[open-government] Civility Online - A Proposal

Mon Jan 17 17:49:02 UTC 2011

On 11 January 2011 15:19, Steven Clift <clift at e-democracy.org> wrote:

> Given the recent discussions of online vitriol and incivility leading
> us to greater social conflict and real violence in society,

Steve, are you able to provide any references? I don't understand what you
mean. Which events are you referring to?

> I am
> considering hosting a time-limited online dialogue for hosts of online
> discussion to exchange ideas and lessons on how to foster greater
> civility in their online efforts.

The idea is admirable, but I don't see this achieving a great deal. I think
a more productive solution would be for people such as yourself to curate
and support disseminate resources on sites that support virtual communities.
However, I don't even know if this would satisfy the requirements you have.
Take, for example, the OpenStreetMap community that is plagued with
in-fighting and hostility. Its leaders have tried for months to create a
code of conduct, but it never really took off. If you have a spare hour, I
strongly recommend Josh Berkus' talk[1]. It's software orientated, but its
discussion of dealing with poisonous people is exemplary.

Tim McNamara
  http://timmcnamara.co.nz/

[1] http://2009.r2.co.nz/20100118/mfc-m-2.htm
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