All online codes of conduct are flawed. Their purpose is to indemnify their web service operators against potential lawsuits, not help their online communities thrive. Their contents boil down to a short list of forbidden misconducts and a few rosy words that draw a vague picture of a well-mannered community member. They do not define the rights and responsibilities of the community members and have no provisions against provoking others into violating the code. The moderators who enforces them are usually a far cry from a model judge.
Imagine a community with 1,000 members. Members #556 and #557 hate each other to an extreme degree. Yet, they are willing to collaborate civilly with the remaining 998 members. The contemporary codes of conduct sanction only one course of action for these two: They must accomplish the herculean feat of going from extreme hatred to extreme love. If they fail, they risk being branded as repeat offenders. This expectation, however, is unfair and unrealistic. In such situations, “live in peace and let the other live in peace” is a more realistic course of action.
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