We already have good guidelines for productive discussions, but it seems that in practice they are often not followed. - Frequently Asked Questions
It seems to me that we can find a better alternative or give a positive review, but instead we seem to emphasize the opposite, the logic of disagreement.
I believe that productive ideas come from positive responses, and I believe that all ideas are better when they are positive.(So in some idea meetings, we try to avoid using negative language.)
And often a small number of loud users lead the discussion.
I don’t believe in limiting the voices of the loudest, I believe in encouraging more people to voice their opinions.
(In particular, users who don’t speak English well, or those from shy regions, are often hesitant to chime in on discussions.)
I also think we need a little bit more mediation, and that mediation is not only necessary when there is a dispute.
Someone like me might not be able to focus the discussion due to limitations in English, and I think a moderator is needed in those cases as well (it’s better than being intimidated into giving an opinion by a snarky person).
I also think it’s necessary to keep the discussion centered on the person or opinion that sometimes derails it.
Finally, is it not possible to have the FAQ translated into multiple languages?
It would be nice to have each language user do the translation, and have it appear based on their preferred language.
It’s a pity that there are such good guidelines, but not many people know about them.
Thank you.
Hi adreamy, I appreciate your wish for positive and harmonic productive discussions but I do not think one can enforce such by setting up walls of rules. Intensifying moderation and mediation could help, but would require additional voluntary moderators and mediatiors who will be hard to find - most participants here are mainly interested in factual issues regarding their mapping activities and not that much in social media issues like enforcing a positive and harmonic atmosphere.
Again you have to consider that enforcing such by more intense mediation and moderation could make the forum more attractive to certain users whereas others would most probably feel patronized and turn away. Very difficult to find a level of politeness and discussion culture which would fit everybody.
The official OSMF etiquette guidelines applying for OSM mailing lists as well as this forum you will find
available in various languages already and open for more to come.
I don’t know why another set of guidelines are provided in the section of FAQ of this forum and it does not make much sense imho. FAQ usually has nothing to do with guidelines on one side and on the other side one can imagine the more guidelines are produced the less people tend to read them and act accordingly.
Btw: There have been various discussions earlier about the guidelines and their use, i.e: