sh!t lists

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lots of people keep sh!t lists, and most likely they keep them to themselves.

But how about this as an experiment: Maintain an open sh!t list--that is, make it public.

Explain and cite concrete evidence as to why each entry made the list, and post it where people can easily find and identify it as your sh!t list.

If your sh!t list is public knowledge, you're probably going to give each selection more thought than if it were private. Who knows? You may discover that you were in the wrong.

Likewise, it gives the people on your sh!t list the chance to defend and even redeem themselves, making forgiveness all the more likely.

And if the person is just outrightly unscrupulous, why keep that knowledge to yourself? Others can benefit from your bad experiences and avoid that person.

Libel may be an issue, but that's easy enough to avoid.

HT to Ben Casnocha.