Learning Not to Argue

Or, Choosing Not to Beat My Head into a Brick Wall

I like debate. I like discussion. I like to argue. I like to point out what I believe to be wrong or in need of correction.

Lately though I have been learning what I feel is a valuable lesson: when not to argue. One of my first and most memorable lessons happened very recently, and on the World of Warcraft forums, of all places. One particular commenter started "trolling" the boards, making their unpleasant online personality known and hated by many wherever they went. At first, I responded to this person's posts. After a few different comments on different threads, someone posted "Why do you listen to Misery Justine? They never have anything nice to say." Later, another person said wrathfully to the troll "I bet you think your shit doesn't stink."

The troll's response was one of the best pieces of work I've ever seen from a troll.

"All shit stinks. You all are just dumb enough to roll around in mine."

This provided one of the most illuminating moments of my online experiences to date. I chose to use the handy-dandy ignore feature Blizzard's forums come equipped with and my time spent on the forums since then has been much more pleasant.

There are times when an argument can and should be presented. When someone's points should have counterpoints. The trick is learning when engaging in a debate, or argument, will be productive and potentially beneficial and when it will be as productive as your head repeatedly meeting a brick wall.

Potentially productive: explaining to someone that is sincerely curious why I believe what I believe.
Bashing my brains out: countering irrational, illogical, idiotic or fallacious statements made by people that are obviously only interested in proving that they are right, and anyone that disagrees is wrong. People that will go through any kind of mental gymnastic necessary to somehow "prove" that their statements are correct when it has been clearly shown they have no rational ground to stand on. These are the people I am learning to ignore, even when I'm itching to respond. Drivel is drivel and not worth my time.

Some people might read this and think I'm not the brightest penny in the bank since it took me this long to accept the advice not to feed trolls. Oh well, at least I'm learning.