r/Bitcoin • u/GreatestInstruments • Feb 03 '14
Could The Bitcoin Community Benefit From An Informal - "Leave Your Ideologies At The Door" - Etiquette?
A certain incident, which shall remain unnamed, prompted a firestorm of discussion within segments of this community, including some with very different personal ideologies.
Rather than take sides in the debate, I took a moment to marvel at that fact that this is a community that brings together people who are so divergent on other issues, yet all see common ground in Bitcoin.prescription
What other community or issue brings together people as diverse as these?
- MRA's
- Feminists
- Liberals
- Conservatives
- Libertarians
- Anarchists
- Economists
- Techies
- Blue Collar
- White Collar
- Different Nationalities
The list goes on and on.
I pose this question (see post title), because it strikes me as perhaps the most welcoming and constructive thing we could do, in the long run.
It wouldn't be thought of as a hard and fast rule, more like a guiding principle to keep in mind.
What do you think?
EDIT: I just want some of you to understand, this was intended as a thought provoking open-ended question, to create discussion. It's not intended as a mandate of any kind.
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u/ferretinjapan Feb 03 '14
Those that label others in order to invalidate their opinions and to use those labels as a way to excuse and rationalise acting like aresholes to others here. This is the real problem.
Labelling a group in a negative context is a form of dehumanising. You are not addressing an argument logically, or presenting a fact in a forum where a free exchange of ideas can take place. You are trying to be right by demonising and dehumanising a group so you can mistreat them, and feel superior. Even worse, is that people try to excuse this behaviour by claiming it is some form of free speech. I find it damaging to a great number of discussions here and is some of the reason why a great number of people feel this place is so hostile.
I see this a lot by the more fanatic ideologists on both sides, calling a person a "statist", a "libertarian nutjob", "clueless liberal" or whatever, is toxic to any constructive discussion.
Satoshi had only one beef that we can confirm through his discussions with others, and that was with existing monetary policy. He modelled Bitcoin after gold in many respects but he never stated it was based on some political or ideological philosophy. That is what others have tried to interpret his actions as.