Cause you're a troll. (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, June 02, 2015, 15:58 (3464 days ago) @ Vortech
edited by Kermit, Tuesday, June 02, 2015, 16:05

Responding to Cody is not the problem. Responding about Cody, or because it is Cody is a problem. (This is not narrowly tailored to you. It tends to be a problem and of no value to the community whenever it happens. Any writer. Any target. )

I think what you're saying is it's not okay to make it personal, and if that's what you're saying, I completely agree.

I think it's perfectly okay to criticize what someone writes, and that includes their ideas, their tone, and their behavior on the forum.

Making it personal could be attacking them as a whole person, labeling or name-calling, making "you" statements, or ascribing thoughts or intent to them that we can't possibly know.

An ex-girlfriend of mine had a habit of doing the latter--what I said I meant or thought did not matter next to what she said I meant or thought. I know that issue when I see it.

I don't say all this from a pedestal of communication mastery. I've posted much that I regret here. To Cody's credit, although I often find his posts overly provocative and arrogant in tone, he is usually civil to his critics.

TL;DR

Be nice, damn it!