I'm glad you brought this up. We need to be careful to evaluate the context of a bad node before voting it down, reaping it, or nuking it.

• If you see a node you want to vote down, please take time to check Worst Nodes and see if it's already there. Make your decision then.

• Those with access to the approval nodelet and Nodes to Consider should carefully weigh the decision to reap a node--especially if it has replies.

• Those with access to more direct tools should do likewise, for reasons that have been discussed in other areas.

Every negative reaction we take has at least an equal reaction. I recall the time a 13-year old posted some code he'd just written. Sure, it was Baby Perl, but it was reaped before morning. That person hasn't logged in since. Given the contributions by other youngsters in our Order, one wonders what we've missed by driving him away.

It's all well and good to resist trolls and to correct improper behavior, however, there are always two sides to a story. If you have moderation abilities, try to consider the flip side before taking action. If you cannot see that, then please take the time to confirm your assumptions before knee-jerking. /msg the author or another monk who's opinions you trust.

This is, in my opinion, the only way we'll be able to reduce the temperature around her and to combat the ideas of Casey West, among others. If we want this to be a nice place to hang out, then we have all got to take responsibility and help each other do the right thing.

Lighten up, take a 'lude, and breathe deeply for a time. (Also, a little weirdness should be expected; there's a full moon.)

--f