CIVILITY
I’ve noticed a phenomenon in the several years that I’ve been following this site, and others, which is sometimes mildly disturbing, and at other times distressing. It’s a little hard to identify or quantify, but I’m going to take a stab at it. It deals with opinions and expertise, and the willingness to share one or both.
All of us, from time to time, have opinions on almost any given issue. How that opinion is formed is subject to many factors. Our political persuasions, personal biases, friendships, hero worship, personal experience, study and research etc., are some of these factors.
Our willingness to share those opinions and expertise is also subject to many factors. A reluctance to venture an opinion that may differ from what is perceived as great expertise, by many on the board, is one factor that may keep us from participation.
Another factor might be that you think you know more about (pick a topic) than anyone you’ve ever met, and you know you’re right, and you’re not about to back up for anyone.
These are two extremes of thought. Many, or most of us, land somewhere in the middle of those extremes. All are subject to our own personal life experience. Look at that!! I just expressed an opinion, with which some may differ.
Now comes the distressing/disturbing part. Both of those examples above are flawed. (In my opinion) Each of us has had a different exposure to life, and its experiences, which makes us unique. We all learn life’s lessons differently, yet none of us has experienced it all. That’s why it’s important that we be willing to share the knowledge we’ve gained, even though someone else may be more studied or experienced in what we share. The great thing about this site is that there are people who have pursued specific endeavor. We should be willing to learn from them, without feeling we have to compete with them. We all have something to contribute. Those learned people should also be willing to allow those less knowledgeable a little leeway in their learning process. Be a teacher, rather than someone who finds fault, criticizes or belittles.
I check in occasionally on another board, where skewering someone expressing an opinion or requesting information is treated a sport. But for that dominating attitude, it could be a great source of local information and camaraderie. It’s a shame. We all know that the Internet is great, but has a basic flaw when it comes to human communication which is why we have emoticons to try to help with feeling. It’s less than perfect, so we should all factor that into our discussions. Civility is the key.