While I believe that it is important to have wide acceptance of
various personal codes of conduct, I do like to cultivate a social
atmosphere where it's basically not OK to be a jerk. What that means
in practical terms is rightfully a hot, ongoing discussion topic that
helps a group arrive at its social equilibrium.
My feeling is that informality is essential to the healthy growth of
an online community. According to Ray Oldenburg in _The Great Good
Place_, "the activity that goes on in third places is largely
unplanned, unscheduled, unorganized and unstructured. Here, however,
is the charm. It is just these deviations from the middle-class
penchant for organization that give the third place much of its
character and allure and that allow it to offer a radical departure
from the routines of home and work." Hence, I favor just enough rules
to get us by and no more.
