From what I have read so far in there, it appears as though, no matter how many reasoned and logical arguements are presented, the person who wrote the OP will never take back their initial arguement, ESPECIALLY if it has gone a long way.
Has it ever happenned?
I’ve never seen it happen. I have seen people concede a point or two but never completely roll over on their initial argument. Occasionally when this happens in the face of extremely good evidence and strong opposing arguments the thread usually dies since people tire quickly of pig headed stubborness.
This is a subject of great interest to me. I have watched online debates since the 70’s and I’ve never seen a person relent on a subject they felt strongly about.
However, we shouldn’t be entirely without hope. I have noticed that sometimes the person who made the original post comes back a few months later with a slightly different tune.
People rarely post, “Okay, I was wrong”. (I’ve done it numerous times, but I’m weird). It’s so much easier to simply let the thread die and retire undefeated.
I wrote an article that was inspired by watching online debates. If you’re interested, check it out at:
http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/wvxw.htm
A related article of mine can be found at:
http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/dwjw.htm
As I said, this is a subject that has long interested me!