[MD] Intellectual honesty

[david buchanan]

Steve:
If those supporting Horse's action don't think Bo ought to be banned then I am as confused as Matt is about what administrative action we are talking about here. 


dmb says:

Well, I was agreeing with Dan, who said "I never thought Bo should be banned. But I appreciate what Horse is saying too." Or, as I said in a post prior to Dan's, I don't know what the solution is but I do think it's a real problem. I think Horse is trying to solve a real problem. For me, it's mostly about clutter. If we had to make a rule out of it, let's say anyone claiming that SOL is Pirsig's idea FOR MORE THAN A DECADE IN THE FACE OF KNOCK-OUT EVIDENCE AGAINST IT risks being banned. 

If you fart at the party once or twice it's no big deal. Nobody particularly happy about it, but it's not a crime. But if you fart every 20 minutes at every party for 13 years, I'm probably gonna have to ask you to leave. I don't know if it would really take that specific amount of time but at some point, especially after asking you to quit it a hundred times, I'm probably gonna draw a line. That's how I see Bo's situation here, except the MD is not as fun as a party and "SOL" is not as substantial as a fart.

That's me being catty. Sorry.


Steve suggested:

the forum rules are now: #1 You must have read Pirsig's 2 books. #2 You may not say that SOL was Pirsig's idea.



dmb says:


I don't think any rule has to be that specific. Horse has a slightly different idea, but I just think it should be against the rules to disrupt or interfere with the point and purpose of this forum. That's the reason behind rule #1, right? No one can discuss the MOQ without reading the books first, obviously. That's the basic principle behind any specific rules that might be formulated or any administrative actions that might be taken. Or so it seems to me. 


Horse said:
"Should Bo continue, as has done over the weekend, to insist and declare that Pirsig supports the SOL, is the originator of the SOL etc. then he will be removed from MD. Anyone else who maliciously, mischievously or otherwise does the same will be similarly removed."


Steve said:
If you don't think Bo ought to be banned as you said, then it sounds like you are disagreeing with Horse. Are you?




dmb says:

Well as Horse said, removal only follows if the problem continues. He's trying to get rid of the problem without getting rid of any people. Bo probably thinks banning his favorite topic amounts to the same thing, but I honestly can't think of a way to make it any more fair than Horse has. 

If there is a better way to deal with it, I'd like to hear it. 

Yea, I already know about the ignoring thing. Obviously that doesn't work and it only gives him more of a chance to lead newbies astray. Again, I think this is a fairly serious problem. It's not just that the ideas are wrong. Who isn't guilty of that? The problem is that it's all being done dishonestly. Any discussion is going to break down into meaninglessness unless some basic standards are met by everyone involved and intellectual honesty is right there at the top of the list of standards. Without that, we're just of barking dogs. 




 		 	   		  
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