There are two acceptable tracts to debating - one based on facts and the other based on opinion. You have to be clear at least in your own mind which you are using and you must be explicit in your assumptions.
The first type is relies on cites. Clearly we are not talking about such here.
The second type is a little trickier. You must state your axioms (beliefs, opinions, whatever) and proceed logically from those. Each step of your reasoning is open to attack, so you better be pretty rigorous.
The axioms themselves are also subject to debate, but it’s pretty worthless defending them unless you can use some cites to do so. By definition axioms are fundamental and cannot be proven.
Neither of these styles of debate feature “advice”. People don’t debate because they want to fix a problem in their personal life - they debate because they want to fix a problem in the world and they are seeking ways to do it.
Your dogmatic advice doesn’t fall into the category of “debating” at all. It’s just a kid interrupting the grown ups.
So this is still going on? I really hoped the lad would come back, retract some of his statements and make nice. Acco40, “I’m done here” are not suitable last words. sigh In the absence of an eloquent departure, allow me to interject some irony:
None of those guys are armed enough. We need to hand out some more dangerous weapons like nerve agents and plastic explosives. Basically, we need to ensure that every person can kill every other person without hardly even trying.
Result? Either rational MAD principles will form in their minds or they will all kill each other off; in either case there’s no one fighting.
Hello and welcome to today’s show: the mating rituals of the Acco40us Ignoramus. Today’s show is a short one: it focuses on what happens when the Acco40 is rejected by his potential mate[sub]Note: I didn’t read the actual thread. This is intended solely for amusement. Void where prohibited. Don’t go shooting the messenger[/sub]:
Acco: I want you, but the media portrays you as being fat, ugly, and undesirable.
Magdalene: I know. It sucks. I get by, though. I don’t need any help from other people . . . I just deal with it.
Acco: I think you should put your hair up, lose a few pounds . . .
Magdalene: Dude, get a clue. I told you I didn’t want your fucking advice!
Acco: Fine! I’m just trying to help! But, I mean, if you can change things, you should!
Magdalene: You’re so rude and arrogant! I don’t want your fucking opinion or advice, and I told you so, yet you still barrage me with your garbage. What, can’t you understand simple fucking English?
A translation of this last statement: I can’t keep up with you . . . you’re too much to handle. I don’t want to get burned again in the future so if I see or hear your name I’ll run cowering into the sewer and shit myself.
Nanny-nanny booboo! I can’t see you, you can’t see me!
This, I can attest to. I still have grill marks on my ass from the flames. They were well deserved, I might add. Hell, in the stem cell thread I even agreed with this guy. Do you have any idea of the shame? I jumped into a rant, full steam ahead, before I even thought my opinions through. I see a similar problem here.
Hopefully he can learn to debate and challenge ideas without ridiculing people in the process.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Acco40 *
**
[QUOTE
Yeah, musicguy… how do you live with yourself??? Asskisser. **[/QUOTE]
Very simply. I have the maturity to realize that I’m not always right and when I am called on it, to re-examine my viewpoint. This can be hard to do in the heat of passion and sometimes requires a cooling down period but it is the right thing to do. It’s similar to the idea of “the more you learn, the more you realize that you don’t know”. I came to these boards to learn new things and examine my own positions. If I were to totally close my mind and assume I am right about everything, I would not be able to accomplish that.
And I won’t take the “asskisser” part personally. Perhaps your feelings are hurt that I initially agreed with you but eventually recanted as I realized how wrong your opinion (and mine) was. I would expect that you see the fact that I changed my position to be a sign of weakness. I see it as a sign of growth. Speaking of which, grow up.