# Are there things that have been discussed to death that we should not debate anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649 "2025-01-06T18:26:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/1 "2025-01-06T18:26:16Z")
Inspired by this blog post I read ( [Discourses We Can Stop Having, Ranked | Defector](https://defector.com/discourses-we-can-stop-having-ranked)), do you think there are certain topics or discussions so played out, so thoroughly analyzed, that any further discussions are pointless and silly? For me, I don’t see any harm in discussing or posting on on well-worn matters. For one thing, not everyone may be as well versed as some others in these topics, so the discussion might benefit from a fresh perspective. More importantly though, while the main topic may be played out, tangential issues or discussions may arise that merit further thought and prove fruitful for further exploration. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/2 "2025-01-06T18:41:56Z")
There are topics here on the Dope that are banned. Mostly for being intractable, but also because everything that can be said has been said by somebody sometime. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/3 "2025-01-06T18:58:25Z")
By coincidence, Mod @What_Exit just updated the TOS and called our attention to it here: > [@SDMB rules 9/12/2023](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-rules-9-12-2023/990013/64): > > The latest official rules are now located here: [https://boards.straightdope.com/tos](https://boards.straightdope.com/tos) If you click the Hamburger Menu heavy_equals_sign and click FAQ and then click \* [Terms of Service](https://boards.straightdope.com/tos) you get the latest rules. Also at the bottom of any thread page you should see [Privacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/privacy) ’ [Terms of service](https://boards.straightdope.com/tos) ’ [About](https://boards.straightdope.com/about) ’ [FAQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/faq) ’ [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.discourse.org/2016/12/discourse-new-user-tips-and-tricks/) Which TOS / combined rules includes this section: > [@Excerpt of TOS Rules](#): > > **Tired topics.** The following subjects have been beaten to death on this board and are cIosed to further discussion. If you feel new information has come to light that warrants reopening of a tired topic, you are free to petition the staff, but be aware that you face a high bar: > > - _Scientific racism_ - any argument about why a particular group of humans is objectively better or worse than any other group. > - _Holocaust denial_. Seriously, folks. If you want to debate whether the Holocaust occurred, this is not the place for you. > - _Men’s rights advocacy_, including threads about how men are somehow disadvantaged in society, women are genetically inferior or have a predisposition toward specific gender roles, and how men are naturally entitled to be in charge. > - _9/11 truthers_, including but not limited to claims that 9/11 didn’t happen or was a false flag operation by the government. > - _Climate change denialism_. Much about climate change is open to debate, but the basic reality of the phenomenon has been established beyond reasonable doubt. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/4 "2025-01-06T20:58:12Z")
Does 0,999… = 1? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/5 "2025-01-06T21:00:12Z")
Airplanes on treadmills? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/6 "2025-01-06T21:01:13Z")
Definition of a majority ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/7 "2025-01-06T21:09:59Z")
The JFK assassination ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/8 "2025-01-06T21:11:43Z")
This just needs two things: Clarification and Realization that I am right and you are wrong. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/9 "2025-01-06T21:25:10Z")
“Who is Mr. Ruda Duda?” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/10 "2025-01-06T21:46:05Z")
14 initials in a mysterious unsolved abbreviation ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/11 "2025-01-06T21:48:53Z")
I’m interpreting the topic as stuff that while technically you can still debate, you probably shouldn’t (as opposed to stuff like 9/11 conspiracy theories that already have a definitive answer) Male Circumcision is my #1 for this, as to this very second there are people having life or death arguments over it all over the internet. People dedicate their lives to being pro or anti for something that really doesn’t matter that much. And obviously nobody is going to really jump from one side or the other from somebody angrily arguing it on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/12 "2025-01-06T21:49:30Z")
I feel like this thread would benefit from a 10 minute funk jam called “Doing It to Death”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NNw2F_LevVU/maxresdefault.jpg "Doing It To Death (Pts. 1 & 2)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNw2F_LevVU) On the topic of the thread, I don’t think there has been any movement on any side about the morality of abortion. I think it’s fine to discuss any new laws and restrictions, and their implications for fetuses and pregnant people, but the morality of abortion itself has been done to death with no movement. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/13 "2025-01-06T21:53:35Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it’s fine to discuss any new laws and restrictions, and their implications for fetuses and pregnant people, but the morality of abortion itself has been done to death ISWYDT. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/14 "2025-01-06T21:54:47Z")
Haha! No pun intended. Just following the wording in the OP (and my video). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/15 "2025-01-06T22:04:10Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Airplanes on treadmills? What is the _actual_ color of that durn dress? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/16 "2025-01-06T22:08:45Z")
When does human life begin. This is a philosophical and semantic question with no real answer, and one for which opinions depend entirely on political beliefs that are unrelated to the question at hand. So trying to debate it as if there was a objectively correct answer is pointless. Similarly, “does god exist” is going to result in both sides making arguments that are based on reasoning that are totally foreign to the other side, and so aren’t going to persuade anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/17 "2025-01-06T22:21:27Z")
I don’t think any topic that has practical, real consequences should be avoided because “it’s been done too many times.” As long as a problem exists, it needs addressing. To avoid a topic that is very real, pressing, and affects many people - like climate change or abortion - would be like someone trying to shut off a carbon monoxide detector “because it’s beeping nonstop and is annoying.” The exception would be matters in which something is obviously true and other people are simply trolling for laughs, like **Asuka** pointed out - 9/11 or Flat-Eartherism - but that’s not so much ‘debate’ as trolling. And this might not be the right thread for it, but I would argue that the TOS does indeed unfairly classify some topics as un-discussable when they are very discussable. For instance, the part where it bans Dopers from starting threads stating that men are disadvantaged in society - I’m sure there may be at least 1 way in which men might face some disadvantage compared to women, worth a thread, while men are still possessing many other advantages over women. (Such as men being likelier to be drafted in wartime rather than women). It shouldn’t be wrong to start a thread about one specific aspect of the matter while still acknowledging the _overall_ advantage men have. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/18 "2025-01-06T22:25:04Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The exception would be matters in which something is obviously true Climate change is obviously true. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/19 "2025-01-06T22:31:18Z")
In light of the recent death of novelist David Lodge, I’m reminded of his character Prof. Morris Zapp, whose professional aspirations were along the lines of this thread: > Some years ago he had embarked with great enthusiasm on an ambitious critical project: a series of commentaries on Jane Austen which would work through the whole canon, one novel at a time, saying absolutely everything that could possibly be said about them. The idea was to be utterly exhaustive, to examine the novels from every conceivable angle, historical, biographical, rhetorical, mythical, Freudian, Jungian, existentialist, Marxist, structuralist, Christian-allegorical, ethical, exponential, linguistic, phenomenological, archetypal, you name it; so that when each commentary was written there would be simply _nothing further to say_ about the novel in question. The object of the exercise, as he had often to explain with as much patience as he could muster, was not to enhance others’ enjoyment and understanding of Jane Austen, still less to honour the novelist herself, but to put a definitive stop to the production of any further garbage on the subject. The commentaries would not be designed for the general reader but for the specialist, who, looking up Zapp, would find that the book, article or thesis he had been planning had already been anticipated and, more likely than not, invalidated. After Zapp, the rest would be silence. The thought gave him deep satisfaction. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649/20 "2025-01-06T22:31:56Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Climate change is obviously true. But the details are complex and somewhat uncertain, and therefore the issue is still worthy of debate. What’s unworthy of debate is the climate denialist _position,_ and even that is less because it can’t be addressed than because the people who hold it are almost certain to be bad faith debaters or outright irrational. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-things-that-have-been-discussed-to-death-that-we-should-not-debate-anymore/1012649.md?page=2)