# What motivates you to start and/or post in controversial threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583 "2018-11-15T20:04:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/21 "2018-11-16T18:33:21Z")
> [@little nemo](#): > > none of which is true. They have the same laws in canada as they have in the rest of the united states. > > Honestly, i can’t believe how ignorant some people are. iswydt ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/22 "2018-11-16T19:22:31Z")
One of the following: 1. Something somebody said annoyed me. Perhaps amusingly, the source of the annoyance is often a specific wrong or rude thing they said rather than their overall position. I think this has confused people. 2. I do like a good debate, particularly on a subject I can sink my teeth into. 3. I have nothing better to do at the time. I should note that I never debate with the intention of changing anybody’s mind, because I’m firmly of the opinion it’s impossible to change anybody’s mind over the internet. And you won’t be able to get me to change my mind about that. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/23 "2018-11-16T19:29:01Z")
I’ll discuss politics and religion all day long on this message board. If you want to see a true train wreck, start a tipping thread. They always end badly and I’ll never post in one again. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/24 "2018-11-16T20:04:08Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > One of the following:I should note that I never debate with the intention of changing anybody’s mind, because I’m firmly of the opinion it’s impossible to change anybody’s mind over the internet. And you won’t be able to get me to change my mind about that. I disagree. I’ve changed my mind on things due to conversations on the internet. The objective in any debate should not be to change someone’s mind for its own sake, it should be to find truth. Sometimes we have to change our minds when presented with truth. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/25 "2018-11-16T20:10:26Z")
I don’t participate in controversy, I’m always reasonable. Sure, some people disagree with me, and even go so far as to impugn my character. But they’re stupid and live for controversy, stooping to intentional misinterpretation of points I make and twisting them into a completely false mosaic that is so wrong in conception that there is no place to fix a counterargument. It stirs me somewhat, but then I realize they are sad people who just desperately need a victory in life, even if they have to embody disingenuousness and roofie all sense of honor to get it. While I don’t cotton to the abuse of honor, I also pity them and just let them think they’ve won an argument or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/26 "2018-11-16T20:23:12Z")
To crush my enemies, to see them driven them before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women. Also, it’s easier than meetings. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/27 "2018-11-16T20:34:18Z")
I’m filled with howling outrage and sometimes it just seeps out of the cracks. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/28 "2018-11-16T20:38:21Z")
I like to argue. I like to put positions to the test. Sometimes I’ll play devils advocate and argue a position I don’t really believe in to see what the response will be, basically so I can crib the really good ones for discussions I might have in the future in real life among friends and family. I also like to argue things cold sometimes, without looking info up, just to see what my memory and first thought on something actually means…often I get blown away in those discussions (often I get blown away in most to be honest), but it informs me and often at a minimum gives me a different perspective or additional information I was too lazy to find myself. Also, people search or see information or data differently, so they often get different and interesting results I wasn’t aware of. But, basically, I just like to argue. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/29 "2018-11-16T20:40:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > To crush my enemies, to see them driven them before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women. Also, it’s easier than meetings. > > Regards, > Shodan I aspire to this, but it’s really just that I’m cranky. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/30 "2018-11-16T20:41:38Z")
> [@XT](#): > > I like to argue. I like to put positions to the test. Sometimes I’ll play devils advocate and argue a position I don’t really believe in to see what the response will be, basically so I can crib the really good ones for discussions I might have in the future in real life among friends and family. I also like to argue things cold sometimes, without looking info up, just to see what my memory and first thought on something actually means…often I get blown away in those discussions (often I get blown away in most to be honest), but it informs me and often at a minimum gives me a different perspective or additional information I was too lazy to find myself. Also, people search or see information or data differently, so they often get different and interesting results I wasn’t aware of. Is it just me, or does this sound like nothing more than a long string of excuses for being repeatedly wrong? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/31 "2018-11-16T20:44:13Z")
> [@EscAlaMike](#): > > Is it just me, or does this sound like nothing more than a long string of excuses for being repeatedly wrong? 😉 I make zero excuses for being wrong. It’s part of my charm and my niche on this board…if XT takes a position on something, it’s almost canonically wrong by definition. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/32 "2018-11-16T21:54:59Z")
> [@EscAlaMike](#): > > I disagree. I’ve changed my mind on things due to conversations on the internet. > > The objective in any debate should not be to change someone’s mind for its own sake, it should be to find truth. Sometimes we have to change our minds when presented with truth. Your anecdote is not data. No, I don’t _care_ that you can normally disprove an absolute statement with a single counterexample; it’s as I said: _you won’t be able to get me to change my mind about that_. Facts be damned! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/33 "2018-11-16T22:02:09Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Your anecdote is not data. No, I don’t _care_ that you can normally disprove an absolute statement with a single counterexample; it’s as I said: _you won’t be able to get me to change my mind about that_. Facts be damned! That’s not something I would be proud of. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/34 "2018-11-16T22:24:50Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > That’s not something I would be proud of. Hold on, let me get my tongue out of my cheek so I can reply properly. Suffice to say, there are _alleged_ humans who _claim_ that they have minds which, _allegedly_, have been changed by discussions on the internet. Regardless of that, I feel that arguing online with the _goal_ of changing hearts and minds is folly. You will peter out in frustrated failure _far_ more often than you succeed - and not merely because success is utterly impossible axiomatically speaking. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/35 "2018-11-16T22:51:43Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Regardless of that, I feel that arguing online with the _goal_ of changing hearts and minds is folly. You will peter out in frustrated failure _far_ more often than you succeed - and not merely because success is utterly impossible axiomatically speaking. I agree with this completely. The goal should be the pursuit of truth. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/36 "2018-11-16T23:42:40Z")
Not true at all. Minds can be changed. Progress occurs partly because progressive minded people begin seeing and talking about change for the better. All of us old timers should believe that because we’ve _seen it happen._ My causes may take years or even decades to inculcate into mainstream thought but we won’t get there at all if we just give up in the face of those adverse to change. I’ve been battling upstream for a long time for cannabis decriminalization and I’ll be battling upstream till the end of my days for single payer health care and the abolition of college amateurism but I see the fruits of my – and many others’ – efforts all the time. If you’re set in your positions so much so that you can’t even believe that something better will come along and outdate them, then maybe that’s the first position you should check. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/37 "2018-11-17T08:58:41Z")
“Someone is wrong on the internet”, and I’m a contrarian. (And as the previous poster stated, minds in fact can be changed) ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/38 "2018-11-17T13:44:25Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I’ve been battling upstream for a long time for cannabis decriminalization and I’ll be battling upstream till the end of my days for single payer health care and the abolition of college amateurism b. Sorry to jump in here, but what is “college amateurism”? Do you mean junior colleges as opposed to universities? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/39 "2018-11-17T14:05:20Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > Not true at all. Minds can be changed. Progress occurs partly because progressive minded people begin seeing and talking about change for the better. All of us old timers should believe that because we’ve _seen it happen._ My causes may take years or even decades to inculcate into mainstream thought but we won’t get there at all if we just give up in the face of those adverse to change. > > I’ve been battling upstream for a long time for cannabis decriminalization and I’ll be battling upstream till the end of my days for single payer health care and the abolition of college amateurism but I see the fruits of my – and many others’ – efforts all the time. If you’re set in your positions so much so that you can’t even believe that something better will come along and outdate them, then maybe that’s the first position you should check. I would say that usually these are not changes on the individual level, (not individuals persuaded by some stranger’s eloquent online explications), but rather simply generational changes. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583/40 "2018-11-17T15:33:20Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Sorry to jump in here, but what is “college amateurism”? Do you mean junior colleges as opposed to universities? A growing number of us think that the NCAA’s restrictions on incomes earned by college athletes are violations of anti-trust statutes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-motivates-you-to-start-and-or-post-in-controversial-threads/824583.md?page=3)