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Wow So Meta: Dead or Dying

HM Solomon I

Entry posted by HM Solomon I

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It almost seems like the OWF is made up entirely of straw men. Is this the way it has to be? Rational argumentation should have a prominent place here. Why? Some may say arguing a point logically is boring, but to those that say that I say "You must never have studied philosophy." Rational arguments are chess matches, they require finesse, they require strategy. In other words, they're difficult. I know it's easier to eat the chips rather than the eggs or chicken, but the chips aren't worth it. You end up just as bloated and worthless as much of this place has become.

Attempting to misdirect, mislead, go around, avoid the points made by another only leads to circular and entirely meaningless discussions out of which nothing arises, nothing is gained, and nothing is changed. Where's the fun in that? Claiming you don't care is patently ridiculous. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't be here. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't log in and comment, and participate, and put huge effort into doing so. You'd sit on your couch and watch TV, read a book, or do anything other than come here.

Responding to a claim shouldn't be put down with shouts amounting to a sacrifice on the altar of common sense, such responses should be lauded. And no, responding to a point is not just semantics, it is not just semantics to respond if it's only a response to one small part of an argument or even to a part that seems trivial on its face. An argument is only ever made up of these small points, and one falling can ruin the jenga tower; sometimes the smallest of points can mean the most, and it can be hard to always know when this is the case and when it isn't. Mountains have been moved with less.

My point is thus: we can do better, we should do better, and we must do better. We want this place to be a place of fun, not a place that discourages all but the most jaded to flock to its walls. It shouldn't be a setting for flinging feces, it should be a setting to move the world in which we find ourselves. This is the epicenter of the Cyberverse, and it sets the tone whether we like it or not. Changing the spirit here can improve everything else. And before you say it's too hard or it can't be done or this is the way it's always been, know that none of those points are an excuse or justification for the utter !@#$e that gets thrown around here. This place is us, in so far as it's made up of us. If we do better, so will this place become.

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HM Solomon I

"Fair and Balanced"

Thanks, I needed a laugh today.

The ones I've read never seemed even remotely fair and balanced. They're almost the definition of biased and partisan, in which one starts with the conclusion as a premise. Then everything flows from that flawed start.

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iamthey

Rational argument requires common objective standards, and our standards of discourse collapsed quite some time ago. If the world was rigidly legalist, we could make complicated elawyer arguments over the finer points of treaties. If there was a commonly held morality we could argue about that in rational terms. We have neither.

The closest thing we have is debate over the effectiveness of a given strategy, or if this or that will drive people out, but even then there's something lacking in that.

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HM Solomon I

The only thing that rational argument requires is logic, which always exists. 1 always equals 1, Lima is never both the capital and not the capital of Peru. This may seem trivial, but philosophy has built substantial arguments on these humble foundations, so surely we can too.

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Helbrecht

There used to be a time when browsing the CN forums was slightly interesting and distracting, good for half an hour or so. Some gems to be found, which one had to mine.

and then, as Angry Joe would say, You done $%&@ed it up!

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Ogaden

The main forums were moderated into oblivion between 2007-2010 at which point all serious politics and discussions moved to alliance boards, IRC and Skype. Even though moderation is less draconian, this forum remains a place to announce things and then make snarky comments about said announcements (but not too snarky, that would be against the rules) and effectively nothing else. Maybe only 10% of the player base ever reads anything posted here, and half of them don't even have an account.

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HM Solomon I

The OWF is more important than many people think. Aside from the CN wiki it is the most reliable central deposit of information.

Damn it Ogaden, you've actually made me agree with Tywin. :/

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