I often find that what is not creepy for internet feminists can be for women who use other social conventions, and vice versa. Makes it hard when one doesn’t know the convention being used. Also makes other-optimising a problem here.
Creepiness is partially context-dependent. If you try to list all details, there will be too many details to remember. On the other hand, if you try to find some general rules (such as: “don’t make people feel uncomfortable”), some people will have problem translating them to specific situations.
This could be possibly solved by making a “beginners” handbook, which would contain the general rules and their specific instances in the most typical situations (at school, at job, on street, in shop), and later some specific advice for less typical situations (at disco, at funeral, etc.).
But still, even the internet version would probably need different sections for instant messengers, facebook, e-mail… even for e-mail to different groups of people… Eh. Anyway, it could also start with most frequent situations, and progress to the more rare ones.
Heck, I suspect that in a lot of cases what a feminist claims is creepy on the internet, and what the same feminist would find creepy in real life are different things.
That extends to more than feminists, and more than creepiness; people’s verbal descriptions of grammatical or moral rules often don’t match the judgement they will give to specific cases. More generally, people can’t see how their brain works, and when they try to describe it they will get a lot wrong.
But do you mean to say that the creepiness standards of internet feminists are the same as that for “women who go other social convention”? I was expecting you to mean that they were different.
I often find that what is not creepy for internet feminists can be for women who use other social conventions, and vice versa. Makes it hard when one doesn’t know the convention being used. Also makes other-optimising a problem here.
(Edited for clarification)
Creepiness is partially context-dependent. If you try to list all details, there will be too many details to remember. On the other hand, if you try to find some general rules (such as: “don’t make people feel uncomfortable”), some people will have problem translating them to specific situations.
This could be possibly solved by making a “beginners” handbook, which would contain the general rules and their specific instances in the most typical situations (at school, at job, on street, in shop), and later some specific advice for less typical situations (at disco, at funeral, etc.).
But still, even the internet version would probably need different sections for instant messengers, facebook, e-mail… even for e-mail to different groups of people… Eh. Anyway, it could also start with most frequent situations, and progress to the more rare ones.
Heck, I suspect that in a lot of cases what a feminist claims is creepy on the internet, and what the same feminist would find creepy in real life are different things.
That extends to more than feminists, and more than creepiness; people’s verbal descriptions of grammatical or moral rules often don’t match the judgement they will give to specific cases. More generally, people can’t see how their brain works, and when they try to describe it they will get a lot wrong.
I suspect one of those negatives still has to go, no?
I think I was really meaning to say “not not creepy” at the time :S
But do you mean to say that the creepiness standards of internet feminists are the same as that for “women who go other social convention”? I was expecting you to mean that they were different.
Is it clearer like this?
Possibly even clearer:
“I often find that what is not creepy for internet feminists is creepy for women who follow other social conventions, and vice versa.”
Examples would be nice.
I meant ‘not creepy’ for internet feminists (asking politely) corresponding to ‘not not creepy’ for other people.
Ah, OK, it makes sense now (though I suspect most people will still read it the wrong way)
I didn’t even notice where the negatives were in the original version—I just assumed the intended meaning to be the one that makes sense.
Relevant Language Log post