What's your justification for debating strangers online when you could use that more productively?

[fitpOsitive]

Gradually, I grew disenchanted with the idea of online debating as it rarely results in changed opinions on either side so I wanted to know why you people do that when you could use that time to chill/do your work/pick a hobby?

I know @HalfMoon gets paid for his/her trolling but what's your reason?

You never know who is reading your post and where it hits. I personally have experienced something that I can't write here. It was something I wrote here, and few days later I heard some people in Islamabad started struggle for it.
Just keep all your radars open. You will be able to see many things.

 

[jamahir]

@jamahir , Why are you posting for 7 (or more?) years here when no one changes their mind about communism? Don't you have a life?

In the old days it was pamphlets, booklets and word-of-mouth that spread ideas and people discussed. In the modern world it is like in the Calcutta tea houses called addas and of course the internet. What do you mean in your signature ?

Opinions are subject to change; internet is for testing them.

And you are in college. How many progressive-minded people have you gotten together with ? Are you people active ? Do you have a students union system in your college where your progressive group perseveres ?

Again about me, another way to preach progressive, agreeable-to-all-factions ideas is to develop a computing field company which I am attempting to do.

 

[CatSultan]

Yeah, I like this viewpoint but that entails that you will change your ideas when people demonstrate it wrong?

I try to keep an open mind. but I don't debate with people who I know can't change my viewpoint.

 

[Maira La]

Very few people will have the maturity of mind to understand that what is said by random people online is often meaningless.

No it's not meaningless. Most of us mask ourselves in our day to day lives to appear more reasonable/acceptable/polite to strangers.

In online boards we are all anonymous and can express ideas and views that we may not express in real life.

 

[Naofumi]

What do you mean in your signature ?

Primarily that I do not hold any ideas as dear or unshakeable but it's old signature, I don't quite believe in posting them on internet anymore. I guess it's half true for now.

In the old days it was pamphlets, booklets and word-of-mouth that spread ideas and people discussed. In the modern world it is like in the Calcutta tea houses called addas and of course the internet.

Some of them are one-way communication and tea house is not exactly talking to strangers.

And you are in college. How many progressive-minded people have you gotten together with ? Are you people active ? Do you have a students union system in your college where your progressive group perseveres ?

I don't have any such group simply because I don't hold myself as leader of a revolution but simply as an ordinary human.
But nonetheless your online activism has not resulted in any revolution till now so, what I wanted to ask you is that did you ever felt that your posts are nothing but a waste of time?

You never know who is reading your post and where it hits. I personally have experienced something that I can't write here. It was something I wrote here, and few days later I heard some people in Islamabad started struggle for it.
Just keep all your radars open. You will be able to see many things.

Well, there's of course a small probability of it having some real effect in some part of the world but it is very small and have even less effect on the individual's life.

I don't debate with people who I know can't change my viewpoint.

How do you know beforehand? And how's that an open mind though?

 

[fitpOsitive]

Well, there's of course a small probability of it having some real effect in some part of the world but it is very small and have even less effect on the individual's life.

All we need is a single guy, a single event, and a huge audience.
Thats it.

 

[denel]

I enjoy the sense of community and I like the exchange of ideas. I don't read discuss to persuade others.

ditto..

unfortunately, this forum has been overflowing by CCP party annointed minions. it is their stupid posts which are hilarous but yet have nefarious purposes too.

 

[Wood]

No it's not meaningless. Most of us mask ourselves in our day to day lives to appear more reasonable/acceptable/polite to strangers.

In online boards we are all anonymous and can express ideas and views that we may not express in real life.

Anonymous opinions on the internet seldom have any real world effect. What difference can you claim to make?

 

[Maira La]

Anonymous opinions on the internet seldom have any real world effect. What difference can you claim to make?

You said they don't have meaning. They do, because they reflect a person's real mindset, in contrast to the fake persona we maintain in front of real world strangers. You don't think a person's true mindset has any real world effect? It affects everything, including how you vote and what policies you want your government to adopt.

 

[jamahir]

I don't have any such group simply because I don't hold myself as leader of a revolution but simply as an ordinary human.

Then please gather people first or join an existing group. You will see how ideas are built and spread. Only then you can begin to question me.

Let me tell you that in an ITES company I worked in for less than a year some years ago I almost created a workers union. I had the chance to set it up but I foolishly resigned. Had it set it up it would have been the first workers union in the Indian IT / ITES industry. My idea was that after setting up the union in my branch I speak to the workers in the company's other branch in the city and also ask the workers to encourage their friends and family in the Indian IT / ITES industry to start unions. I would have been the leader of the Indian IT / ITES workers unions. Would you have respected me then ? And I have done one or two other things.

You are a Muslim. How do you think Islam spread ? One day there was the first Muslim ( The Last Prophet ) and the next day there were 40 million Muslims ?

Stop being rude to your senior.

 

[-=virus=-]

Then please gather people first or join an existing group. You will see how ideas are built and spread. Only then you can begin to question me.

Let me tell you that in an ITES company I worked in for less than a year some years ago I almost created a workers union. I had the chance to set it up but I foolishly resigned. Had it set it up it would have been the first workers union in the Indian IT / ITES industry. My idea was that after setting up the union in my branch I speak to the workers in the company's other branch in the city and also ask the workers to encourage their friends and family in the Indian IT / ITES industry to start unions. I would have been the leader of the Indian IT / ITES workers unions. Would you have respected me then ? And I have done one or two other things.

So, implement the Libyan Jamahirya aka Gaddafi's Islammo-communist system all across the world or die trying ?

Ek baat batao.. jo aam kehte hain, "insanity" ka definition... doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.

do you agree with it ?

tried a few things in my life that did not work out, tried like hell, gave it my 110% with the dedication of a madman.. still failed :/ .. then moved on and did some other things that did work out

to analogize, to the observer, it seems like you've been trying relentlessly to set an ice cube on fire using the same used and old and soggy matchstick.

here's another analogy.. you're like the stubborn batsman who has been caught 'plumb in front' and given out LBW..

you go and take the review..

3rd umpire, fair delivery, edge detection says you didn't nick it, ball tracker says it's smashing into your middle stump. The red light goes up on the big screen, you're done....

but you are far from done, you just stay there insisting that you were not out, refusing to leave the crease..

crowd goes "booooooo".. but no.

You're still standing there, all defiant and going to yourself "dunia galat hai, inko kya pata main t20 main bhi triple century score karunga, I have all the shots.. and then after my triple century I'll open the bowling and get 10 wickets with my first 3 deliveries.."

lol

bhai, ever considered your goals might just be a tad bit too lofty, and that reigning in your dreams might serve you better ?

 

[jamahir]

bhai, ever considered your goals might just be a tad bit too lofty, and that reigning in your dreams might serve you better ?

I will reply later. I have to go out.

 

[Naofumi]

You said they don't have meaning. They do, because they reflect a person's real mindset, in contrast to the fake persona we maintain in front of real world strangers. You don't think a person's true mindset has any real world effect? It affects everything, including how you vote and what policies you want your government to adopt.

We can consider three scenarios :

1. You live in a dictatorship

Your ideas do not hold nay value, the elite that is ruling your country can do whatever they ant unless you are ready for a armed revolution. Again, online bickering is not going to provoke an armed rebellion easily and even if may do, you are going get in serious trouble prior to that, so I rule out it having it any meaningful effect in a dictatorship.

2. You live in a democracy and your ideas are far away from the mean ideas of the countries population.

Since, most democracies hold the principle of one man, one vote - your extreme ideas (and your extreme votes henceforth) will be simply a statistical outlier and it will have no effect as the results are determined by the mean not the outliers

3. You live in a democracy and your ideas are closer to the mean.

Then, what's even the point? Your ideas already have traction in the masses. Actually you're the masses, the sheep. Your online bickering doesn't add anything and have no real world effect as the ideas are already accepted.

Then please gather people first or join an existing group. You will see how ideas are built and spread. Only then you can begin to question me.

First of all, I don't have many ideas that I hold dear enough to spread them to the world secondly, there's a quote that goes like
“It's said that a wise person learns from his mistakes. A wiser one learns from others' mistakes. But the wisest person of all learns from others's successes.”
Currently, it seems a failure to me.

You are a Muslim. How do you think Islam spread ? One day there was the first Muslim ( The Last Prophet ) and the next day there were 40 million Muslims ?

Well, I am no prophet.

Stop being rude to your senior.

I many have been blunt but that was not my intention. I have been curious about this for a long time till now.

 

[Verve]

People who have been on the same forum for too long may know the 'strangers' better than they know their own spouse

Hahaha ..

Voicing ones opinion openly and repeatedly on anything one feels like doesn't fly with majority of modern age female spouses! On the forum, it's game on! It's liberating