressure (the others are either broken or ejected), thus in any pursuit it would be best to try and find the system that best accomodates the many rather than the few, and prioritizes holistic wellbeing first among all other concerns.
online platforms are no different, of course it's harder to change a system already in motion than just making a new one, hence bluesky for example
I use to run a gaming news blog in the early 2010’s. I ALWAYS responded to any comments, politely, professionally, respectfully, whether positive or negative.
It would be nice if we looked at our ideas as malleable and not dogmatic beliefs.
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