Re: Why result to insults instead of reasoned arguements? Was: The wisdom of the object mentors

Phlip wrote:
> Marshall wrote:
>
> > Laurent Bossavit wrote:
> >>
> >> The effectiveness of the argument as a vehicle for convincing others,
> >> however, is very much dependent on whether it conforms to the norms of
> >> socially acceptable discourse.
> >>
> >> When you insult people, you actively discourage them from listening to
> >> you. Worse, you discourage anyone else who's listening in - and who may
> >> have started out inclined to listen to you.
> >
> > These are interesting hypotheses. Are they true, I wonder?
> > How could we find out if they are true or not?
>
> Uh, all of USENET would appear to be living proof here...

How so?

Marshall Received on Sat Jun 03 2006 - 17:10:16 CDT