memes

To be fair, when you try it in person, they're all "Who are you? How did you get in my house? I'm calling the cops!", then it's no fun at all.

Of course it was.

They were wrong. How are they going to know they are wrong if no one tells them?

Its my crack I can't stop coming back to all while hating every second of it

It’s my favorite hobby.

At this point, every comment on Lemmy is greeted with angry responses who are willfully choosing to ignore the point I was making and try to fight me.

If I say “I like dogs” someone is going to come along and tell me I’m a jerk for not liking cats even though I didn’t say I don’t like cats. That or someone mansplaining dogs to me.

Calm down Lemmy. Take a breather.

Absolutely. There’s way too many blithering idiots online. We made the web way too accessible to them back in the ‘90’s.

And if idiots don’t get challenged, you run the risk of them thinking they’re actually right. And that’s very, very dangerous.

I will admit the only reason I attempt to verbally correct them is because I don’t have access to a Reaper drone to shove a Flying Ginsu missile up their ass.

Oh, I'm about to argue with one right now you little dumbass

There's a weird dynamic to arguing online, particularly when it comes to political topics. Most of the time, you won't convince your counterpart. Maybe some point sticks with them later and you'll never know, but either way they're not really the target of the arguments. It's the (potential) audience that the argument is supposed to be for: People less emotionally invested in the conflict may take away something useful from the arguments, people on the fence about an issue might come around to your point, and people sharing your opinion will see that they're not alone and feel affirmed.

Essentially, it's a performance on an public stage for the sake of discourse. Phrased strongly, you don't want "the other side" to dominate the public opinion, so you engage them. In the process, you may hone your own arguments, or you may find them wanting, perhaps even see them start to crack.

The end goal of debates is not to change your opponent's mind, but to present your ideas and reasoning to the people watching in a convincing way.

I stop when it is clear the other person is arguing in bad faith.

The block button is your strongest weapon against trolls.

Hello, fellow stranger online!

what was i supposed to do, let people just be wrong online?

I know this is a meme but I think people look down on internet discussions too much. Obviously it depends on "arguing" type but reddit/lemmy is at least somewhat structured and depending on the community can be good faith and productive. For people who don't live in a big city finding a community to exchange more niche thoughts and opinions (e.g. operating systems, design decisions etc) is incredibly difficult.

I have a related anecdote of being an assistant to older people in IT classes and intellectual starvation is a very big deal. Once people settle down, move further out of the city it's hard to find discussions on their interests without internet comments. The real issue is Facebook groups which are often the only forums available to these people, and they are not fit for scratching this itch for intellectual stimulation as it's design precisely for the opposite of that. This might sound silly, but old people need Lemmy.

It's a hobby.

Pro tip: Never open your inbox.

Mostly, yes a lot!

Writing about my thoughts, opinions and positions has helped me understand them even better!

You're rarely going to change anyone's position online, as sadly most aren't arguing in good faith. BUT responding to rebuttals from others and questions (good faith or bad faith) leads to a very cool intellectual exercise where you get to probe your positions from so many different angles.

If things become toxic or brain-rotty, then you can just disengage without explanation! Kinda cool actually!!!

yes.

It is fun arguing with people you disagree with as long as both argues in good faith and has uses good etiquette. Both needs to be open minded to a certain degree.

The goal of a conversation is not to convince, but rather to explore your own and their mind. To grow together. A conversation is not a competition, we should not aim to "win" a conversation.

I don't want to be on my death bed wishing I had argued more, so I'm doing what I can while I'm young and ornery

Other people in this thread have already said it better than I could but in brief: Yes

1000% worth it.

If you don't challenge things, you let bullshit flourish and that influences societal views.