seeking adage

[kaigou]

I'm pretty sure it was someone here who once mentioned the adage/law/maxim I'm trying to find. It was kind of a corollary to Hanlon's law ("never ascribe to malice what can be explained adequately by stupidity") -- it was along the lines of "before you decide to be offended, give someone the benefit of the doubt". I keep thinking cooperative principle, but that's Grice, and his maxims put the burden on the speaker (to be succinct, to be clear, to be coherent) and less on the listener.

Anyone have any ideas? Does this ring a bell for anyone?

Comments

[brainwane]

"Assume Good Faith" springs to mind for me.

[dragonhand]

Sorry, the only thing coming to mind is one I heard from an SCA friend, "Recognize the source of the opinion and discount accordingly," and my own, "When someone isn't trying to cause offense, the best response is to not be offended. When someone IS trying to cause offense, the best response is still to not be offended, because that really pisses them off."