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> Even if he has [harassed someone], that doesn't invalidate anything he's saying I just don't think there is ever a good reason. He does have a tendency to s

> Even if he has [harassed someone], that doesn't invalidate anything he's saying I just don't think there is ever a good reason. He does have a tendency to say things about a person suggesting they are ignorant or stupid when they ask a question he doesn't like. There often seems to be a fine line between him getting annoyed and him belittling the contribution someone else makes to a discussion. He is extremely sensitive. I just think if someone is going to seriously discuss how to be more emotionally stable, they should probably demonstrate more stable behavior themselves.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 9y ago
He gave the stream not because he considers himself some kind of expert on the topic, but because people were asking him how he personally deals with depression and malaise.
mpweiher 9y ago
I continue to be amazed at the dilution of terms like "harassment". > say things about a person suggesting they are ignorant or stupid If that is what he thinks, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to say, particularly as no-one is forced to ask him questions. It is not "harassment" by any stretch of the imagination. > He is extremely sensitive. Maybe the one being extremely sensitive isn't him.
- hellofunk 9y ago
  > If that is what he thinks, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to say [calling them ignorant or stupid], particularly as no-one is forced to ask him questions. You are right, we have a different idea of what is polite behavior, and what is insulting behavior.
  - mpweiher 9y ago
    Probably, yes. However, the bigger difference is that for me, someone not being polite is not the same as that someone being insulting, and certainly not guilty of harassment, and in fact even someone being insulting is not the same as harassment. There are quite a number of steps in-between, with "insulting" being one of these steps, but certainly not the only one.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - Zhyl 9y ago
    I don't think the difference is between polite or insulting - the difference is between harassment and non-harassment. Someone being rude or short may bring down the tone of discussion and may not be condusive to proper discourse, but harassment is another beast entirely. People's lives are ruined by harassment and harassers may have their reputations ruined. Suggesting that Jonathon Blow harasses people on twitter when in fact you mean that he is rude and insensitive is borderline libel.
    - hellofunk 9y ago
      I didn't introduce the word "harassment" into this discussion, incidentally. I did use the phrase "bit of a bully," so perhaps that was the domino.
      - Zhyl 9y ago
        This is true. I had to look over the last few comments and the payload is here: >> Even if he has [harassed someone], that doesn't invalidate anything he's saying >I just don't think there is ever a good reason. If you'd have said 'I just don't think there is ever a good reason to be rude or demeaning' then people wouldn't have made the link to harassment. Or even address the word harassment explicitly. Either way, the points were getting conflated.
  - mpweiher 9y ago
    >> 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).
- mooseburger 9y ago
  @hellofunk Not him, but I think that is in fact, insulting behavior. Everyone has a right to be insulting. It's just not harassment.
  - hellofunk 9y ago
    I never used the word harassment, myself. I did say "a bit of a bully," and I think that phrase is fine when referring to others who openly insult people. But apparently, my opinion is in the minority here, and that's fine. Surprised to see my comment turn into this thread.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 9y ago

He gave the stream not because he considers himself some kind of expert on the topic, but because people were asking him how he personally deals with depression and malaise.

mpweiher 9y ago

I continue to be amazed at the dilution of terms like "harassment". > say things about a person suggesting they are ignorant or stupid If that is what he thinks, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to say, particularly as no-one is forced to ask him questions. It is not "harassment" by any stretch of the imagination. > He is extremely sensitive. Maybe the one being extremely sensitive isn't him.

hellofunk 9y ago
> If that is what he thinks, that is a perfectly reasonable thing to say [calling them ignorant or stupid], particularly as no-one is forced to ask him questions. You are right, we have a different idea of what is polite behavior, and what is insulting behavior.
- mpweiher 9y ago
  Probably, yes. However, the bigger difference is that for me, someone not being polite is not the same as that someone being insulting, and certainly not guilty of harassment, and in fact even someone being insulting is not the same as harassment. There are quite a number of steps in-between, with "insulting" being one of these steps, but certainly not the only one.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- Zhyl 9y ago
  I don't think the difference is between polite or insulting - the difference is between harassment and non-harassment. Someone being rude or short may bring down the tone of discussion and may not be condusive to proper discourse, but harassment is another beast entirely. People's lives are ruined by harassment and harassers may have their reputations ruined. Suggesting that Jonathon Blow harasses people on twitter when in fact you mean that he is rude and insensitive is borderline libel.
  - hellofunk 9y ago
    I didn't introduce the word "harassment" into this discussion, incidentally. I did use the phrase "bit of a bully," so perhaps that was the domino.
    - Zhyl 9y ago
      This is true. I had to look over the last few comments and the payload is here: >> Even if he has [harassed someone], that doesn't invalidate anything he's saying >I just don't think there is ever a good reason. If you'd have said 'I just don't think there is ever a good reason to be rude or demeaning' then people wouldn't have made the link to harassment. Or even address the word harassment explicitly. Either way, the points were getting conflated.
- mpweiher 9y ago
  >> 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).
mooseburger 9y ago
@hellofunk Not him, but I think that is in fact, insulting behavior. Everyone has a right to be insulting. It's just not harassment.
- hellofunk 9y ago
  I never used the word harassment, myself. I did say "a bit of a bully," and I think that phrase is fine when referring to others who openly insult people. But apparently, my opinion is in the minority here, and that's fine. Surprised to see my comment turn into this thread.