Aim instructions at...
May. 31st, 2012 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackIf you are writing instructions telling people not to do X in the hope that people will listen, it's sometimes better to aim it at (A) reasonable people who occasionally do X in frustration, who you'd like to make a super-special effort not to do X at all, rather than (B) selfish jerks who do X all the time without thinking about who they're hurting.
Because, lo, who is a selfish jerk is to some extent a matter of optinion, and however many people may BE selfish jerks, everyone THINKS they're a reasonable person who does X only occasionally when they have a super-good reason. And don't realise that's "all the time". So when they see a sign saying "don't be a selfish jerk, don't do X" they may not think "Oops, I don't want to be selfish, won't do X" but "I'm not selfish, I only do X occaisionally, so it doesn't apply to me. X!"...
Because, lo, who is a selfish jerk is to some extent a matter of optinion, and however many people may BE selfish jerks, everyone THINKS they're a reasonable person who does X only occasionally when they have a super-good reason. And don't realise that's "all the time". So when they see a sign saying "don't be a selfish jerk, don't do X" they may not think "Oops, I don't want to be selfish, won't do X" but "I'm not selfish, I only do X occaisionally, so it doesn't apply to me. X!"...