We are adults here and don't want JWN to reflect a hostile enviornment for lurkers who may
wish to learn about the Watchtower. Many first timers might be very curious to discover whether
so-called Apostate sites are crawling with mean-spirited monsters or not.
Kingdom Halls are not the loving kindness oasis the Governing Body sells like Kool-Aid.
But, if we aren't more civil with each other here, we might not be a reasonable alternative either.
So, I thought I'd give my two cents. What destroys civil discourse? How can we moderate ourselves like adults and respect each other?
In no particular order I'll list a few things that could be better.
I'd like you to join in and add to the list. Maybe just the exercise itself will help make us more mindful that we are a community of like-minded
people with more in common than controversy.
!.Baiting others with insulting or provocative Topic Headers leads to fights. Democrat vs Republican. Tea Party vs Socialism. Atheist vs Believer, etc.
2.Failure to DEFINE our TERMS leads to misunderstanding. We may be fighting over a misunderstanding if we don't clearly DEFINE.
3.Take ONE point at a time before moving on to a hundred other things.
4.Cut and paste should never replace YOUR OWN IDEAS. Small references or quotations support better if the are BRIEF.
5.DENSE long-winded paragraphs of text will NOT BE READ. If nobody reads your text why post it?
6.Disagree by saying why something is incorrect and support the "why" with specific examples. Who cares if you don't agree if no reasoned response provides an alternative?
7.Facts are better than mere opinions. Source your facts.
8.Ask yourself what you are trying to persuade others to accept. Being clear about your call to action makes you more effective.
9.Learn to IGNORE trouble-makers by NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THEM. Trouble-makers crave a fight. It puts them on center stage. Ignoring them
shuts them out in the dark with their poison all to themselves.
10.Be quick to apologize if you offend. If you are in an emotional state of mind, cool off before you post.
Now I'd like to read some of your ideas how we can make JWN a more friendly enviornment for the exchange of ideas.
Before you do, first scroll through the various Topic Headings and see what we are doing right now.
Ask yourself if the topic heading is:
1. NEUTRAL 2.NEGATIVE 3.POSITIVE
What could make it better?
I myself had started this topic with the heading: HOW TO DESTROY A THREAD AND TURN IT INTO A BATTLEGROUND.
After writing this post I changed it to: How (not) to destroy a thread and turn it into a battleground.
See the difference?
Thanks!