3 ms·

One factor with informal blaming is it makes it easier for it to be done to whoever has less power or whoever is less popular, etc. And this naturally leads to

One factor with informal blaming is it makes it easier for it to be done to whoever has less power or whoever is less popular, etc. And this naturally leads to people just acting defensively rather than making an effort to avoid a given problem. At worst, people can incentivized to make other people screw-up, 'cause when other people are being blamed for X, you can't be blamed for Y. A formal blaming process means that the question of who to blame is decided objectively and people have more of an incentive actually act correctly. And as others mention, blaming the process itself is reasonable. And you're right that the article itself only presents accountability as essentially greater politeness.

jrumbut 3y ago
> A formal blaming process means that the question of who to blame is decided objectively and people have more of an incentive actually act correctly. I am not sure the creation of a formal process (created by those who have the power to create formal processes) is inherently more fair to those without power than an informal process. Especially if formality is confused for objectivity or correctness. The latter two are likely impossible for human beings to acheive, so a starting point for a better process is going to be recognizing that the it is going to be affected by the blindspots, flaws, and other foibles of the people who created it.
- joe_the_user 3y ago
  I am not sure the creation of a formal process (created by those who have the power to create formal processes) is inherently more fair to those without power than an informal process. A formal process isn't inherently more fair. It's only potentially more fair. You need to look in detail at the process to see if it's more fair. The rest of your argument is a bit like arguing mathematics won't help you build a bridge - "The math could wrong and the user could be biased and even the best can't reflect reality exactly".

jrumbut 3y ago

> A formal blaming process means that the question of who to blame is decided objectively and people have more of an incentive actually act correctly. I am not sure the creation of a formal process (created by those who have the power to create formal processes) is inherently more fair to those without power than an informal process. Especially if formality is confused for objectivity or correctness. The latter two are likely impossible for human beings to acheive, so a starting point for a better process is going to be recognizing that the it is going to be affected by the blindspots, flaws, and other foibles of the people who created it.

joe_the_user 3y ago
I am not sure the creation of a formal process (created by those who have the power to create formal processes) is inherently more fair to those without power than an informal process. A formal process isn't inherently more fair. It's only potentially more fair. You need to look in detail at the process to see if it's more fair. The rest of your argument is a bit like arguing mathematics won't help you build a bridge - "The math could wrong and the user could be biased and even the best can't reflect reality exactly".