the goblin in the library

Folks have been showing a liking for the phrase “charitable reading” and citing me for the phrase. Which tickles me to no end. Except I didn’t invent the phrase or the concept (not that anyone has actually accused me of being so clever) and I feel that for honesty’s sake, I should point to where I got it from.

I got it from the Forge.

I used to spend a lot of time on the Forge, but these days I mostly just skim a small amount of the threads there. I’m still friends with the daredevils who run the Forge, Ron Edwards and Clinton Nixon. They’ve made a serious and strong effort to keep the level of discussion on the Forge above most internet free-for-alls and flamefests. They’ve enforced a fairly high level of civility and decorum, as well as calling out intellectual dishonesty and petty social dysfunction when they see it. In my experience with internet forums and discussions, the Forge stands out for me as something better, something to aim for.

One member on the Forge wrote a post about “charitable reading,” and the moderators liked it so much, they made it required reading for participating in discussions there. It has since become an important concept in the blogs and web forums that have splintered off from the Forge. I think it’s important when dealing with any kind of written communication, particularly with the high-speed exchange of voices on the internet. So, here is where I got the phrase and concept from: “On Charitable Reading.”