What are the rules of debate and/or argument on internet discussion boards?
Are they codified/written anywhere?
Do they differ from board to board and how do you discern the specific rules ?
I’m aware of only one general rule of internet debate: If you try to support your position by associating your opponents’ views with Hitler, the Nazis, or the Holocaust, you automatically lose.
Not quite. It’s that you don’t win until you’ve reduced your opponent to comparing you to Hitler.
That’s Godwin’s Law, I believe.
Just for posterity, county, I should point out that there really aren’t rules of debate on the internet. What protocols there are vary from board to board; it’s generally kosher to ask for a cite, but beyond that it’s just iffy. One board that I argue at fairly often has “victory conditions” that include browbeating the other guy into leaving; that doesn’t work here on the SDMB.
Really, it just depends on the community that visits the board.
Use the same rules you’d use in real life. Logic, civility, and so on. Also, read these:
Oops, there goes…
Godwin’s Law: “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” There is a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress.
That was from here.
An FAQ on Godwin’s Law is here:
http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/godwin.html
The original motivation of Godwin’s Law is posted here, in an article by Mike Godwin: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.10/godwin.if.html
Gyan9: there goes what?
Permit me to extend this tangent.
Benford’s law of controversy:
"Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available."If you need to ask, your friends and my friends are not alike, putting it mildy…
Thank you all very much. Once again this board comes thru.
Gyan9: Really, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Help… ^^;;