Mocking points that have yet to be made.

This is for those who post an opinion, and then decree proudly that other people will now come into the thread and disagree with it.

An example.

Folks, if you’re so damn smart and know what’s going to be said and by who, how about addressing the fucking points, rather than wasting our time mocking something that hasn’t fucking happened yet. What the fuck is the point of presenting an opinion and following it with, “Now, here come all the Republicans/Catholics/people who liked In Living Color with their stupid arguments.”

No shit, they’re coming! This is the fucking Straight Dope. Of course there’s gonna be a fucking argument. And if you think that the argument that’s coming is so ad hominem as to be promptly ignored by everyone, then chances are the point you made in your own post deserve the same treatment.

It’s not like there’s a shortage of dumbass opinions posted here every day. There’s plenty of rebuttal fodder ther without making shit up and mocking that instead.

Ummm, that’s Milum there. Milum is, has been, and as far as I can tell, always will be a dumbshit. The clue fairy wouldn’t visit him if he left his entire jawbone under his pillow. The brownies couldn’t build him a clue for a bottle of scotch and a generous helping of creme brulee. If Beauty required Milum with a clue, she’d still be sleeping.

That’s a grave insult to dumbshits everywhere.

I knew y’all were going to say that.

Yeah, but I’ve seen this way too often, especially in GD and GD-like Pit threads. Just strikes me as a colossal waste of time.

I completely agree with you, Troy. Doing this reeks of defensiveness and paranoia, and immediately sets up a confrontational tone. Why even start a conversation if you’re already pissed off at the people you anticipate responding? Just write a Choose Your Own Adventure book (“If you’re going to say that Bush shouldn’t have invaded Iraq in the first place, turn to page 26, otherwise turn to page 82”) and be done with it. We can read it, simulate having a conversation with you, and thus your opinions (and only your opinions) will be heard and revered by all.

If that had been posted in the Pit I’d just roll an eye and move on, but personally (IANAM) I think it’s totally inappropriate in Great Debates. If it weren’t against the rules, I’d call it a classic troll.

Disclaimers are OK (they must be, because I use them all the time :wink: ), but there’s a difference between the ‘Let me make it absolutely clear what I’m NOT saying’ type and ‘I already know what you think and what you’re going to say and I’m not listening’ - the former just shows you care about communication; the latter just makes you look like a tool.

Hell, even “I know what you’re going to say, and here’s my reply to that” wouldn’t bug me so much. At least that has some actual thought and discussion in it.

I think Milum is setting himself up to be the next december. And we all know what happened to him…

Plus, december, at least, did it with a little more finesse. Yeah, he was spewing shit, but he could paint a masterpiece with it. (Even if it was, in the end, shit).

Milum, on the other hand, just flings his own feces all over the place.