Posting in debate forums - What to expect.

[Angel]

Posting in debate forums - What to expect.

I spend a lot of time in TH's debate forums, and in the past, time in other debates forums. I've come to notice some people really don't know what to expect. This causes a lot of issues including:

-People feeling attacked
-People overreacting to people disagreeing
-General unneeded tension, or immaturity.

I'm going to write quite a lot in this thread. Because I'm aware there are lazy people, who won't want to read it (don't worry, I'm often one of them), I'm going to make summary points before the writing.

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What you should expect in debates and discussions:

-People will disagree with you. Sometimes strongly! Be warned.
-Debates and discussions can get heated, and tension can grow.
-Some people can't debate very well.
-If you make statement about 'facts' or as though they are facts, people will expect you to support them with a source.

What you shouldn't do:

-Don't take disagreements as personal attacks.
-Don't make personal attacks.
-Don't swear at people, or try to offend them.
-Don't take tension from a discussion to other parts of the forum.

If someone is acting inappropriately, or offending you - Use the report button!
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Here's my... what is effectively, an essay:

Ok. Due to the nature of debates forums, there will be tension, there will be arguments, and it, to be honest, will occasionally result in offence and even personal attacks. People get very involved, and particularly when it's a bunch of teenagers, things don't always run smoothly. Most of us are not professional debaters, and if we were, things work very differently.

However on the whole, most problems seem to be caused by people not getting what debates forums are about. Respecting your opinion doesn’t mean people are going to agree. This is the place for them to express them. Telling you that you've got the wrong idea on a topic, or asking you to explain/justify yourself is not a personal attack, and you should not take it personally, and go off on some immature rant, like:

"Omfg! I can't believe you are saying that! I just posted this, it's my opinion, why are you disagreeing! I can hold what ever opinion I want, and you are a <enter swear word here> for saying anything! Omg!"

That is NOT appropriate. If someone's disagreed, strongly disagreed, then yeah, it may sound harsh, because maybe you offended them, or maybe you are mistaking passion for something else. People get passionate about some topics! That's life. If you are convinced that's its more then that, and people have made a personal attack, there are some better things to do. Like, you know, that report bottom. Or maybe you can talk to someone who has bothered you, and try sort it out, like in PM. Or ignore it. Believe it or not, if you act mature, and open, people will defend you against inappropriateness. Not everyone, but some.

You also should never take your argument and hold it as a grudge around the rest of the forums. For example, I've often had discussions with people about religion, where, in my opinion, they've got the completely wrong idea. Sometimes this turns from a discussion into an argument, but that stays in the thread.

Regardless, you should try and avoid a discussion turning into an argument. If someone is being really stubborn, or offensive, or whatever, then you need to stay calm. You can tell them to sort it out, but it may be worth alerting a mod. There are a lot of posts in the debates forum, we do need your help to monitor them. Try to present your points as that, points, don't turn them into an attack. Don't be malicious, or try and offend.

As for swearing, we have rules on TH where you should try limit your swearing anyway. Swearing is going to happen, its part of many of our vocabularies sadly. Well at least it is for me. Swearing can help stress a point, which can be helpful when you think someone just isn’t getting it. I can see how in some contexts swearing is ok. And by this, I don’t mean excessive swearing, I mean the odd word here and there. More then one swear word a line is getting a bit over the top. Although yeah, I'm not against swearing, what you should not do in a discussion, EVER, is swear at the other people. You also should not talk down to other people. If you are seen to act like a jerk, or resorting to being a jerk, then you are damaging your own argument, and making people hate you.

Another thing. Don't parrot yourself! don't ignore responses or questions. If you can't address what is being said in the thread, you are being stubborn, and you will make people mad at you. Just don't do it.

Debates and discussions can be very interesting, and are worth getting involved in. You just need to watch yourself, and remember, people will disagree. It’s your job in a discussion to show them why you believe something, or why you disagree with them.

**Originally posted by Invert.