Note: This page is meant to be a (long) analysis of why we have trouble with "civility" at Wikipedia, why we argue when we try to discuss it, and why there are only specific ways forward. When this is done, I will create a short (and maybe polemical-sounding) executive summary. Therefore, if you don't believe the summary, read this. If you don't have patience for this, read that.
Purpose: Perhaps no issue has been as longstanding a bone of contention as "civility." The term has bedeviled all electronic discourse, from the old days of BBS's, Usenet, and the like to the current days of web forums and cooperative editing environments. In few cases have people analyzed the conventions that they are seeking to uphold, detailing the world they seek to create, or think about the sorts of sanctions available in a non-physical world to create proper function. While I cannot claim to speak for anyone, and I am an "anti-civility" person in general, I hope to point the way for a better consideration and a more fruitful discussion.