After dipping my toes in GD, and actually thinking for half an hour over a post, I’m officially beat. Hats off to the GD regulars, who rack up thousands of posts in GD - I can’t imagine myself being able to post at such high a standard for so long, it’s almost like writing a mini essay for school, without the benefit of prior research.
Whew! :o
Well, this won’t make it less exhausting, but most of the folks in GD prefer that posters do the prior research.
Eh, I meant, without the benifit of prior research on the subject, so you have to do the research on the spot via google etc. 
Still don’t know how they do it, though. I’m taking a law degree, and I have to flip through some of my books to even begin thinking about some of the law issues.
Pit = GD lite : All of the assertions without any of the research! Whee!
My experience of GD is that they could probably argue that Black is White.
One difference, I think, between GD and the law is that the law is designed to reach a decision so that people can get on with their business. I know it doesn’t seem that way sometimes what with continuances and all that (“the laws’ delay”), but that’s the goal.
GD isn’t that way. It is just a place where people can politely shout back and forth, usually without ever coming to a consesus.
Well Senator Doug Black is white, isn’t he?
many people who post at GD have very firm opinions about the issue, and have already invested a lot of time and serious thought on that issue over the course of their entire lives(example–religious issues), or at least over the course of the past several years (example-the Iraq war).
So making a 5-paragraph post at GD on that specific issue isn’t as difficult for them as it would be for you or me, who aren’t as well informed.
See.
And, let us be accurate, many, many people post to GD without prior thought, or even a shred of evidence to back up their arguments. If they even bother to pose an argument. So GD is actually about 15% closely reasoned arguments between reasonably courteous adversaries, about 50% dead horses being thrashed by closed-minded feces throwers, and the rest are diatribes being floated by our resident tin-foil wearing conspiracy theorists/bigots, arguing that it’s all the fault of the Jews, Moslems, Masons, or space aliens
The thing I find most exhausting about Great Debates is trying to keep my head from exploding when I read some of the posts.
When I first found the SDMB, I probably posted in Great Debates more than anywhere else. Besides having to do extensive research and make lengthy postings, I finally realized the futility of it all. (Deepest apologies to all those who frequent GD). At least GQ, Cafe Society and MPSIMS give you decisive answers.
Even if “Cafe Society” causes a “stir” with a hot topic such as “Munsters vs Addams Family”, it dies down, no feelings are hurt and you go on with new topics. Great Debates it seems will go on forever with topics about abortion, legalizing drugs, the death penalty, etc.
Incidentally, I made the mistake of going back to GD after a long absence. I posted to 2 topics and I don’t think I’ll go back.
I like the “cut and dry” aspect of:
“What’s the mass of an electron?”
" 9.1094 x 10 [sup]-28[/sup] grams"
“Gee, thanks!!”
I got my fill of arguing on the Internet years ago. I don’t even venture in there.
That depends on one’s goal.
A point that has been made regarding “debates” with trolls from the SF board, members of the tin-foil-hat brigade, and a few of our own monomaniacal believers (of whatever system) is that while we will never persude them that they are misled, loony, or suffering from an inability to reason, there are any number of reading non-participants who may have shared the same beliefs (if not so resolutely) who may be shown the error of their ways. (We have even had folks post to that very point–that they entered a thread with a common misunderstanding or a naive belief and actually learned something that changed their minds on the topic.)
The same point can probably be made regarding the endless battles among committed adherents who are better informed and more rational. We will never change the views of our opposition (although, if we pay attention, we should still get a better understanding of the sources and ends of either our own views or that of our opponents), but we may provide a good influence on a reader who has not had the time or opportunity to look up the data, establish the fundamental philosophies, and think through the whole process.
The “_____ is stupid” remarks and the “you always say _____” comments are so much dross, but there are a number of posters who put some thought into their posts, supported by both genuine information and links or references to original sources, that the “readers at home” are given the opportunity to learn something and make their own informed decisions, regardless whether any particular political or religious issue is “settled” by the principals.
I used to lurk there quite a bit when I first came here, and grew increasingly annoyed. I finally figured out it was because, instead of actually trying to find a middle ground and see each other’s point of view, most of the posters appear to be trying to measure the size of their…vocabularies. That and the self righteousness grates on my nerves.
I argue enough at work and with my kids. I come here to have fun.
Well I’m glad to see others have similar experiences with Great Debates or sometimes even highly emotional chat room topics. As I’ve said, those posters in GD really take things seriously and really know their stuff. However, I don’t think I’ll ever go back.
tomndebb - I don’t care about how convincing an argument may be or about any person’s opinion being influenced - the clear choice is “The Addams Family”
Actually, it’s the fault of Jewish/Moslem aliens who are also Masons.
I used to post in GD a lot more… but as the Board population increased, many debate threads started growing faster and faster and faster, eventually outpacing my ability to respond. Used to be that you can leave a thread for a few days, then come back and there’ll be a half-dozen more posts. Nowadays (unless it’s a thread that just doesn’t go anywhere), there’ll be thirty new posts in a few hours.
That’s when I started shying away. Just don’t have the endurance to check up on a thread five or six times a day… I’m just not home that often anymore!
So, yeah… the folks that can keep up with that sort of hecticness… yay for them.
As the song noted, Barry White was black, and Frank Black is white. Watch out for zebra crossings.
Another undercelebrated effect of participating in Great Debates: I think it’s dragged me down from my smug high horse. I’m a lot less inclined to think I know the right perspective to hold on issues I feel strongly about. It’s not that I never before ran into people who contradicted me, but it’s different when they have well-considered coherent contradictory perspectives.
Here, Here, AHunter3. I’ve further entrenched some of my beleifs, changed others, but have reevaluated all of them. I’ve also learned alot about the difference between good knowledge (stuff I have learned from reputable sources) vs bad knowledge (stuff I have learned from rumors or unremembered sources). There is a big difference, and I tend to question my own beliefs a lot more than I used to.
Personally I participate in GD more for my own selfish reasons than to convince anyone. I think that one cannot trully understand a belief unless they can express it in clear sentences. Arguing for or against an idea with someone who holds the opposite view is great mental exercise for exactly that. It forces me to bring my beliefs out of vague emotional support and focus them into coherent statements.
Having said all that, I have begun to spend more time in MPSIMS and IMHO. I do miss the game threads though.
Truly. Charles Addams was brilliant.
(Astin or Julia?)