Talkin' about rules

[Sam]

  Has anyone else noticed how the discussions on rules and rule changes turn sour so quickly?  We can be happily talking about guns and shooting and everybody is being so nice.  

                   The comes, THE RULES!!!  

 

     Here's my problem, I'm so self-centered in my nature that I just automatically think that you must see things exactly the same way I do.   What appears to make perfect sense to me, can be a total nonsense to you.   Unfortunately, through years of practice, my first response is usually about what seems right to me.  

     So, I'm going to tread very lightly when discussing rules.   Maybe rules are taken so seriously by some, because they represent what's fair and equitable to them.   Some people are probably as passionate about rules as they are about politics or religion.   If I say something that offends another person's sense of fairness, whether I intend it to or not, it detracts from the discussion and from the forum.   This place is too good for that.   If my cavalier attitude about rules has offended anyone, I am truly sorry.   I will remember that while we may like the same guns and stages and love the same sport, our view of the rules is likely to differ more than I could have imagined before.  

[Flexmoney]

I resemble that remark.

[Chuck D]

I simply refuse to do it ever again. It becomes an "aggravating factor" for someone like me who suffers from a distrustful nature. For the first time since I joined USPSA in 1987, I truly couldn't care less what goes on.

(Edited by Chuck D at 5:06 pm on Jan. 22, 2003)

(Edited by Chuck D at 5:20 pm on Jan. 22, 2003)

(Edited by Chuck D at 5:20 pm on Jan. 22, 2003)

[kimel]

Rules, policies, whatever name you want to call them by are really the same thing.  In my line of work I end up crafting a LOT of policy which will end up being applied institution-wide and covering around 30K people.  Thus, this sort of furor is something I am rather used to and have to deal with almost constantly.

It has oft been quoted that "a good policy/rule is intentionally vague".  

And there we have the root of the problem.  Given just about any rule and any group of people there will be multiple interpretations of that same rule.  Each party will honestly believe that they have made the correct interpretation of the rule and that everyone else was incorrect.  It is at this point that all heck breaks loose because in disagreeing with someone's interpretation they start to feel like you are calling them a liar/idiot/jerk/whatever.

Each of us views the world through the filter created by a lifetime of experiences and learning and this leads to the varied interpretations.

All too often the crafters of a rule/policy will see this as a black and white issue and the rule/policy as perfectly addressing it.  Then someone comes along and reinterprets the silly thing and you have unintended consequences.

If we could ever write the perfect rule/policy then we could get rid of lawyers for it is on this difference in interpretation that they make their stand.

And, so goes life....

I applaud those that can enter into a rules discussion and not lose their cool.  I only wish I was one of them.  I also applaud those that realize that they need to tread lightly and avoid these discussions.  And finally, I applaud those that are willing to enter into the rules discussions (with a civil tongue) because they are a necessary and vital part of any sport.

Cheers!

Kevin

[Ron Ankeny]

Sam:

Actually, you do make perfect sense. I agree that the whole issue of rules, ethics, and fairplay elicit some pretty emotional responses.

Of course, part of the problem is the nature of electronic communications. People who have had the pleasure to associate with you know that you are one of the good guys. I appreciate your profound sense of decency and fairness.