By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
JWeinCom on 15 July 2016
Edit Thread
guiduc said:
JWeinCom said:

I am well acquainted with those words.  No introductions are needed.  And I am using them at my discretion.  According to my discretion, I did not use them.  There were much better words available.  Unsubstantiated and ridiculous are not synonyms.  Unsubstantiated means you simply have no evidence, but it may or may not be true.  Ridiculous means that your argument not only doesn't have evidence, but also defies the available evidence and/or common sense and therefore is deserving of ridicule.  In this case, the arguments were not just unsubstantiated, they were ridiculous. 

Personally, I just don't have much tolerance for that kind of nonsense in this scenario.  It's a pet peeve when people respond to me with logical fallacies and absurd claims.  It's even more so a pet peeve when people repeatedly fail to justify themselves, ignore huge swaths of what I've said, pluck lines out of context, attack me instead of my arguments, and so on.  And that's how I respond to that sort of thing.  If that comes off as aggressive to certain people or rubs them the wrong way, then I'm ok with that.

At no point did I insult anyone personally.  I never called a person stupid, inane, vapid, etc.  I called an argument stupid, inane, vapid, etc.  I never disrespected anyone.  I certainly disrespected arguments that didn't deserve respect, but never a person.  As far as I know, you can correct me if I'm wrong, that does not in any way violate any rules.  If this is just a suggestion of yours, then I'm going to respectfully ignore it.  At work I have to excersise extreme patience, and not even hint at any kind of frustration, disapproval, etc, no matter how irrational someone is being.  It's nice to sometimes be able to call a spade a spade.

You may be ok with that, but not all people are and you two are annoying some users on this thread right now; I wouldn't receive reports otherwise. This kind of speech you're holding, with words such as shitty, dumb, stupid, awful tends to make arguments escalate fast due to their depreciatory nature, making the other user feel isolated, humiliated and inclined to formulate a more violent response. Fortunately, he decided to stand down. Next time, do not engage if it infuriates you.

And yes, you're on the verge of violating rule #10: You have the right to express your opinion, as long as it is relevant, justified, and presented in a civil manner. The bolded is where you're at fault. You lacked civility while arguing with Mike.

I recall a certain mod saying to you: ''You can have the best argument in the world and still lose due to the presentation of your point.'' Does it ring any bell?

Again, it's not about what you think is okay to do, it's about what the rules tell you what is okay to do.

But I'm nice. I'm just arguing with you instead of blantantly moderating you. Now let's move on. Make your peace with Mike, if it isn't already done.

Arguments stand or fall on their own merit.  If the point stands, the point stands whether it's presented nicely or otherwise.  And I'm not really infuriated.  Annoyed maybe, but far from infuriated.  I like cursing when appropriate and I prefer blunt language.  Might cause me to come across as angrier than I actually am.

I asked you to correct me if I was wrong on the rules, and I stand corrected.  I was under the impression that it was ok to disparage arguments as long as you weren't actually criticizing the person.  That's also the impression I got from what typically goes on in threads.  If I was wrong on that, I'll try and be more careful on my wording in the future.