A ridiculous amount of calls of "straw men" have been arising lately, and I think the majority of them are actually justified. There's a lot of really bad form going on. Maybe part of this is people getting emotional instead of rational and thoughtful, but I think just as big is the portion of people who have never learned to properly engage in discussion online. I see a lot of people who appear to be oblivious to even the basic rules.
I thought it would be good to share some of those rules as a refresher course for those who know them already, and as an important primer for those who don't.
Read -> Comprehend -> Post
This is the golden rule of internet forums. Without this rule there can be no meaningful discussion. Ignoring this rule will lead to you looking like a jackass and people trying to talk to you getting very frustrated.
It's pretty self explanatory but let me break down the individual steps.
- Read - That means all the words of what you are responding to. Don't glance at it. Read every word. If you find yourself thinking "I got the gist of it." stop, go back and read it all. If you expect someone to read what you're about to write you owe it to them to read everything they wrote before forming your response.
- Comprehend - Make sure you understand the author's intent. This is very important and one of the most common mistakes. If you find yourself thinking "This guy's CRAZY!" and you're on DKos, or some other reasonable forum, chances are you're not understanding the author. Read it again. If you still are thinking the person's off their rocker, ask for clarification. Assume there must be some mistake first.
- Post - Only after fully completing the first two steps should you actually begin to compose your response and share it with everyone else.
Respond to the person you're responding to.
So many times I see a chain of responses where one or both people are not responding to the text above. Address the points the person you're responding to made, not some points you think are related or imagine that they are thinking. This is a lot easier if you've actually followed R->C->P.
If you find yourself wanting to write about a bunch of points that are not directly in response to what the other person said, maybe you should be writing a diary instead.
Don't address your points to a group that you imagine the person you're responding to belongs to, address your points to that person based on what they have actually said. Anything else is unfair and unsound reasoning.
Calm down
It's just words on a screen. It doesn't really matter. Go hug your cat or dog or kids or a pillow. Go watch Rachel Maddow and wonder how someone so smart can be so hot. Come back once you've gained some distance.
Never attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance.
I see a lot of times people assume other people are being cruel or mean when it's more likely they're just dumb. Keep this in mind and it's a lot easier to respond without getting angry.
Does it really need to be said?
Are you really contributing to the discussion? Are you going to tell the person something they don't already know? Are they likely to appreciate your response? This applies even for people you disagree with, maybe especially then.
This especially helps when you feel the reflexive need to tell someone you agree with them. That's a fine and understandable response to reading something you agree with strongly, but try to put a little more thought into it and say something at least somewhat interesting.
That's the basics that I see violated pretty consistently lately. I don't know how many people this will actually get through to. I need to read it as much as anyone, so at least it will help in that I've had to rethink them as well.