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<blockquote data-quote="Jeff Wilder" data-source="post: 4787560" data-attributes="member: 5122">I like arguing.&nbsp; I also like quarreling.&nbsp; (Those are different things.)&nbsp; I'm good at both.But I discovered a few things that changed how I do things on EN World:(1) Some people simply do not know how to argue.&nbsp; It's not a matter of being right, or being wrong, or the subject in question being a matter of opinion (which, contrary to seemingly popular belief, does not automatically exempt it from argument).&nbsp; It is, instead, a fundamental inability to construct an argument.(2) Some people are hyper-literal to the point that they're incapable or unwilling to admit to ambiguity in anything.(3) Some people post as if they're in a perpetual bad mood.&nbsp; Every post is snappish and sarcastic.&nbsp; &quot;Terse&quot; is a good day for these folks.It used to be that when I ran into these people, I'd shift from &quot;argument mode&quot; to &quot;quarrel mode.&quot;&nbsp; Now I don't.&nbsp; I simply add them to my Ignore list.&nbsp; It's against my nature (on- or off-line) to wuss out like this, but I've also discovered that the retaliation gets the whistle on EN World (while the provocation is usually ignored).&nbsp; So the Ignore list is the solution for me.(Digression: The interesting thing, to me, is that I pay almost no attention to the name attached to a post, even when I'm responding to it.&nbsp; So it takes quite a bit for me to recognize a name to the point that I'll slap it on my Ignore list.It takes even more for me to recognize names attached to well-presented, well-reasoned, helpful posts, unfortunately.&nbsp; I kinda wish EN World had a &quot;Highlight&quot; list, counterpart to the Ignore list, that would make posts by Highlighted posters more visible.&nbsp; That'd be pretty cool.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jeff Wilder, post: 4787560, member: 5122"] I like arguing. I also like quarreling. (Those are different things.) I'm good at both. But I discovered a few things that changed how I do things on EN World: (1) Some people simply do not know [I]how [/I]to argue. It's not a matter of being right, or being wrong, or the subject in question being a matter of opinion (which, contrary to seemingly popular belief, does not automatically exempt it from argument). It is, instead, a fundamental inability to construct an argument. (2) Some people are hyper-literal to the point that they're incapable or unwilling to admit to ambiguity in anything. (3) Some people post as if they're in a perpetual bad mood. [I]Every[/I] post is snappish and sarcastic. "Terse" is a good day for these folks. It used to be that when I ran into these people, I'd shift from "argument mode" to "quarrel mode." Now I don't. I simply add them to my Ignore list. It's against my nature (on- or off-line) to wuss out like this, but I've also discovered that the retaliation gets the whistle on EN World (while the provocation is usually ignored). So the Ignore list is the solution for me. (Digression: The interesting thing, to me, is that I pay almost no attention to the name attached to a post, even when I'm responding to it. So it takes quite a bit for me to recognize a name to the point that I'll slap it on my Ignore list. It takes even more for me to recognize names attached to well-presented, well-reasoned, helpful posts, unfortunately. I kinda wish EN World had a "Highlight" list, counterpart to the Ignore list, that would make posts by Highlighted posters more visible. That'd be pretty cool.) [/QUOTE]

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