Linked by Adam S on Wed 1st Apr 2009 14:29 UTC
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Member since:2005-07-06
Not everyone who comments is an extremist.
Of course not. If nothing else, my "irony checker" functions well enough that I wouldn't claim that "everyone here is an absolutist" (since that claim would itself be an absolutist statement).
In fact, I'd argue that most are not, but a few particularly loud ones are
Going by the overall userbase, I'd tend to agree - but it also seems that the majority of posts come from the vocal minority(ies).
I think you'll find that if you watch carefully, it's likely that your feelings come from the fact that the zealots are the ones who often engage you and respond to your posts, so it may seem more skewed than I think it is in reality.
Maybe I'm just getting more and more contrarian in my "old age," but I actually find that extremists who advocate positions I agree with (on a fundamental level, at least) annoy me more than those I disagree with completely.
For my money, that brand of advocacy is almost entirely counterproductive - it basically provides a ready-made strawman argument *against* whatever it is that's being advocated.
Member since:2005-07-24
For my money, that brand of advocacy is almost entirely counterproductive - it basically provides a ready-made strawman argument *against* whatever it is that's being advocated.
Yep. It turns straw men into real people. And it's why I always cringe when I see posts authored by Moulinneuf, Cyclops, Segedunum, and to a lesser extent, Lemur2. (Lemur2 is a *smart* and *well read* fanatic. But a fanatic nonetheless.)
In the end, I think we need to realize that there is more value in cooperation than in fanatically promoting our own causes.
Edited 2009-04-03 18:24 UTC
Member since:
2005-04-01
Not everyone who comments is an extremist. In fact, I'd argue that most are not, but a few particularly loud ones are (and frankly, we happily encourage spirited debate, so no ill feelings to those few). I think you'll find that if you watch carefully, it's likely that your feelings come from the fact that the zealots are the ones who often engage you and respond to your posts, so it may seem more skewed than I think it is in reality.