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[larryc]

1. Thou shall not carry grudges from one thread to another.

Actually that is all I have right now. But it is important to the health and civility of these boards. If you and Johnny mixed it up in a thread about the latest Thomas Benton column, DO NOT seek Johnny out in another thread and attack him just to attack him.

Things can get ugly fast on an internet discussion board and the whole tenor of a place can downhill. We don't have to be smiley-faced Stepford posters--fight like rabid cats in any given thread if you like. But don't let it become a general conflagration.

(This thread may be used to comment on my proposed commandment, to propose other commandments, or to attack me for what I posted on that vivisection thread six months ago.)

[prytania3]

And you're suppose to be who making commandments? God?

No. Let me guess-- a self-appointed moderator.

[francie_]

You know, Larry, I still have a bone to pick with you over your comments about PowerPoint.  Swords or pistols?  En garde!

Not Being Supportive seems to have become one of the chief sins around here, so here is my commandment:

2.  Forumites will maintain objectivity and will cease to perpetuate the lovely conceit that everyone who posts here is God's Gift to Academia, always on the side of the angels, always truthful, and always deserving of sympathy and support, No Matter What.

At the risk of resurrecting the ugly accusations that there is a "clique" (which there isn't), I do think it's become increasingly hard to disagree with or fail to show support for a large number of forumites, unless it's K16, our resident whipping boy.

[prytania3]

Commandment from the Foracle:

No getting pious.

[notaprof]

Will these commandments be written in stone, or is there some wiggle room?  And who is ModGod?

I think Pry and Realfrancie need some coaching on commandment writing.  Please rephrase starting with "Thou shalt not..." or are we doing the hiphop version?

[prytania3]

Will these commandments be written in stone, or is there some wiggle room?  And who is ModGod?

I think Pry and Realfrancie need some coaching on commandment writing.  Please rephrase starting with "Thou shalt not..." or are we doing the hiphop version?

And you have the nerve to question the ways of Francie and I because...

I just can't think of any good reason. You shall be smoted.

[notaprof]

Will these commandments be written in stone, or is there some wiggle room?  And who is ModGod?

I think Pry and Realfrancie need some coaching on commandment writing.  Please rephrase starting with "Thou shalt not..." or are we doing the hiphop version?

And you have the nerve to question the ways of Francie and I because...

I just can't think of any good reason. You shall be smoted.

Sorry, you have to write a commandment first.  Or did I break the pious one?  Oops!  The Foracle has smoted me and I have lived to tell...
<notaprof is being dangled over the chasm of something or other>

[prytania3]

http://www.just4kidsmagazine.com/hell/main.html

[notaprof]

http://www.just4kidsmagazine.com/hell/main.html

Now I can say I have been to hell and back.  The trip from hell was actually a relief.

Here is my newly formulated commandment:

Thou Shalt Not Question the Foracle's Commandment Writing Style (but Francie will apparently let it slide.)

[francie_]

Sigh.  Okay.

Thou shalt maintain objectivity and shalt cease to perpetuate the lovely conceit that everyone who posts here is God's Gift to Academia, always on the side of the angels, always truthful, and always deserving of sympathy and support, No Matter What.

How's that?

[kilpikonna]

larryc, I like your commandment.  Psychodrama is distracting and annoying, and snark is only interesting when it's topical.

[scheherazade]

LarryC, I'm shocked that you would forget one of the most important commandments:

Thou shall use standard capitalization and punctuation on this academic forum.

I do like your first commandment, though!

[kissa_mau]

What Kilpikonna said.

By the way, I've always liked your moniker, Kilpikonna!

[infopri]

Thou shalt read an entire thread before posting to it.  Exception: If a thread is very long, thou shalt read at least the original post and last five pages or the last five days' worth of posts, whichever is shorter, before posting to the thread.

No more posts beginning with "I haven't read the entire thread but..." followed by posts the forumite never would have written had he or she read the entire thread, or at least the most recent part of it.  And it's always a good idea to read the original post, just to see what got the thread's ball rolling.  (I think most people actually do read the original post--but as long as I'm issuing "thou shalts," I might as well be sure to include this component.)



Thou shalt use the preview feature and the spellchecker.

We'd probably eliminate at least half of the screw-ups on the quote function if people would use the preview feature and edit their posts when they see they've somehow messed up the quote codes.  Fix those quotes, people!  Sometimes it's impossible to distinguish the quoted material from the new contribution.  And, while you're previewing (regardless of whether you've quoted another post), make sure you're saying what you actually meant to say.

As for not using the spellchecker, I can only point to your students.  Do you want to be like them?  I know it's an incredibly bad spellchecker, but it's still better than no spellchecker at all.


Thank you, larryc, for starting this thread!

[geonerd]

I just can't think of any good reason. You shall be smoted.

Is it smoted or smited, just smote? Please spare a thought for the stone carver. Turning an "o" into an "i," or vice-versa, isn't trivial. Its going to come out looking like a slashed zero, and then where will we be?

Thou shalt not feed the trolls, nor shalt thou succumb to obvious baiting. Thou may'st take pleasure in poking the narcissites, on occassion, but never to excess. Thou shalt share your knowledge and experience with the cluelessites, and thou shalt always remember that the CHE search function sucks in the extreme.