

PyCon aftermath: Can we simply establish the Red/Yellow card system?  - jagermo
http://singlevoice.net/redyellow-card-project/

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jagermo
These cards have been distributed at least at Defcon for a few years, and they
worked pretty good afaik. I think it should help preventing stuff like that.

~~~
dalke
How would use of those cards have changed anything?

Let's make this between you and me. You make a joke about how "dalke"s are
just mixed up "dalek"s. I turn around and give you a yellow card. Message
received, you apologize, and the system worked, right?

Next, in remembrance of the Thals, I make an black velvet painting of you,
with the title "jagermo is a dalek lover", and display it at the poster
session. You see it and give me a yellow card. I get the message, realize I
shouldn't have done what I did, apologize, and I take it down.

That captures the essence of what happened, right? Or rather, the essence of
what you would like to happen. The card system worked, end of story?

But of course, many people saw the painting, some took pictures of it, and a
few of them learned from me what happen. The story spreads beyond the control
of any card system, and the ancient antagonisms of Skaros rise again.

And _that_ can't be solved via cards any more than it can be solved with
+1/-1s or thumbs-up/-down on various social media sites.

~~~
jagermo
Well, the cards are basically just a stand in for a decent discussion, right?
In the PyCon case, she could have turned around, handed over a card, the guys
would have gotten the message and maybe would have had a discussion
afterwards. And by the way, who wouldn't love daleks? They reign supreme!

~~~
dalke
I understand your optimism, which is why my example included your scenario as
a subset.

Think of it in this metaphorical way. The initial sparks between you, a dalek
lover, and me are eventually extinguished by discussion. But because it took
place in a public forum, some of the sparks landed in nearby tinder, which
reignited the fire that destroyed our beloved Skaros. Our personal fire
extinguishers are not enough to put out that blaze.

Or, in a non-metaphorial way, I give you the yellow card. We discuss it and
come to a mutually agreeable and even pleasant understanding. I then write in
my blog about how successful the yellow card system was. Others don't think it
was justifiable for me to give you a yellow card, since daleks are supreme,
and retaliate. The chain reaction of reprisals start, and poof! Back to the
1000 year war.

