Finding boundaries and developing group norms

Source: Offered to the public domain by Liftarn in the Wikipedia

I am a child of the sixties. I didn't attend Woodstock but that's mainly because I was only eight, my musical taste ran more along the lines of Donny Osmond and Michael Jackson, and spending the night away from home with a bunch of pot smoking, acid-dropping, teenage runaways would have scared the bejeepers out of me. Plus, I'm nearly certain my mom and dad would have said, "No."

I am rule adverse. I dislike being told what to do. Three days of peace and music appeals to me. I identify with the libertarian quadrant of political thought. I value personal freedom deeply. I understand that the only way you can claim to support freedom of speech is if you believe in the right of someone else to express the type of opinion that makes your skin crawl. I believe in the ability of a group of people to organize and manage themselves and build a friendly, productive community. I have a strong sense that helping a community grow has much more to do with encouragement and opportunity than preset rules and control.

Once in awhile, we will find a boundary that we will enforce. This site will not allow racist statements or hateful personal attacks. Period. If you are asked to remove a post because it is considered to be racist or a personal attack, do so quickly. Do not negotiate your position. Remove it. Once it is removed, then, we can talk about strategies to more effectively communicate your point without the hate mongering. This is a group norm that will be enforced as a firm boundary. Not complying will get you banned. If that happens, you can count on Mitch, Wilco, and I, emailing with you with high hopes of bringing you back with a new attitude.

I personally strongly disapprove of posts that flame a single person or company. I think it reflects more on the integrity of the poster than the subject of the rant. Joomla.org does not allow those types of posts and sending those off to Connect means jeopardizing this privilege for all of us. Think long and hard before you do that. Ask for help, if you need assistance with a difficult post.

We are trying to build something useful together as Joomla! professionals: resources for those of us who use Joomla! in our businesses, those of us who code using Joomla!, and develop awesome Templates and Web sites. Personal rants belong on personal Web sites. Attacking others creates an environment where people do not feel free to come. It can be a difficult line to find, but one will we work on together. Your freedom ends where my freedom begins. Your freedom is only as valuable as mine. Let's think about our message. Let's build a strong, productive, healthy, friendly, free community.

The hippie chick in me also hates these types of posts since the vast majority of people need to be encouraged to take risk and learn to speak out, and this type of post can discourage free expression. Please, do not feel discouraged. Everyone's voice is welcome. Let's make certain everyone feels that way by watching what we say.