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Online debating


Amylisa

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I have to say off the bat I am venting here.  I had someone I do not know come on my facebook page to 'correct' me when I posted the quote by St. Kolbe....Whoever will not have Mary Immaculate as his Mother, will not have Christ for his brother.  

Seems to me no matter what reply I give to an objection, it is basically ignored. The other party always seems to assume I have not read the  bible.

If nothing else it shows me I have a LONG way to grow in humility....I was doing ok until they said i need to open the bible and read it in humility. And they'll pray for me.  Ugh.  And this person is young enough to be one of my children.  

Just so tired of this.  I don't go on a stranger's facebook page to voice my opposition to what they choose to put on their page.  There are no manners on the internet apparently.

How have you guys dealt with similar issues??  I never seem to have the right answer for people.

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just don't get into debate with people online.  Its pointless.  To many people will mess with you for fun or will say anything because they hide behind a computer.  I suggest to just ignore people who post on your facebook to try and start a debate with you

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Nihil Obstat

I disagree. You are so very wrong. So very, very wrong, it is sickening. Repent, heathen, from your stark wrongness.

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6 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

I disagree. You are so very wrong. So very, very wrong, it is sickening. Repent, heathen, from your stark wrongness.

^Exhibit A of Havok's point :P

23 hours ago, Amylisa said:

I have to say off the bat I am venting here.  I had someone I do not know come on my facebook page to 'correct' me when I posted the quote by St. Kolbe....Whoever will not have Mary Immaculate as his Mother, will not have Christ for his brother.  

Seems to me no matter what reply I give to an objection, it is basically ignored. The other party always seems to assume I have not read the  bible.

If nothing else it shows me I have a LONG way to grow in humility....I was doing ok until they said i need to open the bible and read it in humility. And they'll pray for me.  Ugh.  And this person is young enough to be one of my children.  

Just so tired of this.  I don't go on a stranger's facebook page to voice my opposition to what they choose to put on their page.  There are no manners on the internet apparently.

How have you guys dealt with similar issues??  I never seem to have the right answer for people.

 

I would suggest saying, in as much charity and humility as you can muster, that you feel they are not listening, and that you do not wish to continue a fruitless discussion. Tell them you'll pray for them and for yourself, that you might both come to know the truth (bonus points if you word it in such a way that you're paraphrasing John 8:32). That way you don't come across as passive-aggressive. 

Online manners are very interesting. Was this person a facebook "friend" of yours? If not, I would suggest changing your settings so that only friends can see your posts. Different people have different understandings of online etiquette. Some people view and use their facebook page as a blog, and expect the sort of thing that frustrates you. For example, I have a lot of facebook "friends" who I have never met in real life, who I befriended for the purpose of networking. In a lot of cases, we will engage in debates, and it's generally understood that people will just jump into the discussion. That being said, it does seem that this person was incredibly rude in how they did this, and I'm sorry this was a frustrating experience. 

 

 

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I appreciate your responses.  I feel frustrated if I can't post things publicly... but yeah, if you don't put your audience as friends only than basically anyone can chime in.

 

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I've discussed and debated on Phatmass since 2000, when Dust first started this site, both as a faithful Catholic and as a proffessed Atheist.  At times the site was very active.  I've learned a few things along the way.

People are astoundingly complex. You can't be sure what they're saying is entirely what they intend, nor what they hear and interpret  from you is really what you meant.  Toss in the loss of human communication dimensions (visual, audio, cultural) cues that we depend on in analog life, of course there is going to be painful miscommunications?online.  It's been called "butt hurt" here.  

You can't easily argue, bully, cajole, or manipulate people into changing their mind, being your version of reasonable, or being kind in real life face to face interaction.  It's impossible to do it via online interaction. You can only change your own self into being kinder and more reasonable.  We all knows how frustrating dealing with ourselves can be, LOL. 

I try deal with it by reminding myself to let it go before I mirror the jerk that is annoying the crop out of me.  Sometimes that works, sometimes I look back and think I should try that NEXT time. 

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SaintOfVirtue

I take every debate to the extent of Godwin's Law and a healthy dose of sarcasm which is sure to be misinterpreted online. 

Edited by SaintOfVirtue
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