If you could ban one logical fallacy or debating tactic... (Obama, biased)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
6. Cruising the forum, looking for a particular person who has humiliated you for your foolishness in the past, clutching at ad-hominem straws to try to attack them without presenting a single point in to support your attack.
6. Cruising the forum, looking for a particular person who has humiliated you for your foolishness in the past, clutching at ad-hominem straws to try to attack them without presenting a single point in to support your attack.
At least I am not attacking the greatest, most free country on the universe, or the institutions that have made her so. At least I don't attack capitalism or capitalists.
I might go ahead and just ban evasion or "what-about"-ism.
So for instance, if someone makes an argument about "X," people would no longer try to squirrel out of the topic altogether by ignoring subject X and bringing up subject "Y" instead.
Several years ago I opened a chatroom on AOL called STUMP THE GENIUS. I, a near moron, was the genius. I actual got a fair number of visitors. People would ask me random questions and I would quickly respond with a reply that seemed like it might be close. Of course I would never actually do any research. For example, someone might ask me the diameter of the planet Mars. I'd quickly reply with 7,201 miles (for example). The person would then tell me I was wrong and enter the correct distance. I would state that he was in error, I was indeed correct and he should "check his data source for accuracy". The other guy would insist he was right, and I'd calmly explain that I was the genius and therefore my answer was most assuredly correct. I would then suggest that he again "check his data source for accuracy". I'd absolutely infuriate people by insisting I was correct and they were wrong, despite the fact that I was probably never right. To make it all the more maddening for the poor guy, usually the other visitors in the chatroom would agree with me, after all, I sounded so wise and knowing.
Yeah, one of the great things about internet debating is that the person who is dead wrong can insist he is correct, and there's nothing that can be done to make him admit his error.
Last edited by GalileoSmith; 04-19-2010 at 01:51 PM..
I call them set-ups. You know exactly what is being said. It is like a passive aggressive taunt. This then makes me want to reach through the screen and choke someone. From the get go it starts out with, am I a racist if? or I'm not racist but...
I recently encountered a debate, and I use that term as loosely as it is used here, where someone can say something so racist or homophobic, and then run and hide behind the line: Everyone is entitled to their opinions and you should just accept that. Well, ok then. Except for that whole part where you just told someone that they were genetically inferior. And when you point that out, they say your mean.
Ok, the one I see so often on the C-D forums is what I like to call "Guilt by Association".
This happens whenever one takes up the cause of the less-fortunate.
For example, I just posted on the "homeless" thread. Let's just wait and see how long it takes before someone comes along and accuses me of being a) jealous of the rich b) on the public dole or c) a welfare queen
Aww, you know? It has been assumed at one point or another that I am a lesbian, African American, and Jewish and male. Male because I am old school and found a nic that is not tied to gender. You can tell it's coming when the reply has "your kind" in it.
Aww, you know? It has been assumed at one point or another that I am a lesbian, African American, and Jewish and male. Male because I am old school and found a nic that is not tied to gender. You can tell it's coming when the reply has "your kind" in it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
b) on the public dole 
or c) a welfare queen 
