Opinion: You Can't Always Get What You Want (But You Can Try, Try, Try)

submitted by Kantbe Thursday

The following is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of SurfWatch or its staff.

As a result of a series of SurfWatch articles pertaining to harassment in virtual worlds, a few people have gotten up in arms about the Second Life Surfing Association (SLSA). Even though SurfWatch has not identified any individual or individuals being accused of harassment, a number of people believe they know, and have been calling upon the SLSA to do something about it. Demands are being made to remove an individual from the SLSA and strip them of all awards received thus far. By not doing so, some people are saying the SLSA is weak and not doing its job.

But wait a minute. The SLSA is an association. By design, like it or not, it is governed by a Constitution and a collection of rules. The Board of Directors does try to represent the membership and try to have the association run as smoothly as possible, but they do have to adhere to the same Constitution and Rules that apply to us all. The Constitution or supplementary Rules provide processes and protocols for the actions taken by the Board. If there is nothing to back up a particular action, the Board may not have authority to take it.

Let’s step back a bit and look at this current situation. It’s never occurred in the Association before as far as I know. What protocols and procedures does the Board have in trying to address this?

Normally, the Board is accustomed to addressing formal complaints. No formal complaint has been filed as of this writing. There are other possibly relevant terms, however.

The Code of Conduct (or what should have been labeled The SLSA Sportsmanship Code) does reference behavior like what has been reported. However, the Code is primarily about actions during SLSA activities. One might argue that the section that also lists the Community Standards of Second Life would apply more broadly. But in what context? People are in SL for any number of reasons. Some actually voluntarily enjoy participating in activities that in a different context would be considered extremely offensive. Clearly, it would be ridiculous to think the SLSA Code would attempt to include such private, personal choice activities.

But, what about when this sort of behavior is not in the context of these venues or groups who cater to it? What if the behavior, whether intended or not, becomes a reflection on the SLSA as a whole? What a if the behavior compromises the reputation of the SLSA because the individual is one in a position of power, or perceived to be in a position of power, within the SLSA or has been granted awards to indicate that the SLSA as a group holds that person in high regard?

Compromising the reputation of the SLSA and “expulsion severity breach of the SLSA Sportsmanship code” are grounds for the Board to remove an individual from the SLSA. In the case of the Sportsmanship breach (which is where the SL Community Standards on harassment come into play), it has to be “observed and corroborated”. By whom is unclear, but it does indicate that a formal complaint is not necessarily required.

The Board may feel at this time that the current Rules leave too much in question to try to take action. They’re justified in interpreting on the side of caution. But, I would hope that clarifications to the rules could be made. The thing about rules is that they have to be clear, but they also can’t always be too specific and need to allow some room for interpretation. That’s why we have five Board members. If everything we do is governed by extremely specific and detailed rules, we only need a single Rule Monitor, not a Board who can think, argue at times, and make decisions.

We have a good Board right now. Let’s all let them do their jobs as best as they can. I for one am glad to be able to pop off what ever hair brained idea I have and not have to be a Director who has to carefully weigh everything they say or do that could be construed as The Gospel According to Director.

If you’ve not read the entire SurfWatch #metoo series and the comments readers have posted, I hope you will read them to put this in a better context. Reading the July 25th 2018, September 19th 2018, and January 13 2019 posts provide the full picture of the series to date. They should really be read in order rather than take things out of context or just hearing parts of them word of mouth.

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