I'm terribly sorry and I apologise to everyone involved that I have to drag this shuddering carcass of a topic out in the wild and molest it further. I just felt obliged to respond. If that is deemed unfit by the mods, feel free to delete mine and Talos Claw's little spat.
I am merely defending myself, thank you.
If you cannot prove this statement, you have no grounds for saying it. So prove it.
I don't have to prove it, since one cannot prove a personal opinion. I can only stand for that myself.[/quote]
Then don't say it as if it were gospel truth.
Simply put, you don't really think hard before you argue, do you?
Prove it?
Personal opinion, and not something quantifiable.
If you cannot prove an insult, it becomes even worse than if it's true. So just don't say it.
But please, don't take this as a flame, rather a a criticism of your debating techniques.
Yes, personal insults don't count as flames.
Where did I insult you? Was it when I implied that you didn't always think it fully through before you post? Well, in that case I apologise, but then neither do I sometimes.
You insulted everybody who disagrees with you as one big group, actually.
And do I sense sarcasm in your "apology"?
I never named any names. But if you feel like the shoe fits, then it fits.
You were talking about everybody, yes every single person that disagrees with you.
Please, feel free to point out exactly where in the following piece I specifically said that EVERYONE who doesn't agree with me is rabid:
People, especially younger ones (and let's face it, many of you are young) tend to become very psychologically attached to fictional factions in various games, hinging your entire self-esteem on them. Thus, the rabid defense of this faction
I also said faction, implying that I could just as well be talking about "my" side. A long time on the net has taught me to be very careful when making statements, and therefore I usually take these precautions. But then, some people can interpret things anyway they want to.
It is a generalisation, which is bad enough. If, for example, I was black, and you said "All blacks are ugly" or even "MOST blacks are ugly" should I not take offense because you did not say anything about me personally?
SUre you could have been talking about your own "faction", but you were talking to someone who was not in your faction.
So you are saying a long time on the net has taught you to leave yourself loopholes in your writing just in
case someone doesn't like what you are writing?
Wouldn't it support my ego more to go over to your side and then have everyone agreeing with me?
I support the side that I feel is right.
Speaking generally, people do not switch "faction" once they have picked one, barring very strong reasons. Since so much self-worth is invested in the defense of the faction, it is extremely painful to abandon it and embrace a new one.
I was talking about before I even posted on this thread.
You know, I know some things about psychology too. In an argument, if someone has degenerated to the level of flaming and insulting, that is usually because they have realized, subconsciously, that they cannot win the argument. The more you continue this line of thought, the more you prove your entire thesis wrong.
Note, I'm speaking generally here, and am in no way implying you!
No, you are only speaking
to me, to refute a point made
by me. And since the topic we started with was the group of people who disagree with you (which
includes me), no, you are not implying me, you are pointing a finger at me directly.
You cannot even prove that I am an adolescent. So prove it, before you make such assumptions.
Did I in the above sentence specifically say that YOU were an adolescent? No. What's that whirring sound? Oh, that's you, interpreting things!
You associated people who disagree with you with adolescents. You are simply dodging everything I say, using your "experience". The point is what is
meant and it's pretty clear what you meant. If it doesn't mean what you want it to mean, some serious editing is in order.
For example, you are associating a "whining sound" with me. You think I'm going to cry because someone I don't even know insults me? In truth, my issue is not about me personally, but with the fact that you are flaming on what is supposed to be a "clean and respectful" forum.
Besides, my generalization was built upon a rather solid foundation. The demographics of this site's userbase has a "slight" shift towards the younger segment of the population. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable, barring other facts, to assume that the user you are speaking to is an adolescent.
Note the word
slight. If you flip a coin twice, or even three or four times, and receive the same answer, is that grounds to believe (assuming you have common sense) that the next time will be the same? The majority of people in this world are non-black, to use the same example as before, so does that mean you can insult blacks with impunity because you are not
likely to be talking to one?
Thank you.