PyCon aftermath: Can we simply establish the Red/Yellow card system?
singlevoice.net
singlevoice.net
Let's make this between you and me. You make a joke about how "dalke"s are just mixed up "dalek"s. I turn around and give you a yellow card. Message received, you apologize, and the system worked, right?
Next, in remembrance of the Thals, I make an black velvet painting of you, with the title "jagermo is a dalek lover", and display it at the poster session. You see it and give me a yellow card. I get the message, realize I shouldn't have done what I did, apologize, and I take it down.
That captures the essence of what happened, right? Or rather, the essence of what you would like to happen. The card system worked, end of story?
But of course, many people saw the painting, some took pictures of it, and a few of them learned from me what happen. The story spreads beyond the control of any card system, and the ancient antagonisms of Skaros rise again.
And that can't be solved via cards any more than it can be solved with +1/-1s or thumbs-up/-down on various social media sites.
Think of it in this metaphorical way. The initial sparks between you, a dalek lover, and me are eventually extinguished by discussion. But because it took place in a public forum, some of the sparks landed in nearby tinder, which reignited the fire that destroyed our beloved Skaros. Our personal fire extinguishers are not enough to put out that blaze.
Or, in a non-metaphorial way, I give you the yellow card. We discuss it and come to a mutually agreeable and even pleasant understanding. I then write in my blog about how successful the yellow card system was. Others don't think it was justifiable for me to give you a yellow card, since daleks are supreme, and retaliate. The chain reaction of reprisals start, and poof! Back to the 1000 year war.