I’m a bad debater. I admit that. I’ve had problems with retaining things. I have a horrible memory. I can’t recall things in a rapid fire way that some can on WF. I have studied history since I graduated high school and college and have learned a lot, but it’s like the things I’ve learned and read evaporated instantly. @Order2Chaos called me put on it in the other thread. My problem is I don’t articulate myself as well as I’d like to. I’ve dived deeper on subjects that I’m interested in, but a lot of times I read up on a subject and even make notes or what not, but I forget them very easily. That may be a fault of mine and I understand that, but it doesn’t mean I’m stupid. Ima visual learner. I don’t understand type of charts and graphs as well. Call that a learning disability, fine. I guess I have a learning disability then. I also am capable of critical thinking, but I often respond with an emotional response rather a logical one. That’s another flaw I admit. I’m sure I’ll receive a lot of Facepalms or whatever, but whatever. I know @Order2Chaos thinks I’m a troll , it’s not true. He was on point with the gold standard debate with @The Night Funky . On point, but I didn’t have my shit together on that one even though I’ve studied it extensively and agree 100%. I don’t know how to remedy this, but I’m calling myself out on it because I know how stupid it looks. I also don’t know how to make it look better, but I do know that the past six/seven years have made me look bad and I’m tired of it. I think that most of it it comes from me relying too much on Fox News or talk radio and @garamet called me out on that recently.Yes @Diacanu , I’ve let other people think for myself, even when it comes to things like DSC or Picard because it’s easy to just jump on the bandwagon. I don’t have an answer or explanation for any of it other than what’s already been said, but I’ll try to do better. I’m sure @Man Afraid of his Shoes is overjoyed now because it’s been a thing he predicted and a long time coming. For the inevitable trolls who wish to be assholes. GFY. Discuss. Lastly, I’ve been reactionary to the left because a lot of the time I was drinking and posted without really thinking so I understand why you would see it as a teenager or what have you. This has been on my mind for a while, rant over.
Holy wall of text Batman/another list I didn't make Seriously though, it's good to see introspection (I do suggest editing and adding line/paragraph breaks, however).
So making a childish pity ploy is supposed to help with being treated like a child? So I have heard the whining about being called a child, and....;...what the fuck do you think people are going to do? This is a childish way to try to stop people from treating you like a child. Maybe try manning the fuck up and maybe not spouting off every time something some CHUD on a blog you listen to makes you go fuck yeah. Maybe have an opinion of your own that you can argue, because if we wanted to argue with whoever we would go argue with them. Stop ignoring people as punishment to them. people are going to say things you don't like. Learn to deal with it in a non-childish way. It is great to apologize and self reflect, but you are doing these things as an adult and that is why you get shit. The world is not here to agree with everything you say. The world is not here to pat you on the back and give you a participation prize. You have your reputation because you earned it. If you want a different reputation you need to change, not us.
FF you often have views I find baffling, but you are also one of the few people online who will change their views when actually looking at evidence, so don't feel too bad.
The difference between an accusation and a troll is that an accusation is a factual claim which can be refuted with evidence, while to a troll facts are irrelevant so arguing against it is a waste of time. You will never lessen a troll's effectiveness by proving it wrong with facts and logic. Taking it that seriously only gives it more weight.
you get a supportive comment and a format critique and respond with snark. gonna need a driver license and at least one active credit card number.
Um...well, at least you admit you have a problem. There's a start. I didn't just wake up good at jokes and debate, it was a 10 year long Rocky 4 montage. Gotta put the work in.
Good on you for doing some self reflection. Not trying to pile on, but one bit of behavior you should look at has nothing to do with debating skills but your penchant to take things personally, hold grudges and make everything about yourself. Look at the Storm thread. You were the one to insert yourself into the convo and for half a page make it about you. You were the one that brought up the knock on your age, which of course just encouraged more people to make fun of you. No one was thinking about it until you inserted yourself in the conversation. Everyone was just freaking out over Storm and talking about his pattern of misbehavior when you felt the need to throw your hat in the ring and get people talking about your bad behavior. This me, me, me give me attention attitude is one of the reason folks think you act like a child, not just your (admittedly) poor debating skills.
You know what? I think this took a fuck load of courage. Anyone who can't see that this is someone who's not only willing to listen to others but also has the backbone to acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses it's your loss. @Federal Farmer and I are usually on opposite sides of any given debate but the guy clearly means well. I do believe the world's problems would be a lot easier to solve if more people could make those sorts of concessions and be willing to change their position in spite of pride. Kudos dude.
You know, the good thing about WF and messageboards generally is that you can do a little research and think about things before you reply. You don't always need to post so reflexively.
As long as you react to the "kid" thing people are going to troll you with it because you can't help yourself, McFly. It's Daytonesque.
Maybe it's because you want to be liked? A lot of behavior on the internet is rooted in that kind of insecurity (I include myself in that). There's nothing wrong with not knowing, though. For what it's worth there's no way to get everyone to like you. Some people won't because they don't understand your perspective, and others won't because they enjoy hurting people. I figure it's better just to find a few people you generally like and respect and try to do well with them.
This was a great deal of introspection, which can be really difficult to do. I appreciate you taking the time to put your thoughts into words, and the courage you had to open up like this. On the kid thing, just don't let it bug you so much. Most of why we do it is the reaction. And some of it is because we're all a little dickish. Ripping on other members is one of Wordforge's favorite past times. And in general, don't take things so personally. If I held a grudge against every member who disagreed with me or called me an idiot, I probably wouldn't post here. In terms of quickly responding or responding with too much emotion, I suggest typing out your response, and clicking preview. Give it a couple of reads before you're sure you wanna click submit. And if you're making a factual claim in a post, spend a few minutes Googling around to find credible support from at least two sources (NOT YouTube videos, please). And hell, why not just post those links in your reply? I've seen you do this occasionally to varying success. And when someone challenges you on a claim, don't take it personally. That kills the debate/discussion. Either stand your ground and provide links supporting your claim, or recognize you may have been wrong and stand down. It sucks to admit you're wrong publicly, but you also learn more from being wrong than from being right. Edit: and you don't necessarily need to follow all of this advice we're offering, but I suggest keeping it in mind as you're posting over the next few weeks.
^Also this. I like a good deal of posters here, but I'm never gonna be able to make everyone like me or always agree with me. I don't take it personally. Besides, what would be the fun in having 100% agreement?
I come here to talk about things with people who mostly disagree with me. It's good to see how others view current events. I never got the impression that @Federal Farmer was insincere for one moment, and I appreciate that.
I'm thinking that wasn't actually snark, more agreement with the assessment and a WF themed paraphrasing.