Be civil

Thank you Barry. It’s a shame you had to remind us of these points, but your message needed to be said.

I’ve seen too many valuable websites go to the dogs for this very reason. I no longer bother with the comments sections of Salon.com or SFGate for example.

Coastsider.com represents a great resource. When we discuss issues with respect for one another, we get far more out of the resulting information. When we attack one another personally, engage in too much sarcasm, or spend too many paragraphs on our own opinions, the issues get muddled. Moreover, people will begin to tune out. At that point, we’ve lost the communicative function of this website.

We cannot be a real community if we anger or alienate each other. Community means more than just sharing a zipcode. It would be unrealistic to believe that we could all agree. Still, I think it is reasonable to expect that we could all be courteous.

And being mindful of grammar doesn’t hurt either.

Steve Montara

Comment 2 by Barry Parr  on  May 22  at  12:08am  •  All my comments • 

One more thing, readers should feel free to point out when they think commenters are being uncivil. This is a tricky business, by any community needs to set its own standards of civil discourse.

Thanks, Barry, for posting your reminder. It is easier to negatively characterize those we oppose than construct valid arguments to rebut their claims. It is also easier to impugn intentions than to directly address arguments. These fallacies don’t shed light on issues, except to the degree that personalities dominate an increasingly bleak landscape. Like Steve Katz, I stopped visiting comments at sites I found toxic, like Yahoo finance, for instance.

Writing posts is an opportunity to inform and exchange views. It shouldn’t be a harrowing experience for anyone, except for experiencing the exposed weakness of a given position. This is a valuable educational function that should not be trumped by cheap rhetorical ploys that make a lot of noise while sidestepping major points.

So, thanks again for the opportunity you provide to us, Barry. You’ll probably need to send your note to people who miss it today, new readers who join you later, and periodically to those of us who are forgetful.

ken king

You are right about a tone that will produce the greatest communication, of course.

Incidentally, I’m one of the few (and that’s a shame) true no-growthers to speak out much locally. In fact, I’m a negative growther. I rather like the “no-growther” label, as when I get it, I know I have already won the point and someone who doesn’t like it or who can’t rebut the truth of our overgrown, unsustainable condition has nothing but an empty label to offer.

Frequently, those who apply labels only succeed in labeling themselves. Perhaps that is not always a bad thing?

Carl May

Is the term “no-growther” a derogatory label ??