MetaTalk

Several MetaFilter posts recently have involved marginalized people critiquing the actions of more privileged allies or beloved internet institutions, resulting in contentious comment threads. A pattern emerged in these, most clearly in the most passionately-argued of these, on the retitling of a Wikipedia page from “Chelsea Manning” back to “Bradley Manning.” That pattern involves complaints that comments made by more marginalized individuals are shrill, harsh, and/or overemotional. While I embrace MetaFilter's guidelines that discourse be civil, I think it is possible that tone arguments sometimes function as a sort of ad hominem derailing practice out on the blue. Is this something we should be discouraging? [more inside]
posted by DrMew on Sep 6, 2013 - 781 comments

The obesity-as-disease thread is going much, much better than I expected it to, and I just wanted to thank all those responsible. [more inside]
posted by flabdablet on Jun 20, 2013 - 60 comments

"A 5-minute framework for fostering better conversations in comments sections." NPR's Matt Thompson interviews Jessamyn about why a thread about the assault on reporter Lara Logan turned so ugly on NPR's site, but didn't on the blue.
posted by Horace Rumpole on Mar 7, 2011 - 90 comments

How come this nonsense gets a free pass while in-thread callouts get deleted without a word? [more inside]
posted by valkyryn on Apr 21, 2010 - 270 comments

This is the more civil Metafilter? [more inside]
posted by tkchrist on Dec 2, 2008 - 382 comments

Kudos where richly due. I'm delighted to see a thread I had actually feared would be deleted, about the sensitive nexus of fundamentalist Christianity and earthly power, close in on 100 comments and never once descend into vituperation. Nuanced disagreement, even principled difference of opinion, but no name-calling and no shit-flinging. It's a wonderful thing. Can we do this more often?
posted by adamgreenfield on Jan 9, 2007 - 38 comments

Two AskMe posts on interracial adoption and interracial breeding within an hour of each other. They had the potential to become fiery train wrecks, but instead, the answers were thoughtful and civil. Thanks for the quality discourse!
posted by Gamblor on Apr 15, 2006 - 16 comments

Can we lose orange clock and keep chicobangs, please? Okay, that's not the best way to say it. I am no angel myself, but this beyond-the-pale swipe at chicobangs and mathowie - from a member of dubious contribution overall (IMHO) - should not go ignored.
posted by scarabic on Feb 3, 2005 - 97 comments

Things I learned in kindergarden, or... just be nice.
posted by cedar on Dec 14, 2004 - 38 comments

This has gone on long enough. I'm going to take a radical step and drag myself into MetaTalk. Once upon a time skallas was a guy, whom while I disagreed with him often, I respected his intelligence and convictions. But somewhere things got weird and no we're at eachother's throats all the time. It's making this unpleasant for me, probably for him and probably for everybody reading too. So, it's gotta stop.

I could have taken it to e-mail, but I'm doing it publicly for a couple of reasons. One, I think if the both of us (two well known public fueders) can cool out and agree to disagree like gentlemen, we can set an example for the rest of the site. And also, because someone once said that I owed skallas an apology as public as the insult I made, so here it is.

So, skallas, I'm willing to bury the hatchet if you are. You with me?
posted by jonmc on Mar 25, 2004 - 79 comments

Reasonable and reasoned talk about the war? a global warming thread where people correct themselves and say "climate change"? Is Mefi returning to civility? Which is to say, normality???
posted by UncleFes on Apr 8, 2003 - 33 comments

Congratulations to all who participated in the recent thread on evangelical Christians and why people dislike them. The level of constructive dialogue on all sides of the issue was truly miraculous ...hehe. Why did this thread succeed when so many other religious threads quickly degrade into vicious flamewars?
posted by jsonic on Feb 7, 2003 - 11 comments

Bushtard? I'm not a fan of Bush, but this is really getting old. Any suggestions for how to discourage this method of posting?
posted by jheiz on Jan 11, 2002 - 7 comments