http://qs321.pair.com?node_id=547099


in reply to Sharing all your experiences about other users

Dear jesuashok,

While I'm completely favourable to the occasional slipping in of OT discussions (especially as long as they're not 100% OT but have some connection with actual [Pp]erl stuff) this forum is for discussing about [Pp]erl, not [Pp]eople, and maybe it's just me being overly paranoid, but I see potential risks about ad personam arguments, even if they're favourable comments - so definitely that's the kind of OT content that I do not appreciate and do not approve.

OTOH if you lurk for some time you can form an idea of who are those whose contribution will be most valuable for your own tastes and interests.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: Sharing all your experiences about other users
by ptum (Priest) on May 03, 2006 at 18:43 UTC

    I concur with blazar on this one. I've lurked around the monastery for a while, and began posting only recently (last Fall). It is pretty easy to tell, fairly quickly, who contributes to discussions in a favorable way and who doesn't. I've seen a few flame wars spring up, and this kind of a thread seems fraught with that kind of peril. Indeed, as I type this, I am tempted to make a snide remark about a monk whose posts irritate me ... so you see, it is better to leave some Pandora's boxes closed! :)


    No good deed goes unpunished. -- (attributed to) Oscar Wilde
Re^2: Sharing all your experiences about other users
by Herkum (Parson) on May 04, 2006 at 13:31 UTC

    I think your reasons for not discussing people is not only paranoid but wrong. Without people there is no Perl. I can understand not wanting to cause a flamewar talking about someone but thats life; if someone cannot control themselves when talking about others that will probably extends into other parts of their life as well.

    Focusing upon Perl does not make them a better or a more rounded person you are just ignoring them in other ways in the hope of not offending anyone. Think about the people involved, Larry Wall, Damain Conway, chromatic... They are here, and while not always visible, they do help contribute and guide the community. They are what make Perl fun and I find them infinitely more interesting. Perl is just the reason people got together; it is not the reason we keep coming back.

      If you read some other posts of mine, e.g. (Homenodes and) where to post OT stuff?, you'll note that I'm well aware that "without people there is no Perl", which is the reason why I did firmly disagree with those that insist on the fact that "PM is for discussing perl and only perl". Of course too high a ratio offtopic/ontopic would be unacceptable, and the threshold is a personal matter, but without discussions that slip from perl to OT content, this forum, like everything else, would be much more boring a place.

      So I'm favourable to occasionally discuss people on PM. But that depends on whether the need to do so arises.