And yet, she persisted, we will still set guidelines; so that people know they’re unwelcome to do so when they do, so that they can’t argue that they didn’t know, so that we as a social club can strive towards the standards we argue about and accept from the organizers. The point of guidelines is not that they prevent malicious intent; the point is that they inhibit those behaviors that exceed the defined boundaries, however vague or precise they may be. Prevention of malice is an impossibility in all human social affairs, whether guidelines are defined or not; one must find other reasons for rules than prevention to understand why rules are at all.
