MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - More constructive postings about the Iliad!

readingaloud · 03-28-2007, 05:48 PM

I heartily concur with CommanderROR's sentiment, but let me suggest that we take the principle even a bit further.

Everyone has the right to say what he or she thinks. Try to say it once. Maybe you should say it again if you've thought of a better way to express the idea, or have some additional nuance to offer.

But, please, DON'T think you need to say it again every time someone else expresses an opinion. In particular, please don't assume, when someone disagrees with you, that it must be because that person didn't understand what you wrote. Not everyone who disagrees with you is stupid or inattentive.

If you find you must weigh in again after someone says something you think is wrong, try to add something new to the conversation. A personal attack on the previous poster doesn't count as something new.

I've expressed my opinion about the iLiad battery life issue elsewhere. Not everyone agreed with me, but I didn't expect them to. But I take it unkindly when it's suggested that the only possible reason for my conclusion is that I didn't understand what had been said before, and needed to have it repeated. And I was downright offended when the next comment after that was a purely ad hominem attack.

Name-calling is one of the least edifying forms of argument. Even CommanderROR, whose many useful postings have endeared him to us all, and whose plea for moderation is the welcome theme of this thread, fell into the trap of denigrating those who disagree with him by giving them the "fanboy" epithet.

I am one of the people who think (1) that the iLiad is a terrific device; and (2) that, while the concerns about the iLiad's battery life are not entirely without substance, iRex has not behaved dishonestly or even unreasonably. This apparently makes me a "fanboy", which (as I read this thread) is a creature even lower than a whiner. Yet I can't for the life of me see why this is not a reasonable point of view.

Even if you really think that someone who disagrees with you must be either stupid or dishonest, you will be a more effective advocate if you pretend that your adversary is a reasonable human being.

03-28-2007, 05:48 PM	#28
readingaloud Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 55 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Switzerland Device: iRex iLiad; Sony Reader; Amazon Kindle	Confessions of a "Fanboy" I heartily concur with CommanderROR's sentiment, but let me suggest that we take the principle even a bit further. Everyone has the right to say what he or she thinks. Try to say it once. Maybe you should say it again if you've thought of a better way to express the idea, or have some additional nuance to offer. But, please, DON'T think you need to say it again every time someone else expresses an opinion. In particular, please don't assume, when someone disagrees with you, that it must be because that person didn't understand what you wrote. Not everyone who disagrees with you is stupid or inattentive. If you find you must weigh in again after someone says something you think is wrong, try to add something new to the conversation. A personal attack on the previous poster doesn't count as something new. I've expressed my opinion about the iLiad battery life issue elsewhere. Not everyone agreed with me, but I didn't expect them to. But I take it unkindly when it's suggested that the only possible reason for my conclusion is that I didn't understand what had been said before, and needed to have it repeated. And I was downright offended when the next comment after that was a purely ad hominem attack. Name-calling is one of the least edifying forms of argument. Even CommanderROR, whose many useful postings have endeared him to us all, and whose plea for moderation is the welcome theme of this thread, fell into the trap of denigrating those who disagree with him by giving them the "fanboy" epithet. I am one of the people who think (1) that the iLiad is a terrific device; and (2) that, while the concerns about the iLiad's battery life are not entirely without substance, iRex has not behaved dishonestly or even unreasonably. This apparently makes me a "fanboy", which (as I read this thread) is a creature even lower than a whiner. Yet I can't for the life of me see why this is not a reasonable point of view. Even if you really think that someone who disagrees with you must be either stupid or dishonest, you will be a more effective advocate if you pretend that your adversary is a reasonable human being.