April 23, 2013
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Xanga Debates! (Again)
Do you ever engage in debates or arguments on xanga?
Do you ever persuade anyone to change their previously held beliefs?
Does anyone ever persuade you to change your beliefs?
Do you try to "win" debates - or do you just try to put forward your point of view?
Do you have "fun" debating?
What is your goal in participating in debates?
Comments (41)
You stole this from my post on Xanga debates, didn't you?
Occasionally I'll play devils advocate.
Everyone knows coke is better!
Anyone who says pepsi is better is WRONG.
@musterion99 - Oh! You did post on this recently didn't you? My memory is so short term on xanga stuff - I would say I did steel it but I would have to remember that long first! Good topic you posted on huh?
@musterion99 - I am kinda interested in how successful people think they are at debating. What they think they are accomplishing. What their goal(s) are!
@Megabyyte - Coke is absolutely not better. Diet Coke is.
@Shadowrunner81 - Did you just bring diet coke into this? *shocked face* (Where are the smilies!! >_
And it cut off half my comment, lol...
*angry face*...@Shadowrunner81 - I was also trying to say... even pepsi is better than diet coke. And I win this debate... Just because!
But do blonds have more fun?
@Donkey_Guy_10 - yes - no - maybe...no one ever asked me to be on the debate team =/
I refuse to debate. I have Friends Lock and no one is allowed who argues, starts controversies, or strong political, social, or religious zealous views.
lol I not need or want it.
I just give up and walk away. I do not believe it is worth giving away my joy and serenity. I have a right to my ideas and thoughts and they have a right to theirs.
@Donkey_Guy_10 - as a brunette expert, I can say with 100 percent certainty that blondes do NOT have more fun. Brunettes do. No debating necessary...
@Donkey_Guy_10 - You just commented on it yesterday. lol
@Megabyyte - Ah yes the taste of Pepsi MAY be better than Diet Coke, but is it healthier? Unless you are talking about Pepsi Next(which I kind of like) as well.
@Shadowrunner81 - I've never heard of Pepsi Next. Hmm! Taste trumps health. I win!
And Michigan is better than Ohio. Neener Neener! 
I think debating is fun!
Do you ever engage in debates or arguments on xanga?
No, not on Xanga, but elsewhere. I try to talk, not debate. I don't like debating.
Do you ever persuade anyone to change their previously held beliefs?
I wouldn't know.
Does anyone ever persuade you to change your beliefs?
Sometimes.
Do you try to "win" debates - or do you just try to put forward your point of view?
Just want to talk and share.
Oh, and... Pepsi, of course.
Back in 2009 @vanedave came up with a Xanga Debate Tournament and I made it to the final four without much effort, defending positions I didn't actually agree with and writing my arguments on the fly, late at night, while traveling. So I can debate and I'm fairly good at it and enjoyed that type of debating. I don't like what usually passes for debate on xanga and other online sites, though. It's not really debate, just a lot of people SCREAMING THEIR OPINIONS AT EACH OTHER!!! I stay out of that.
I like thought provoking conversations. Not a fan of rude personal attacks but rather just learning the other side of the story. It is nice to know that people can back up what they believe. If you have something to say and be some thought into it, I can completely respect that any if it opposes what I believe or think. I want to talk to someone that thinks for their self and isn't merely trying to think as I think.
a long-term conversation on beliefs can convince someone, but it rarely affects someone in just one shot.
I used to go back and forth on some hot button issues, but when the name calling and condescending remarks started, I quit. I might comment on a post about which others are having a heated debate. I don't think anyone wins. My opinion on a subject has never changed, but I have changed my mind about the sanity of some Xangans!
I'm very tolerant of other's opinions so I avoid drama. I may not agree but it isn't in my nature to try to change an opinion/belief. That said I will gently correct someone if they have their facts mixed up...
I never debate anyone on any subject...I'm always right so there is no debate!
i kind of used to but now i neither have the time nor patience. it's moot most of the time.
it's really not the issue at stake, mostly it's people's egos
Xanga debates tend to become arguments all too quickly -- when the debaters lose respect for each other, it's no fun. Every once in a while I will state an opinion, but I quickly crawl back in my hole, especially if my views are attacked. That's not to say that I don't have firm beliefs, but rather that I would prefer civil discussion to screaming arguments.
I enjoy debates when they're really a debate. When it's truly a discussion and not an argument. It really depends on if it's an idea/theory or a belief. If it's a belief I don't bother because to challenge someone's beliefs can quickly give you access to the most unreasonable part of them. People kill over beliefs. With a theory you can change it if the present data is no longer correct.At the same time I like to talk about religion as a whole. Spirituality is very interesting and sometimes it transcends "natural law" but at the same time can never be proven scientifically.
I rarely find a debate online that's completely worth debating though. It's really rare to find someone who CAN debate while respecting the other person's opinions. I believe that is the difference between a debate and a lolinternetarguement. That reminds me of a picture. Gonna post it on my xanga. Check it out later!
I'm not into debating, especially on Xanga. "Make love not war" is one of my mottoes.
I enjoy listening to debates if they don't get vicious or into name calling.
I am very tolerant of other peoples opinions/beliefs...and enjoy learning from them.
I believe you can change opinions and share your beliefs without getting loud, or mean, or hateful. As they say, "People won't remember everything you say, BUT they WILL remember how you made them feel." As a teacher, and a mom, I've gotten my points across by being loving, soft spoken, and kind.
HUGS and COKE!!!
I think it's amazing the way the Left has flooded our entire culture with their postmodern worldview.
The essence of which is that reality is anything you want it to be.
The flood is so profound and being the god of your own little reality is so intoxicating that people don't even bother learning how to think anymore.
Even the Christians believe that they can hallucinate their own private Gospel because they feel that their own opinions are inspired by God.
Stealing Major Clipton's line from Bridge Over the River Quay, "Madness... Madness."
It's hard to tell - the people I debate with usually aren't allowed to admit if I make them question the beliefs. I was told by one religious person that they have doubts but they only share them with their fellow believer privately - I suspect this happens a lot. Occasionally I will have someone say thank you for making them think and question, which is nice. Rare, but nice.
I don't think I persuade anyone to change their mind nor has anyone persuaded me. It's not the reason I debate on Xanga. My reason is to refute statements I find erroneous so that someone with less time to investigate or fact check won't take those statements at face value and as truths.
I like one on one debates, but I am not a big fan of mass debating.
When I debate, although it might not be apparent, what I really intend is that the person I am engaged with consider alternative points of view, not necessarily mine. I like to encourage people to think about what they think and how they think rather than try to tell them what to think, but I think the effort is often wasted because most of us don't want our thinking challenged.
I have never seen anyone win an argument on the internet, but I have seen countless arguments escalate into back-and-forth physical threats, derogatory name-calling, and overreaching Hitler comparisons.
I make a point of staying out of internet arguments, and it's a lot easier when you compare it to having the urge to launch headfirst into an outhouse toilet. There is no good reason to satisfy that urge.
I don't like to participate in debates. I have much better things on which I can spend my energy and time.
But they can be quite entertaining to read and follow when other people debate.
i enjoy it, sometimes. i especially enjoy it when people realize their stereotype of me is way off. example: i'm liberal, but support raising the retirement age.
Not anymore. Use too.
I have been on Xanga with various usernames for the past nine years or so. In that time I have slowly evolved from being a fundamentalist conservative Christian to a liberal agnostic. The religion part I mostly figured out on my own, but some of the religious and most of the political part was done solely through viewing debates that happen on Xanga.
I love debating myself, but I am actually terrible at it. I use too many fallacies because they make great talking points and because I am too lazy to do anything constructive on the internet.
@Megabyyte - Pepsi is cheaper! LOL
I only debate in class.
@snarkius - What was your other Xanga name?