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Good rule of thumb


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The main good thing about this, is that by the experience I've seen lots of places, this thread will eventually be let knocked off the first page, no one will read it anymore, and people will still post arguments, even against the veterans, and everything will stay the same :p

Well, of course! That goes without saying! People remain willingly ignorant all the time, and far be it for me to think I could ever change that. :D
 

What if I am argueing devil's advocate?

Or, what if I am in a trolling mood, and I am arguing the incorrect rule "just because I can"? And no one else feels like jumping in to defend the correct rule (thus eliminating the "number of people arguing for/against" rule)?
 

I believe that the proposed Rules of Thumb are too simple and vague, and therefore not adequate to the designated task.

I use a Rule of Thumb Houserule that produces a much more accurate result. I know that it's more accurate because...well...because I just know things (and Houserules are always better). This system is universal, and is equally accurate in all disagreements, not just 4E rules disagreements.


Step 1: Determine the age of the disagreeing parties. The older person is more likley to be correct because they are smarter, and younger people aren't...

Step 2: (used in case the disagreeing parties ages are the same, cannot be determined, or to further refine the accuracy of the projection) - Determine the "Join Date" of the disagreeing parties. The person with the oldest "Join Date" is more likely to be correct as they have probably read more threads and posts. (Also because those with a newer "Join Date", much like those with low post counts, are less likely to understand the intricacies of internet forum humor.)

Step 3: (used in case all of the above are the same, cannot be determined, or to further refine the accuracy of the projection) - Either determine the disagreeing parties likely primary language by finding the posters location, or tally up each posters spelling and grammar mistakes. Posters with English as their primary language, or the least amount of spelling and grammar mistakes, are almost always correct compared to those with a primary language other than English, or more spelling and grammar mistakes. Even if the poster has English as their primary language, if they are not posting from an English speaking country, they are considered to be out of practice, and therefore not as likely to be correct (and will probably have more spelling and grammar errors anyways). Exceptions: Some specific words, such as "p0wn" and "torphies", are not considered spelling mistakes. Any posts in another language, such as Klingon, are automatically considered to be completely inaccurate (unless it's a disagreement about the specific language).

Step 4: (used in case all of the above are the same, cannot be determined, or to further refine the accuracy of the projection) - Determine the alphabetical order of the parties screen names (using the English alphabet!). The accuracy of the poster is likely greater the higher the posters alphabetical order is (relative to the disagreeing parties).

Step 5: (used to further refine the accuracy of the projection) - Flip a coin to determine which rule to use next: Heads - Use DEFCON 1's and Jack99's Rules of Thumb; Tails - Flip a coin as a tie breaker (Heads - you're right; Tails - You're also right).

Step 6: (used if all else fails) - Ask Piratecat or another moderator for a formal adjudication...(in which case they may or may not flip a coin)...


The above procedures will guarantee a minimum accuracy of 99.998765437%.

B-)
 

What if I am argueing devil's advocate?

Or, what if I am in a trolling mood, and I am arguing the incorrect rule "just because I can"? And no one else feels like jumping in to defend the correct rule (thus eliminating the "number of people arguing for/against" rule)?

I just haven't gotten to you yet.
 

New rules of thumg: I'd like for every poster to post their age. I think that with anything that relates to the world we live in, including any topic in these forums, older people have more experience and should be right over a younger poster. Now I'll give an arbitrary, round-numbered, numeric value to this rule of thumb: a poster should defer to anyone who is 20 years or more older than he on any given topic.
 

There's a very simple heuristic to follow here, folks:

1: Whomever is actually supported by the Rules-As-Written, including errata, FAQs, articles or clarifying statements from designers is right;

2: Barring that, the interpretation best supported by internally consistent logic is right;

3: Barring that, the argument shall be settled by a Dance Off, which I'm sure we can all agree is at least as good an indicator of correctness in a rules debate as post count, join date, how many people are on your side, social status, age, or whatever else passes for acceptable reasons for an inflated sense of self worth these days.

If nothing else, it will certainly be more entertaining
 
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I think that with anything that relates to the world we live in, including any topic in these forums, older people have more experience and should be right over a younger poster.
You make baby Heisenberg cry. Nobel at 31. Work for the Nobel done at 24.
 

Hmm. Now I have to go and check whether I've ever won (or "drawn") an argument with Dracosuave.

Edit: Knew it (even though it's cunningly disguised as Draco agreeing with AbdulAlhazred). Morrus, can I be credited with those extra few thousand posts?
 
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