Talk:Anagrams: Difference between revisions

:::::: Michael, there is no hammering of a gavel from above. Or, at least, if there is, that's ''me''. I'm the benevolent dictator that typically stands back; RC has, for five or six years, largely managed to get by with a relatively loose set of rules and norms, with a bunch of people who are not infrequently by nature at cross purposes muddling their way through and coming up with mutually amicable results. I myself only step in very rarely, and when I do, it's usually to resolve a technical legal issue surrounding the site (that's the trouble with being a "sole proprietor"...) or, on occasion, intercepting conversations which appear to be drifting more to the heat of argument than actual communication. It's the latter of those two activities for which I make most of my appearances, and I only have to do that every 2-3 months or so, on average. But it happens, and it happens because humans are humans, and communication of intent is an inherently faulty thing, and I sometimes have to toss a bucket of water on things when I see sparks. That's just the nature of the thing. The people who come here and stick around genuinely have common interests. They may have a basis in advocacy, of education or of learning, but their interests are all served by figuring out how to work with each other.--[[User:Short Circuit|Michael Mol]] ([[User talk:Short Circuit|talk]]) 02:29, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

:::::: The single, biggest thing you need to pick up here (and this is why I'm speaking up), is that the people on this site do not intentionally take adversarial roles. And whether or not you believe someone else was adversarial first, it's vital that you not allow an adversarial attitude to express itself in what you writing; perhaps they had a bad day, perhaps not, but adding fuel to the fire won't help. (I.e. "Now Paddy will no for sure that...That's that Paddy. Live and learn." That's adversarial, and you do no favors for yourself or anyone else by taking side shots that way.) I'm not going to name names, but I can think of incidents around at least three current major contributors to the site who, when they first arrived, had adversarial mindsets. To some extent, they still do...but they've learned to draw themselves away from the heat of argument and back toward communication, and they work out incredibly constructive agreements, sometimes after a day or two of completely talking past each other. --[[User:Short Circuit|Michael Mol]] ([[User talk:Short Circuit|talk]]) 02:29, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

:::::: Again, I'm not bringing down a gavel. This is more like a hand on the shoulder and gently saying "keep your shirt on." --[[User:Short Circuit|Michael Mol]] ([[User talk:Short Circuit|talk]]) 02:29, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

:::::: Oh, and don't call me "sir", unless you're sending me a generic legal document; this place isn't that formal. :) --[[User:Short Circuit|Michael Mol]] ([[User talk:Short Circuit|talk]]) 02:29, 7 May 2013 (UTC)