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A reasonable person will hopefully understand the difference between a disagreement and abuse and (reasonably) act accordingly.

by oytis 5y ago

Barrin92 5y ago
well if everyone was reasonable we wouldn't even have the need to talk about the principle of reasonableness right. Kinda like saying "why doesn't everyone just use common sense?" Problem is obviously that in any institution like a university faculty the line between reasonable issue and unreasonable complaint is really blurry. for a few thousand years we've been debating how to design institutions, if it was just 1. be reasonable, 2. don't be unreasonable, 3. don't be offended we'd have fewer problems than we do
- darkerside 5y ago
  No, we'd have different problems than we do, not necessarily fewer. The problems that arrive from a litigious culture like the one you describe are potentially worse than the little unfairnesses that creep in through informal dispute resolution. Ironically, the post is not a command, and edict, or an enforced policy. It's an informal request. If you have an issue that you don't think fits, you are free to disregard it. That is the power of the RPP.
  - crispyambulance 5y ago
    > That is the power of the RPP. The RPP sounds more like a clause in a corporate mission statement. Trite, insincere and, I'm sure, broken regularly and with glee by everyone who matters in the organization.
    - simonh 5y ago
      I’ve studied and worked in many institutions and organisations over many years. Yes I’ve come across a few prepped who sometimes abused their positions, but this was rare and in all but one case were manageable using the practices established in those organisations. I’m sure abusive organisations exist and all I can say is if at all possible, and it’s almost always possible, please leave for your own sake. There are better places to live and work. I do not recognise the world you describe.
    - darkerside 5y ago
      Not the case in my experience with that organization
- PennRobotics 5y ago
  Informal complaints to bring to your disagreement partner and then maybe your TA or professor instead of directly to your department chair, dean, or ombudsman: I can't see the writing. We're learning OpenCV, but I never learned Python. I think my paper was graded incorrectly. My dad passed away, so my coursework is suffering. I should've been in the acknowledgements in my lab's paper. One of my group members is useless. My lab partner smells... like, a LOT. So-and-so keeps taking our oscilloscope. Our workspace is too cold. The professor always calls on women (or Indians or the front row). Why do all groups need to bring a vegetarian option to their presentation but the group with the vegetarian doesn't need to bring meat? The Greek groups all share old exams with each other but not with anyone else. Why does the department need to find a minority instead of just hiring the most qualified applicant? Why can't people just let personal insults roll of their back if their research work can stand on its own? People from a ton of cultures and backgrounds are jammed into one institution. Of course there will be friction, and it shouldn't be the job of the university president to tell a chronically offending student to only take one slice of pizza at the Friday research talks and go back in line for getting seconds. Also, everyone has a different opinion of what "a big deal" is. Thus, for the sake of everybody and everybody's academic and social development... just be cool. Be reasonable.
- narrator 5y ago
  The law has been debating the "reasonably prudent person" standard in torts for negligence for hundreds of years. Possibly trillions of dollars in lawyer time has been spent over the last two centuries debating the meaning of this very term.

A reasonable person will hopefully understand the difference between a disagreement and abuse and (reasonably) act accordingly.

by oytis 5y ago

A reasonable person will hopefully understand the difference between a disagreement and abuse and (reasonably) act accordingly.

Barrin92 5y ago

well if everyone was reasonable we wouldn't even have the need to talk about the principle of reasonableness right. Kinda like saying "why doesn't everyone just use common sense?" Problem is obviously that in any institution like a university faculty the line between reasonable issue and unreasonable complaint is really blurry. for a few thousand years we've been debating how to design institutions, if it was just 1. be reasonable, 2. don't be unreasonable, 3. don't be offended we'd have fewer problems than we do

darkerside 5y ago
No, we'd have different problems than we do, not necessarily fewer. The problems that arrive from a litigious culture like the one you describe are potentially worse than the little unfairnesses that creep in through informal dispute resolution. Ironically, the post is not a command, and edict, or an enforced policy. It's an informal request. If you have an issue that you don't think fits, you are free to disregard it. That is the power of the RPP.
- crispyambulance 5y ago
  > That is the power of the RPP. The RPP sounds more like a clause in a corporate mission statement. Trite, insincere and, I'm sure, broken regularly and with glee by everyone who matters in the organization.
  - simonh 5y ago
    I’ve studied and worked in many institutions and organisations over many years. Yes I’ve come across a few prepped who sometimes abused their positions, but this was rare and in all but one case were manageable using the practices established in those organisations. I’m sure abusive organisations exist and all I can say is if at all possible, and it’s almost always possible, please leave for your own sake. There are better places to live and work. I do not recognise the world you describe.
  - darkerside 5y ago
    Not the case in my experience with that organization
PennRobotics 5y ago
Informal complaints to bring to your disagreement partner and then maybe your TA or professor instead of directly to your department chair, dean, or ombudsman: I can't see the writing. We're learning OpenCV, but I never learned Python. I think my paper was graded incorrectly. My dad passed away, so my coursework is suffering. I should've been in the acknowledgements in my lab's paper. One of my group members is useless. My lab partner smells... like, a LOT. So-and-so keeps taking our oscilloscope. Our workspace is too cold. The professor always calls on women (or Indians or the front row). Why do all groups need to bring a vegetarian option to their presentation but the group with the vegetarian doesn't need to bring meat? The Greek groups all share old exams with each other but not with anyone else. Why does the department need to find a minority instead of just hiring the most qualified applicant? Why can't people just let personal insults roll of their back if their research work can stand on its own? People from a ton of cultures and backgrounds are jammed into one institution. Of course there will be friction, and it shouldn't be the job of the university president to tell a chronically offending student to only take one slice of pizza at the Friday research talks and go back in line for getting seconds. Also, everyone has a different opinion of what "a big deal" is. Thus, for the sake of everybody and everybody's academic and social development... just be cool. Be reasonable.
narrator 5y ago
The law has been debating the "reasonably prudent person" standard in torts for negligence for hundreds of years. Possibly trillions of dollars in lawyer time has been spent over the last two centuries debating the meaning of this very term.