(August 18, 2015 at 4:32 am)excitedpenguin Wrote: As for the forum being all that great... I don't know. It honestly is the best I've ever encountered but it's very far from being perfect - at least that's been my experience. Authority should only assert itself when absolutely necessary. Here I've seen quite the opposite to that and I've got to admit it's proof of simplemindedness and mediocrity, and furthermore, when you point it out as such you're immediately pressured to shut up. This is quite reminiscent of an oppressive system - that's exactly what it is actually. To me, there is only a subtle difference between passive aggressive and aggressive behaviour. Some tend to exploit the fact that the two are, at first sight, quite distinguishable intention wise.
Oh well, that said, we're all just humans. We can't be perfect.
The perfect forum would be one with no restrictions - let the flow administer itself. But we all know that's not possible legal wise, so there's that.
A site with no restrictions would be a total nightmare. The only reason the discussion here is as good as it is is because the staff has the power to weed out the disruptive users. The fact of the matter is that there is a large chunk of the population that live to shit all over the internet, and you need to have the tools to deal with them to prevent the site from becoming a litterbox. But yeah, this site is run by human beings, so it's going to be imperfect.
I'm guessing a good chunk of the hostility you get when you criticize the staff is because being on the staff is a thankless job that everyone tells you how to do. You spend your free time volunteering to help out the site, and all you get is criticism and people acting like they can do a better job. It gets extremely tiring hearing people thanklessly complain, and wanting to tell people to shut their mouths is a natural reaction.
That's not to say that people shouldn't voice their opinions. Part of running a good site is listening to the users. I'm just saying that a hostile reaction may not really be due to an oppressive environment.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
