Ramblings

S2-Warn
- Procedure -

A Warning alerts the recipient to potential damage caused by an action. This can mean anything and is not meant as a disciplinary measure. It's not a yellow card. It's an alert meant to inform the person that the course they are currently on may lead to future problems. There are all kinds of things a person can do that, through no fault of their own, can cause harm to me or our interaction. For example, you cannot really blame a person for having friends who have what you believe to be objectionable world views and you might morally object to your friend hanging out with those people, but if it's their social circle then just spending time with them isn't really something you can blame your friend for. Still, you might find yourself unable to mentally seperate your friend from the objectionable worldviews of his pals, and worry that you will not be able to tolerate your friend's friends. For this situation - where you can understand why your friend is doing it and understand why it's good for them, but at the same time cannot accept that situation yourself - for this situation you might issue a warning. If your friend has an alcohol problem, is a gambling addict or is making you jealous through the people they are dating are all conceivable ways in which you might agree with your friend that what they are doing is right but can end up disagreeing with yourself and believe that their behavior, although reasonable, can lead to harm to the friendship/“interpersonal interaction” down the line.

At the same time, a warning can always occur in a context that is “yellow card-like”. If I get annoyed by someone, I might issue a warning like that, though it should be kept in mind that the ultimate goal through this system is always to give the other person a chance to react, to be clear about what exactly my problem is. This means the warning is an offer to talk about the behavior in question and clear up where it comes from, what the intent was, and what to do about it in the future.

In either case, the goal with issuing an S2-Warn is to communicate that a problem is identified and that I believe it has the potential to cause problems in the future.