Don’t know you Drmark and don’t particular care if you are a past asshat or not. The thread in question got silly pretty fast but some of that was assessments that people had about bricker and his motives more than anything else.
Debate, to be worthwhile, requires that a poster be willing to back up any assertion with facts when asked to, or the logic that justifies the conclusion. A poster should be able to clearly differentiate what the basis of an assertion is, be it facts, or logic, or humble opinions and personal value judgements. The poster making the assertion has the job of providing the cites for that assertion. If they fail that then they deserve ridicule.
Bricker has an authoritarian bent and the thread got repetitous so fast that I quit reading it early. The op had simple central questions: is immorality decided by consensus? is immorality a sufficient basis for illegality as long as coercion is not invloved? how much weight does the value of personal freedom have in our society? To the degree that bricker just answered “it just is” he embarrassed himself. To the degree that he failed to self-identify the difference between personal opinions and facts he discredited himself as a debater. Why anyone else kept going after that I don’t know.
The point being that, all along, I’m really making fun of drmark2000?
Not so. Although I don’t endorse everything he’s written in the thread 100%, I’m on his side here. But Puck isn’t going to make fun of one side without deconstructing the entire notion that any of this back-and-forth deserves a whole lot of respect.
drmark2000 is kidding himself if he expects too much in the way of an “information exchange” from the Dumbfuck AI that is SDMB Dialectic. But he is, in fact, the intellect and attitude I respect here, with the others (some like the great lissener excepted) truly worthy of the appelation “dumbfuck.”
And I’m sorry I’ve got to spell it out like that (kinda kills the magic), but unless I make it all CRAYON CLEAR, the dimwit mods who have posted in this thread will say, “You’re trolling Aeschines, we’re shutting down this thread. The thread is moved! locked! You’re suspended! banned!”
SDMB went commercial in August, 2002. I was optimistic about this, at first. But, as I’ve stated previously, idiots have plenty of money and credit cards. $15 per year isn’t going to weed them out.
You’ve nailed it, and in just few words! I have been idealistic about boards like these. Here, we can say what we think, without the editing necessary in usual human communication. I had hoped that this would result in a positive unbridling of our individual and collective intellect, to the benefit of all.
Instead, these, and other, boards, are made merely forums for the stupid, by the stupid, to join together in stupidity, and to gang up on the intelligent, just like in “real” life. It’s a sad state of affairs, but there are still those, including yourself, who make the effort of grinding through the tons of ore worth the priceless button of gold.
The fact is, I probably have more formal education than at least 98% of the posters here. If that, in and of itself, makes me “superior,” then I’m superior. However, I don’t think that the case is as simple as that. What makes me superior is the willingness to think, and to challenge, and to hang in with my challenges. No amount of education can instill that.
The “pissed-off wannabes, the resentful invalidators, the self-esteem-impaired little bitches,” are just that way, but only because they have not realized that intelligence depends on challenging oneself, rather than focusing on another’s education.
Quite right. There are good intellects here, and they make it all worthwhile. They don’t engage in the “childish shit” I have highlighted. But, oh, how it takes time to find them. They are beaten down and thwarted by the norm around here.
Well, I’ve noticed it. As soon as you present an opinion at variance with anyone else’s, suddenly “cites” become an issue. And this is, strictly, a stall.
I think there’s a point in griping about it. By doing so, the fools are made aware of their foolishness, and can never engage in it again with quite the same conviction as they had previously. They can try, but they know they won’t succeed. This is to everyone’s benefit.
I suspected that you might be, but I actually respect your effort, as opposed to those of some others. I’m not sure exactly what to make of you, which pleases me to no end.
Nobly put!
If I understand you correctly, even though you consider the “Dumbfuck AI that is SDMB dialectic” to be just that, still, you’re here. Kudos, to you, and me.
What is your actual point?
Do you just enjoy spewing hate and crap or do you think you are making some actual point?
Very few people appear to bother with using the ignore function.
No mod has issued a warning and there is no good reason for them to close this thread.
If you just want people to respond to you, then congrats. You got responses.