Cigar Social Network

How to lose an argument online

[Seth Godin's, a marketing philosopher and some would say genius, sent this to me today. I found it amusing and somewhat insightful. Let's do this!]

How to lose an argument online

Have an argument. Once you start an argument, not a discussion, you've already lost. Think about it: have you ever changed your mind because someone online started yelling at you? They might get you to shut up, but it's unlikely they've actually changed your opinion.

Forget the pitfalls of Godwin's law. Any time you mention Hitler or even Communist China or Bill O'Reilly, you've lost.
Use faulty analogies. If someone is trying to make a point about, say, health care, try to make an analogy to something conceptually unrelated, like the space shuttle program, and you've lost.

Question motives. The best way to get someone annoyed and then have them ignore you is to bypass any thoughtful discussion of facts and instead question what's in it for the person on the other end. Make assumptions about their motivations and lose their respect.

Act anonymously. What are the chances that heckled comments from the bleachers will have an impact?
Threaten to take action in another venue. Insist that this will come back to haunt the other person. Guarantee you will spread the word or stop purchasing.

Bring up the slippery slope. Actually, the slope isn't that slippery. People don't end up marrying dogs, becoming cannibals or harvesting organs because of changes in organization, technology or law.

Go to the edges. This is a variant of the slippery slope, in which you bring up extremes at either end of whatever spectrum is being discussed.

Tags: cigarcruises.net, cruise, herf, joeed, kark, mmk, sea

Promote

0 members promoted this

Comment

You need to be a member of Social Cigar to add comments!

Join Social Cigar

Comment by Clay, the watcher... on December 4, 2009 at 5:11am: Hah! Craig sound's like a politician!

Comment by Craig Schmidt on December 3, 2009 at 11:21pm: The Box split that we may or may not have counted out right has nothing to do with Why he and of course it follows that you are 100% wrong about how to lose an argument online. AND, his ladder does'nt go all the way to the top anyhow, he's on 1/2 oxygen. Those are 2 reasons his reasoning is incoherent and he's also a invalid.... argument of a person.
There's my proof. Plus you bringing up "mountain" confirms your loss 'cause we all know every mountian has a slippery slope as a mentioned rule breaker!
I single mindedly won every argument on this post.
HA! HA!
and to think my wife calls me a fool. I guess the jokes on her.
Am I right or am I right?
We could check with Al Gore about the Internet issue, he's sure to know.

Hard to believe but I was sooo.. smart I got my drivers lcns when I was in the 6th grade!

Comment by Clay, the watcher... on December 3, 2009 at 5:38am: Craig, I never thought about that. I've never seen his robe or for that matter his mountain top either. Do they even have internet on mountain tops? The other side of the coin is perhaps you just don't like him? Did he rip you off on a bad box split and send you a box of steaming wisdom? Who says it's wrong to feed a pig bacon?

Comment by Craig Schmidt on December 3, 2009 at 1:29am: If a cow laughed real hard, would milk come out her nose?

Comment by Craig Schmidt on December 3, 2009 at 1:29am: Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?
Seth Godin. Seth Godin. Seth Godin???????
Yeah He's goodinwrong.
Because we ALL know he's a guru (if you did'nt ......well, you better cause you just better). Dont question me.
He's wrong because guru types wear robes and people who wear robes in general hate our country and due us great harm. When we only try to help them unselfishly because were nice people. So you were wrong to post using him as a worthy source.
By the way, what color is your robe????

Comment by Clay, the watcher... on November 23, 2009 at 8:38pm: Where's Hugh when we need his oversized opinion?

Comment by Craig Schmidt on November 23, 2009 at 4:31pm: Your dead wrong. So I assume your wrong in all your posts.
And you must be a Communist, or your just in poor mental health and your real intention in posting this is because you now lack the great health care that we will soon have once our greatest President ever gets it enacted into law. It's like your saying you know something about online chat, when in reality it's not chat at all if it's not on AOL.com
C'mon back me up on this guys every one knows what I'M talking about.
Futhermore you keep making posts like this and someone will report you to the moderator (your certian to get banned) I'll report you if You push me anymore! What were you thinking to post something you know absolutely nothing about? If you did I would'nt have a need to post this, Which unequivocally proves my point. You must be your Aunt's Son!

Comment by JohnLongIsland on November 23, 2009 at 4:15pm: How to lose an argument online...
e-mail "dear leader" and tell him that you could beat him in an ~~bowing~~ ankle grabbing contest...

Comment by Charming Karl, Cookie King on November 23, 2009 at 3:56pm: The ably-inferred membership in a social-democratic organization not having been pre-established, I smite you with my rapier tongue and leave you gasping for ink! See if you can pry open my mind and glimpse my motive! I sleep on the railroad tracks, drink from dioxin-laden streams, and dance nekkid under the moonlight. And no man knows my name!

Comment by Clay, the watcher... on November 23, 2009 at 3:30pm: It figures that Karl would respond. I expect as much form a commie pinko! What's your motive?

(did I do that right?)