Discussions on the Forums

[rcollinz13 428]

As a lot of you may know, I post topical threads based around issues in our world. I find that since this community is such a friendly and nonjudgmental place it's the perfect place to share my views and opinions without being mocked. Sometimes I have discussions similar to these ones with my peers at school, but I often find that when you having intense debates with people at high school they are much more opinionated and less accepting of other view points.

 

Now here's my questions for you: do you prefer to discuss matters of great importance on this website, in person with another individual, or some balancing of the two?

 

If you picked balancing of the two, tell me how exactly you do that. Personally, I will have certain discussions at school. However, there are certain issues that people feel very strongly about, and would not touch on in person. When I'm on the forums I feel more open to express my views and, I welcome you all to do the same. As always keep it respectful. Cheers.

Edited November 18, 2012 by Feld0
Adding some spacing for legibility.

[LightRaider 148]

I would probably do both, but lean towards this site a little. Its nice talking to real people, but sometimes they can be kinda thick sometimes, but most of you guys are pretty sensible people, which makes for a great conversation.

[Shanks 10,816]

I have found this to one of the most civil forums I have ever been on, I have run into the occasional jerk here but I have run into far more jerks in real life and other forums so it is not too bad. I have done all of the above and there are certain environments both on and offline that are more welcoming and some that are less so it all depends. I do all of the above because I am an activist at heart and I do want to spread my message to as many people as possible it seems the more I awaken the more or less positive the reception depending on the person.

[Pan the Fabulous Ferret 2,642]

Whenever I have tried to make a point about any strongly controversial issue, the other person is stubborn or unwanting to consider what I am saying to have any legitimacy.

 

I try to saty out of areas of controversal topics for this reason and for the fact that I do not want my views of people to be changed by viewing these topics and seeing their posts that are often contradicting my own views and beliefs. So I prefer just not to argue about such things at all.

[Music Chart Fan 819]

What are the pros and cons of having a discussion in real life as opposed to on the forums?

 

In real life, you can see in real time how other people react to your argument. If you are a confident speaker, it might be easier to "win" arguments in real life by sounding confident, making points that are difficult to easily refute, and taking advantage of a lower expectation of being able to back up your claims with good reasoning or statistics. The cons are that other people can get easily overemotional, you might not be able to come up with good counterarguments or back up your claims on the spot, and you run a greater risk of developing a bad reputation of being ignorant, arrogant, etc.

 

On the forums, you can take your time to carefully word your arguments and counterarguments and look up statistics, reasoning, other ways to phrase the argument, etc. to strengthen your case. Having to type out your arguments and responses usually forces people to slow down and not overreact to an argument with which they disagree. The cons are that "winning" an argument is much more difficult on the forums and can provide less satisfaction, the back-and-forth of an argument can drag out over several hours or even days, and it can be more difficult to tell whether your argument is immediately effective.

 

I almost never engage in debate in real life, partly because I don't want to risk any good favor I've built up with other people, and partly because I almost never feel confident enough in my argument to be able to clearly make it and be able to answer counterarguments without looking ignorant or arrogant. Both in real life and on the forums, I try to preface arguments I make with "From what I've read..." or "The argument I've seen is..." in order to demonstrate that I don't have complete knowledge of the subject and that I may not be able to answer counterarguments.

 

I do like to discuss and practice arguments that I've read with my family and my close-in-age siblings in particular. I think that's because (1) they have similar views to mine, (2) they are more understanding of the fact that I don't know all the details of the subject, and (3) they aren't likely to overreact to what I say.

 

I also sometimes practice my arguments on the forums here, but usually only when I feel confident enough in the argument. There are a lot of things which I have tried to learn about, particularly in the areas of political philosophy and the effects of government policies, that I would like to see thoughtfully debated because I have (somewhat) learned one side of the argument, and what I have learned makes sense to me, but I don't have a good idea what the most effective arguments would be, or what the counterarguments or my responses to them would be.

[Starshine 16,333]

I prefer discussing 'heavy' things in person, that way the opposing side will be less likely to bullshit his way out of difficult corners and there will be repercussions if someone is being an ass about something. While discussing stuffs irl means you're a good distance away from internet and google, at least you will know if your opponent hardly knows anything about the subject at hand. (there will be more stutter)

[Zygen 6,066]

I don't really necessarily discuss things in more then my mind most of the time before and if I discuss them on here. I don't know how many things especially about MLP i'd discuss IRL with anyone.

So i'd say the forums.

[Cupcake Ice Cream 436]

Definitely in person...no offense but even on this fabulous site I have seen a good deal of belligerence and making innapropriate points and tie-ins...on BOTH sides. I like this forum but we're not all innocent here...I've seen the personal attacks and going way off topic and whatnot

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Blue

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

For as much as this may sound like a cop-out response, it really depends on the issue. Spending a lot of effort to gather information and citing sources in order to make a well-informed post on a matter of importance only to have my post disregarded isn't my idea of a good time. The only exception I make is in subjects of little practical consequence and it wouldn't take me a great deal of time to state my opinion, or if I could correct a minor factual error with little or no research.

 

There's a thread floating around about gun control, and I have a lot to say on the matter. Even more so since I saw a post or two when the thread was still new that were full of misinformation. No way am I getting involved with an internet discussion about it though.

[JeanHover 326]

I like discussing on this site more. I am surrounded my unbiased, anonymous users, all who I can express my opinions to with the option of not being replied to.

[hailPhantom 34]

I definitely prefer using the forums. People tend to be much less judgemental and accepting and very polite. If someone disagrees they won't yell in your face and refuse to see where you stand.

Also, the editing posts and being able to structure and think responses through properly is awesome.

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

This is a very welcoming and mostly free of judgmental attitudes community from what I've seen, but I prefer to stay out of debatable topics no matter what. I just don't like dealing with stubbornness. I'm a very patient person, but one thing that can really irk me pretty quickly is when someone just refuses to see something from both sides and is so set in their ways that not even scientific/physical proof can sway them so they end up turning a debate about something into acting like you are attacking them personally.