Well, I'll try and defend my colleague without offending anyone. Kristin, I assure you that David did not mean any disrepect towards those who have been sexually harassed or against those who have accused people of sexual harrassment. Obviously, with as many people in the community as there are, the chances of it happening are pretty high, especially with the extremely high male-to-female ratio that exists as of now. It'll happen, and when it does, it needs to be shot down. There is, of course, a difference between flirting and harassment. If it's flirting, you stop doing it when the party's not interested. If it's continued, then it's harrassment. When it happens, it makes all of us look bad, because it makes all the men in this field look like leering idiots. I can't imagine what it's like being the only woman at a tournament, knowing that most of the men present are looking directly at you every time you walk down the hall or sit down at the table. Note that I have not left myself out of performing these sorts of actions. The point David was making is that this sort of club message post system should not be used for personal attacks, unless they need to be made public. Otherwise, save them for one-on-one posts, or for smaller group discussions. Like me, David was just getting frustrated with the constant flames back and forth on this thing, when it should be used to distribute information, or discuss serious topics openly. Sure, some serious matters have been thrown up in the past few posts, but for the most part, they just seem to be replies to posts as simple insults, or as attempts to "show out" in public. If you really want to fight in public, wait until Penn Bowl, or some other large tournament, and get the gloves out during a break. Otherwise, please leave the personal insults out. If it helps at all, think about the high school, mid-high, and younger players who will read these posts, and decide that maybe quiz bowl after graduation isn't something they want to be involved in, if it's as rude and moronic as some of these people's posts make it out to be. Sure, there are plenty of serious subjects we need to discuss within the community, such as sexual harrassment, bad packet writing, faulty officiating, wrong answers, etc. But the personal attacks need to stop. They simply make those of us who belong to the group look like we're a party to these childish actions. David Murphy
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