Some civility exists!

[Xahm]

I know we get a lot of reports of the worst in online behavior, so I wanted to report I just had a civil exchange on Facebook about a controversial topic with a stranger who disagreed with me. It was nice. We see each other's point of view and remain unconvinced and that's fine. The topic was what to do with "extra" roosters in a backyard flock, so plenty of room for getting heated and taking things personally. 

Can anyone else share some good news on the civility front? 

It's very cold, so my only human interactions will be online today.

[mommyoffive]

Glad you  had a good interaction.  I feel like we all need a lot of that after this last year to get in a better place.

Do you have chickens? 

[Xahm]

6 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Glad you  had a good interaction.  I feel like we all need a lot of that after this last year to get in a better place.

Do you have chickens? 

Yes, we have 5 hens. We're getting eggs to go in a borrowed incubator, hopefully this week!

[Jean in Newcastle]

One recent one was with our deputy mayor.  He was talking to someone right next to me at my volunteer job.  He was putting down people who took a certain anti-tax stance on a local matter.  I cleared my throat and gently interjected that I actually agreed with that anti-tax stance.  I explained why.  He remained unconvinced but he still listened to my reasoning and at least he and his friend moderated their speech.  (The voters ended up "speaking" on this issue in the polls and defeated the tax that he and others wanted to push through.) 

[MercyA]

I have one! About an hour ago, my husband was pulling into our drive as I was leaving on a library run. We have lots of snow here. He pulled over to the side of the road so I'd have more room--and got stuck. Within about 15 minutes, we had five guys helping us! Three neighbors and two guys who stopped in their truck. There was lots of strategizing, digging, and pushing. It was rather glorious to watch. They got us out handily and saved us a tow bill. 🙂 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Mercy's example reminded me of when Libby the Disabled Wonder Dog was hit by a car.  (She got out of a poorly fenced dog park and ran after a squirrel across the road).  One person stopped all traffic.  Two men donated a sheet of plywood from the back of their truck to use as a stretcher for her.  Another person called the nearest vet and got a triage team waiting to stabilize her before we transported her even farther to an emergency vet to handle her severe needs.  I was meanwhile frantically trying to find the keys to my car which were in my son's pocket (his mind blanked on that fact too).  When it counts, people step into a crisis situation and come together. 

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, Xahm said:

Yes, we have 5 hens. We're getting eggs to go in a borrowed incubator, hopefully this week!

So fun.  We get chicks every year.  What kinds do you have?  Have you ever hatched eggs before?  We haven't and that probably would be so fun.  

[Melissa Louise]

Blocked and Reported podcast Reddit. 

Entire convo re women in tech, Google, Damore...entirely civil. Interesting. Learned something (from lurking - I'm read only).

[Ausmumof3]

Yes!  We had the most lovely couple and the sister of one of them drop on last night.  They grew up here on the farm about sixty years ago. They were taking a trip down memory lane because the brother is ill and they’ve always wanted to.  They were very very sweet.

[Ausmumof3]

4 hours ago, Xahm said:

I know we get a lot of reports of the worst in online behavior, so I wanted to report I just had a civil exchange on Facebook about a controversial topic with a stranger who disagreed with me. It was nice. We see each other's point of view and remain unconvinced and that's fine. The topic was what to do with "extra" roosters in a backyard flock, so plenty of room for getting heated and taking things personally. 

Can anyone else share some good news on the civility front? 

It's very cold, so my only human interactions will be online today.

This is a hot topic in our household right now 😞 

The downsides of hatching chickens!

[Xahm]

7 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

So fun.  We get chicks every year.  What kinds do you have?  Have you ever hatched eggs before?  We haven't and that probably would be so fun.  

We have 1 red sex link and 4 black australorps. I think we'll be getting barnyard mixes this time around. We haven't hatched any before. I've spent much of today trying to do battle with the incubator and learn how to manage its humidity before we get eggs and it matters. I fell into the rabbit hole of debates among chicken people about what the correct humidity even is, and now I'm more confused than ever. It like starting homeschool, reading one book and thinking you know the one true way, then finding out that there are lots of different ways people do it but you have to choose something.

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, Xahm said:

We have 1 red sex link and 4 black australorps. I think we'll be getting barnyard mixes this time around. We haven't hatched any before. I've spent much of today trying to do battle with the incubator and learn how to manage its humidity before we get eggs and it matters. I fell into the rabbit hole of debates among chicken people about what the correct humidity even is, and now I'm more confused than ever. It like starting homeschool, reading one book and thinking you know the one true way, then finding out that there are lots of different ways people do it but you have to choose something.

So cool that you are giving it a try.  You will have to keep us updated on how it goes.  I would love to try it someday, but have no clue about how it works. I think we are getting a grab bag mix of breeds this year like we did last year.  We got rare breeds grab bag last year.  This year I think dd is wanting to get a mix of colorful egg layers.  I can't wait.  I love chickens. 

[Farrar]

I saw a totally weird civil interaction on Facebook. It went like this:

Friend: This article about (topic) is important and excellent news.
Friend's Friend Who Is Clearly On The Other End of the Spectrum: Blah blah borderline offensive political rhetoric that clearly no one posting that article will listen to. Completely incorrect information. More totally incorrect information circulating on conspiracy sites.
Friend: Hey, it's really good to hear from you. Actually, as you can see, according to this and this, the information in this article is factually correct. Also, I posted this because it impacts our family in this way. I hope you're doing well.
Friend's Friend: I have no idea what you're talking about. Also, opposite side political rhetoric.
Friend: So, I'm happy to explain. Explain explain, this is why this impacts my child and these are the ways that it impacts that child and the rest of our family and why we're happy and a two sentence history of topic from our point of view. You're a good person and I know you care about child and children in general.
Friend's Friend: I have been educated and did not know that about child. This is all good to know and understand. 
Friend: Awesome. It's so nice to hear from you. I'm glad you're good.
Friend's Friend: I'm glad you're well too.

I was just like, what the heck did I just read. Did I just read that. On Facebook?!? WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING HERE.

Of course, I could totally cite an opposite end experience by someone who just unfriended me and a bunch of other people I know. But... the above was very... nice.