From: utzoo!utcsrgv!utcsstat!wagner Newsgroups: net.jokes Title: Re: not a joke; a flame - (nf) Article-I.D.: utcsstat.166 Posted: Tue Jun 8 15:16:44 1982 Received: Tue Jun 8 15:44:55 1982 References: pyuxcc.222 I think once was more than enough! Jokes gain economy (as suggested elsewhere in the net) by relying on cultural stereotypes. I think mostof us have enough sense to recognize when that cultural stereotype is essentially harmless, and when it is mean-minded. Lets stop the sharp-line definitions of harmless/harmful humour, and save all the flaming for when a problem really crops up. Then, I suspect, the most effective policy will be sending the person (not the net) a comment saying you didnt appreciate the joke. When you go to a party, do you set out rules ahead of time for what jokes will be admissable, or do you gently suggest to the person who is turning racist/sexist/___ist in his drunken stupor that it is time for him to calm down? Peer pressure works in other groups and surroundings. Was just thinking about that. Peer pressure is useless on CB, if you have ever tried to use that medium. I think the difference is the average intelligence of the participants. Can we rely on the intelligence of the people on the net to moderate the net, or do we have to hardwire decision matrices into inews(I)? Michael Wagner, University of Toronto Computing Services