power exists in judgments on others--the enforcement of informal norms. basic principle of social life. the sooner we figure that out, the better. and, the sooner we figure out that we can't live without norms, the better. either extreme puts any movement toward our goals in peril, i believe.
for instance, i could tell you that your.sig is a violation of all kinds of rules the internet community once created when bandwidth was an issue. i could point out that if all of use were to use such .sigs at 1k per byte transfered then we'd be overloading the system. would you get rid of your .sig or would you tell me to fuck off and die and give me some reasonable arguments to show that my claims are contestable.
how do we negotiate those dilemmas?
power inevitably comes into play, especially as human beings form alliances to pursue the ends they desire in such arguments. will it all evaporate, as Ted seems to wish (and I share that wish, along with Garth and Miles)? i'm not so sure sometimes. I don't feel comfortable making sweeping generalizations. I especially don't feel comfortable with them because i see how they get used with regard to the sexism that some exhibit toward work and other issues: when _current_ sexist practices among the left are mentioned, it often gets swept aside with a gesture at how it will all disappear after the revo.
i'm not comforted.
kelley