Gratuitious controversy isn't a good thing!!!
jsd at jdyson.com
jsd at jdyson.com
Thu Jan 1 23:47:37 PST 2004
Greg 'groggy' Lehey said:
> On Friday, 2 January 2004 at 15:25:22 +1000, Stephen McKay wrote:
> > I've finally had to edit the fortunes file to remove stuff that is so bad
> > that I physically cringe whenever I see it. No matter how I try, I just
> > can't see the funny side of it. Yes, it's in the "potentially obscene"
> > section, alongside the funniest stuff in the fortunes database. But there
> > are limits.
> >
> > Anyway, today I added a new patch to my list of essential FreeBSD fixes:
> > I deleted everything by Rush Limbaugh. That guy just can't do humour. It
> > doesn't work as satire, or even parody. It's just awful.
> >
> > Would anybody object if I commited this one?
>
> I think the answer would have to be "yes". Though I personally agree
> with you about its usefulness, the whole thing about the potentially
> offensive fortunes is, of course, that they might offend. Somebody
> else might like them. I don't think that anybody should play censor
> here.
>
Just my two cents:
(This isn't meant to be the 'meat' of the
discussion, but meant as something that
will make my suggestion of removing
controversial material more clear!!!)
I don't find Rush to be offensive, but I find
that the politically potty mouthed Al Franken
to be incredibly rude. (Note that this isn't
meant to be the beginning of a discussion, but
as someone who respects Rush, this is meant to
clarify my reason for STRONGLY SUGGESTING that
Rush's and other divisive quotes be removed.)
It isn't 'good' to provide balance by adding
more politically charged comments, because it
only creates more hurt feelings for more
politically sensitive individuals. Perhaps it might
be okay to leave-in a humorous insult against
Mao, Stalin or Hitler -- because few people would
find humor at their expense to be offensive.
However, humor about/against current political
figures might be a bad idea.
I really don't believe that political controversy
of this kind is a good thing for FreeBSD. There
is enough controversy WRT the GPL thing, or various
'personality' troubles might be divisive enough
already. Gratuitiously including unrelated
politically controversial stuff is mostly
counterproductive for FreeBSD, and cannot even
benefit the advocacy that portrays the humor. It
only HURTS everyone involved!!!
Since someone has shown that they are uncomfortable
with quotes from Rush, and the marginal loss to
the project by removing the quotes is nil, I
STRONGLY suggest that current potentially DIVISIVE
political humor be removed. If there is humor
from pundits like Franken, Rush, Coulter, Carville,
then it should be expunged unless it is politically
benign.
Mature friends can disagree on political issues,
and there are times to discuss these issues, but
it would be unfortunate to develop any grudges.
The upcoming political season will be especially
unpleasant, and it is best to avoid offending
FreeBSD collaborators and/or lose project
friendships.
John
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