Who made the law?

[Adrian Howard]

On 31 Aug 2012, at 10:31, Roger Burton West <roger at firedrake.org> wrote:

> My feeling is that this is far too long and offputting. "If they have to
> specify all this in nitpicking detail, it's because they've got people
> who are trying to game the system and they don't have the guts to throw
> them out." I'd much rather have a mostly-benevolent dictatorship which
> is able to treat cases as individual matters than a huge set of rules
> which still won't cover all eventualities.

Having had to deal with a few... issues... with events in the past from the organiser side I just want to point out that these statements aren't just, or even primarily, aimed at preventing the assholes of the world. 

They're also *very* useful for the folk the assholes hassle. I didn't realise this at first since, y'know, I don't really fit into the category of folk who get hit on during sessions (I kid you not...)

They send a strong signal that:

1) The community is not tolerant of assholes.

2) If you have asshole problems the organisers want to know about it, there is a process for dealing with 'em, and they *will* be dealt with.

They're a virtual sign on the door that says "This place aims to be asshole free". Which makes things easier for folk who've had too many bad experiences to want to bother with places that aren't.

They might not prevent assholes, but they do help limit the damage they do to the community.

Cheers,

Adrian
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