Today, when I read kos' rec listed diary about meta, it got me thinking that we needed a group of commenters and diarists willing to put the nastiness and pettiness of the Meta/Flame/Pie wars aside. So, I founded a new group called Courtesy Kos, a group dedicated to upholding the ideals of comity and good faith with all kossacks.
Civility is important not just because this is an election year, as kos' diary alludes to, but to the very fabric of the community that kos and all of us have built over the years. I know it seems simple -- just don't click -- but flame wars spill over into all sorts of diaries. Comments threads get derailed with endless personal drama over this or that from years ago. This new group will be dedicated to breaking the old cycle of name calling and bitterness, because it helps our community remain vibrant, diverse and open.
Our motto is "Killing the Flame wars - With Kindness"
Members of courtesy kos will be dedicated to upholding civil, intelligent political debate throughout their comments and diaries. Of course, these rules of civil debate wont be decided by me, but by the group itself (once I get some members, I am kind of a group of one at this point). Once the group is up and running and the guidelines are set, my goal for this group is for it to become a beacon of civil debate, and its members known for their kindness and politeness, even of the face of (even extreme) disagreement with the person or group with which they are interacting.
I believe that, once we get off the ground, the members of courtesy kos will become known for their understanding, empathy, and respect. This group will be run as democratically as possible, with proposals on how to raise the level of discourse not only among ourselves, but within dailykos itself, being proposed from the bottom up, not enforced from the top down.
So, I ask you kossacks interested in joining this new group to please contact me asap, or just join the group and I will let you in. After such a time that I get a couple of members we will start the conversation about what is civil discourse, how to raise the level of discourse, and how not to get hooked back into the flame wars. I do not have much experience with these groups, so I need quite a bit of help getting this group off the ground.
Please, feel free to toss me a private message or comment in the diary if you have any questions about Courtesy Kos. Things are a tad vague right now, and I need members to help me flesh it out a bit.
Thanks!
1:36 AM PT: okay, its bedtime for me. I will check this first thing in the morning and respond to questions and comments in the morning. I sure am glad this sparked some interest.
10:24 AM PT: alright you all, I have finished up with the invitations, and once everyone is all set up as a member we can start having this conversation. If you never received an invite and asked for one, please toss me a PM so I can fix the oversight! Thanks--
Rexy