How to argue effectively

Discussion in 'Philosophy and Religion' started by Meagain, May 12, 2005.

  1. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    Here's another one.

    How to win an argument on the internet:

    1) NEVER DEFEND YOUR OWN POINTS. Don't forget this monumental Internet argument cornerstone even if you fall down a well and get amnesia and learn you're pregnant with your mother's son's evil twin. Never, under any circumstance, attempt to defend what you've said; just attack the other person's argument over and over and over until one of you dies of old age or some legislative branch agrees to shut down the Internet forever. Defending yourself or your argument is a weak act of desperation which informs your enemy that you're completely open to attack. The grizzled Internet debater will never address the validity of their previous claims, instead opting to forge ahead and stay on the offensive despite any erroneous or outright false statements they said in the past, effectively keeping the enemy on their toes. You should view Internet arguments as a really crummy fighting game: only the utter idiots bother pressing the "block / defend" button. While your enemy cowers in a corner with their arms raised above their face to futilely protect them, real men pull off complex 408-move combos that involve transforming into a fiery phoenix of doom and releasing unrelenting waves of liquid napalm Satan clown death upon them.

    EXAMPLE ARGUMENT:

    FLAME:hey fag i read ur article abotu ford cars and I just wanna let u know ur stupid and dont know nothing about cars cuz CHEVY IS THE BEST CAR MAKER IN THE WORLD!!!!

    INCORRECT RESPONSE: No, I firmly believe what I wrote is correct, Ford automobiles have excelled in both price and safety over the past few years, which is why I feel they are the superior choice when purchasing a new car.
    CORRECT RESPONSE: uhhhhhhh no, you're wrong and stupid and dumb and u dont know what ur talking about so maybe u should get off the internet and instead go kiss a elf cuz ur dumb as a fool!!!
    EVER BETTER RESPONSE: I'M GUNNA KILL YOU WITH MY DESERT EAGLE!!!

    2) CLAIM YOU WORK IN WHATEVER FIELD YOU'RE ARGUING ABOUT. If you find yourself discussing anime, say you're an animator who works for some Japanese company that manufactures games about nipples. If somebody begins complaining about web design, tell them you're a professional web designer who has completed projects for large conglomerates such as Coca Cola and Macromedia and the moon. If you're arguing about World War II and the political ramifications of Asia's isolation sentiment, declare you're the President of Asia. There is no subject that you, the professional, does not know about thanks to your extensive work in the field of, well, whatever you're arguing. It doesn't matter if all your firsthand knowledge of the subject derives from half an episode of "Pokemon" you overheard while cleaning your cat's litter, the magic of the Internet allows you to have gained real-life experience of any given subject in any given industry at any given time!

    EXAMPLE ARGUMENT:

    FLAME: how dare u say that abortion should be legal! WTF is wrong with u?! abortion should be outlawed and if you kill a baby then the president should kill u for being a murderar becuz tiny babys are just like litle ppl and ur a muderer!!!

    INCORRECT RESPONSE: Well I may just be a single mother, but I still think abortion is a woman's choice, not the government's.
    CORRECT REPONSE: Well I may just be an aborted fetus, but I still think abortion is a woman's choice, not the government's.

    3) IF LOSING AN ARGUMENT, FEIGN FRUSTRATION AND THEN CLAIM YOU'RE BLOCKING THE PERSON. Every person on the Internet harbors a secret fear of having their communications blocked by somebody, particularly when they're devastating that person in an argument. If you ever make a critical mistake and discover you cannot match either the intensity or intelligence of the person whom you're facing up against, simply descend into a spiral of frustration, one ending with a curt goodbye and notice that this person will never, ever, ever, ever be able to contact you again because you are putting them on your fabled ignore list of doom. Tell them in explicit, concrete terms you're absolutely fed up with their idiocy and simply cannot bear to read another word of their text, and if you somehow accidentally receive another communication from them, your head will explode and shower the surrounding tri-metro area with fragments of your brain atoms. The announcement of your impending communications blockade serves as a true trump card, one capable of not only ending the argument, but additionally declaring you the winner because there's no possible way for your opponent to get the last word, and as everybody on the Internet knows, the only way to win an argument is to get the final word!

    EXAMPLE ARGUMENT:

    FLAME: i cant believe u said that president clinton was the 16th president, tahts wrong, he was the 42nd president you damn ideiot, and i should know cuz my dad worked in the ovale office last year and he's in the social security which protext the president from terrists

    INCORRECT RESPONSE: Upon completing some rudimentary research, I have reached the conclusion that you are correct and I was wrong! My apologies, dear sir, and thank you for revealing truth to me!
    CORRECT RESPONSE: GOD THIS IS SO POINTLESS!!! listen I am sick of saying this over and over, you obviously r to stupid to understand even BASIC ENGLITSH and Im getting sick of your dumb emails so I'm blocking u once and for all GOODBYE DUMB ASS! DONT BOTHER EMAILING ME CUZ I WONT GET IT, WELCOME TO IGNORESVILLE POPULATION: YOU, HOPE U LIKE TALKING TO A BLOCK LIST HAHAHAHAHA.

    4) AT SOME POINT IN TIME, CLAIM THE OTHER PERSON IS A NAZI. Every, and I repeat EVERY Internet argument should involve at least one comparison to either Hitler or the Nazis. This is one of the most basic requirements of an average Internet debate, and although ignorant outsiders may find it silly to compare a person arguing on the Internet with an individual responsible for the execution of millions, this action represents one of the most traditional pillars of every online debate. The earliest recorded instance of the infamous "Nazi clause" can be traced to Greg "suprsk8r" Henderson, who used Q-Link in July of 1986 to call Alex "Dr_Millions" Wilson "the Adolf Hitler of preseason NCAA fantasy league basketball" over People Connection.

    FLAME:uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no i dont think taht GI Joe could beat the Transformers in a battle cuz Optomus prime would like totally kill the shit out of duke and waht do u know about anything anyway u reteard

    INCORRECT RESPONSE: Dear Internet cur, I'll have you know that your churlish actions and replies reek of an insolent ignoramus! Why, upon reading your cretinous claim, I let out a mighty scoff and nearly choked upon my brandy!
    CORRECT RESPONSE: FUK U HITLER!!!

    Please, ladies and gentlemen: friends don't let friends argue on the Internet. But if you discover the irresistible urge to strike back against somebody who insulted your intelligence on the Internet, a medium which rewards those with insulting intelligence, please use this guide to your advantage and thoroughly decimate anybody foolhardy enough to challenge your online prowess. After all, I am a professional webmaster and I'll block your email if you think otherwise, YOU DUMB ASS.

    – Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka
     
  2. Tyrsonswood

    Tyrsonswood Senior Moment Lifetime Supporter

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    May as well call the person you are arguing with a moron right up front... It's going to happen anyways, may as well get it over with early on.
     
    scratcho and etherea like this.
  3. SpacemanSpiff

    SpacemanSpiff Visitor

    arguing with idiots is just a waste of time
     
    machinist likes this.
  4. Irminsul

    Irminsul Valkyrie

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    Drop truth bombs. Even when you don't know if it's true drop a truth bomb and let them know it's a truth bomb. ;) great way tolse friends and piss them off at the same time.
     
  5. Asmodean

    Asmodean Slo motion rider

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    Lol @ MeAgain. This is good stuff (and unfortunately a bit too recognisable)!

    This all stands or falls with the forum (or other form of social media) rules and how accurately they're enforced ;)
    But its very tempting (and often not untrue either) :p
     
  6. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    No it isn't!
     
    Asmodean and SpacemanSpiff like this.
  7. Tyrsonswood

    Tyrsonswood Senior Moment Lifetime Supporter

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  8. Asmodean

    Asmodean Slo motion rider

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    It was in 2004. If it has changed the burden of proof lies with you.
     
  9. Mountain Valley Wolf

    Mountain Valley Wolf Senior Member

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    All words to live by! And thats not just the 3 vodka screw drivers I just finished for breakfast talking!
     
  10. It seems...arguments happen any time you state an opinion. And they, in themselves, can be confusing. It is so fun to have a fun argument and you yell at everyone and tell them what YOU think for once. Not what THEY think!
     
  11. Asmodean

    Asmodean Slo motion rider

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  12. SpacemanSpiff

    SpacemanSpiff Visitor

    the most effective way to argue is to just ban them and go with the "fake news" reason

    you win every time



    or you do like the occupy section and just remove any posts that dont follow your side...then argue with yourself for a while until you slowly lose interest
     
  13. ahsorandy

    ahsorandy Members

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    How to argue effectively?

    Have bigger guns, and, be ready to use them! ;)
     
  14. Total Darkness

    Total Darkness 100% Cocoa

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    Its easy. Just twist people's words around and hope they don't notice. And if they notice and say "that's not what i meant," just tell them "that's exactly what you meant, you just weren't aware of it."

    Also make yourself out to be the victim. Accuse the other person of being verbally abusive when the argument isn't going your way. Pull the race card if you must and make it about race.

    Always, always get the last word. Getting the last word means you won the argument even if the last word has nothing to do with the argument itself.
     
  15. themnax

    themnax Senior Member

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    people want to hear what they want to hear.
    slip it between flattering their ego.
    that's the secret of our world's dominant belief systems.

    of course, that takes more patience with hatred of logic then i usually have.
     
  16. Deidre

    Deidre Visitor

    I see this a lot, and I just stay away from people who feel the need to put down the poster, and not argue the points. They say that if all the other person has in an argument is throwing insults at you, then you've ''won.'' lol
     
    MeAgain likes this.
  17. mcme

    mcme lurker

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    The best method hasn't been mentioned yet...
    First you quote what your opponent said, implying you've read it and given it consideration, then begin your response with, "So what you're saying is.." and then assign whatever stupid or ridiculous point you've already decided is theirs unto them with zero regard for what they've actually said. If the point you assign is completely indefensible, by their next post you can dismiss them as completely irrelevant, racist, misogynistic or just completely out of touch with reality and ride the moral high ground right out of the discussion with an air of victory and accomplishment.
     
  18. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    So what you're saying is irrelevant, racist, misogynistic, and out of touch with reality posts may or may not be completely indefensible and of a lower moral magnitude leading to an air of victory and accomplishment?
     
  19. mcme

    mcme lurker

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    You forgot to quote the original, but otherwise a perfect job.
     
  20. Total Darkness

    Total Darkness 100% Cocoa

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    Yep, then when you call them out on it they try to backpedal out of it with the whole "why so serious, gee you have no sense of humor." Trying to play it off as playful humor when it is obvious their intent is to insult you. It comes off as cowardly but not as cowardly as the ones who are too afraid to confront you directly so they act passive aggressively around you. Making indirect comments about you, gossiping behind your back, mocking your photos or posts, etc. Though the more you ignore them and go on about your life, the more upset they become.


    Losers focus on winners and winners are too busy living to care. ;)
     
    Deidre likes this.

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