This is a general observation concerning posts in this forum. There are plenty of threads around which illustrate my point so I do not give any cites at this stage.
Here are a couple of examples which underline my queries.
- Poster A submits his/her OP. Poster B responds with a partial dissection of the OP including quotes from same but he/she does not cover all the issues raised by Poster A.
Does the failure by Poster B to respond to all the points raised in the OP imply tacit agreement with those points he/she does not cover?
.
.
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2) Poster C submits his/her OP. Poster D provides his/her response to every issue raised in that OP. Poster C then comes back and addresses one or two points raised by Poster D in his/her response but fails to mention the rest of Poster D’s reply.
Same question. Does the failure by Poster C to give a full response to Poster D imply tacit acceptance of those points he/she fails to mention?
Of course, this kind of exchange can equally apply where two responders are exchanging views, but the same principle applies.
Dialogue such as that described above is especially noticeable when, using example 2, Poster D completely dissects Poster C’s OP using, say, seven or eight quotes and comments on each of them. If Poster C chooses to reply to just one of those points it seems somehow unsatisfactory. If Poster C does agree with the rest of Poster D’s it may be more useful to the exchange if he/she came out and said so. (Somehow I do not think this is going to happen very often.)
My view is that tacit agreement is by no means a given in such circumstances. There exists the possibility that some responders fail to offer a complete reply to a post because they cannot offer a convincing rebuttal to the points they fail to discuss. This modus operandi, if employed, does not make for a complete discussion.
Of course, I am aware that if every poster responded to every other poster in full a) the thread would be active for aeons and b) bandwith problems may well ensue.
A further point to be made is that, especially further down the thread when it appears to be running out of steam, some posters may well be interested only in having the last word. Hence they select one point for reply (which is very often derogatory to them) and respond in a like manner.
I am fully aware this OP could just as well apply to other forums, especially Great Debates.
Any thoughts?
(Any full dissection of this OP is actively discouraged.)