in reply to The ethics of humour
Am I an expert on ethics? No. I am a dad, who is working with a teenage son who has run afoul of the law. He has trouble seeing what the problem is.
A dad's explanation: Trust is what I extend to you when I entrust you with anything of mine (tools, car, name, reputaion etc.). Expectations - How I expect you to treat things that belong to me (or that I am responsible for).
The higher my expectation of good treatment of whatever is entrusted to you, the more I will trust you with.
In other words, if you user my shop vac, and it comes back full, with 2 attachments missing and the hose has a crack in it, you will NEVER borrow my car, and odds are that the best you will hope to borrow will be my second best pair of pliers (this will be to see if they come back in decent shape, and perhaps be a path to more trust).
On the other hand, if the shop vac comes back with all the attachments, and has been emptied, with the hose in good condition, you will be allowed to borrow it again, as well as some day you may be allowed to borrow other things.
Now, if the shop vac comes back emptied, in good condition with a new filter, or cleaner than when it went out, or you tell me the hose got crushed and you bought a new one, you are setting yourself up for the ability to use some high end tools, and building the trust I have in you to allow you use of more and more of what I am able to provide.
How does this reflect on a business, or a site like Perl Monks? Generally there will be no lecture, people will just stop giving their best, or honest representations of themselves, or people will just go elsewhere.
Ok, Ok, here is where we cap the lecture on "Don't take yourself so seriously". I don't, however I take YOU seriously until we know each other. e.g. I am old, bald and fat. This is not news to me, nor to others who meet me. I joke about each and all of the above. My children and close friends will sometimes offer to buff "the dome", all in good fun. However, I would never presume to make such an offer to another bald person unless I knew them well. Why? Perhaps they had cancer, perhaps they are very sensitive about it and so on. Why should a site such as Perl Monks presume to change the representation of me. If that representation is not held sacred (or at least left alone) then this is a joke site, and those can be had at a die a dozen, and can be expected to be treated as such.
Just my 2 cents worth
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