Comment by svieira
6 days ago
Correct, but if the point is "what is lewd can change out from under you without any consent on your part" ad contra scarface and in support of the OP, then this is a reasonable response (though I agree it would have been better to put it in quotes and then point out the issue in several follow-on paragraphs to better fit with the site. This isn't Reddit).
If anything, they provided an example of how the counter-argument is disingenuous: one person's opinion of what is and is not lewd did not dictate the community opinion on the topic in this context.
Many of these complaints about arbitrary rules changing, to my observation, come from people who were simply unaware of a decades-long conversation happening in spaces they don't care to be invested in: sociological studies, gender studies, cultural studies, human behavior studies, etc. And when those conversations reach a well-reasoned consensus with convincing arguments that sway the hearts and minds of people with control over interaction spaces, it can be a little startling when rules change! But being upset about it is a little bit like being upset that the web APIs changed due to the publications of WHATWG while consistently ignoring the well-publicized discussions and work of WHATWG.
Graham in this essay seems to be laboring under the belief that because these norms didn't originate from the STEM education space, the STEM industry space doesn't need to adopt them or take them seriously... As if they weren't originating from the space of professional consideration of sociology and human behavior.
> If anything, they provided an example of how the counter-argument is disingenuous: one person's opinion of what is and is not lewd did not dictate the community opinion on the topic in this context [...]
... because someone who spoke for the community spoke up forcefully in favor of the current rules.
So give an example of what is now considered lewd that changed out from under you?