Re:Techniques for dealing with lack of motivation, malaise, ...
by mpweiher on Friday October 06, 2017 @01:44PM
(#15418707)
>> perfectly reasonable thing to say [calling them ignorant or stupid]
Of course your rephrasing is also quite the distortion. Here's the original:
>> say things about a person suggesting they are ignorant or stupid
[my emphasis]
Saying something about a person "suggesting" they are ignorant or stupid is, in terms of polite interaction, radically different from "calling them ignorant or stupid". In fact, merely suggesting such things instead of saying them directly in the face of actual ignorance or stupidity is what one would consider polite but truthful. Going beyond that and avoiding anything that could suggest such an interpretation would be untruthful and a disservice to those asking questions. And IMHO much ruder than the unvarnished truth.
Also, the former ("suggesting") could be almost anything, for example a simple RTFM could be construed as suggesting someone is ignorant or stupid, no matter how politely you express it, but is also a perfectly fine thing to say. Directly calling someone stupid because they didn't RTFM would be quite different, and definitely more in the direction of rude and possible insulting (but still nowhere near harassment or bullying).
Of course your rephrasing is also quite the distortion. Here's the original:
>> say things about a person suggesting they are ignorant or stupid
[my emphasis]
Saying something about a person "suggesting" they are ignorant or stupid is, in terms of polite interaction, radically different from "calling them ignorant or stupid". In fact, merely suggesting such things instead of saying them directly in the face of actual ignorance or stupidity is what one would consider polite but truthful. Going beyond that and avoiding anything that could suggest such an interpretation would be untruthful and a disservice to those asking questions. And IMHO much ruder than the unvarnished truth.
Also, the former ("suggesting") could be almost anything, for example a simple RTFM could be construed as suggesting someone is ignorant or stupid, no matter how politely you express it, but is also a perfectly fine thing to say. Directly calling someone stupid because they didn't RTFM would be quite different, and definitely more in the direction of rude and possible insulting (but still nowhere near harassment or bullying).