NationStates Jolt Archive

This thread = rant

For example, the thread on homeschooling alone is 8 pages of emotional rambling. Not once in the 8 pages of the:

"Well *insert schooling method here* children generally score higher than those of *opposite schooling method*" - thread

is a source even sited. I mean how are you supposed to convince me that homeschooled children are smarter than publicly schooled children (or vice versa) when you've got NOTHING to support that claim?

"Well statistically speaking, the rate of oil consumption will triple in the next five years and then slowly level off as oil reserves deplete!"

"That is completely untrue; statistically speaking, our oil supplies will last another five hundred years!!!"

Yeah? Are these all facts? Oh, I wouldn't know as you just pulled that out of your ass and have provided nothing on which to found your ridiculous claims.

I would love to carry on and list all the threads with no sources, but I'd have to sift through pages and pages of emotions and personal stories just to be sure that some smart person didn't decide to actually provide some factual evidence to support their claims.

Then again, I can see why no one tries to support their claims with facts; the other side just mentions how biased the source is and the stories/emotions continue!

Discuss!

And where are your facts, eh, EH?!

You just plucked all of those quotes from thin air, didn't you! DIDN'T YOU!

:D

That was me trying to be funny. To be honest, I don't care. I mean, I prefer when people cite sources, but you can find anything on the Internet anyway...I tend to listen to the whole of the person's argument, not just the statistics.

Could I have statistics and a source on the trend in the number of source-less threads? In graph form, preferably.

This thread = rant

For example, the thread on homeschooling alone is 8 pages of emotional rambling. Not once in the 8 pages of the:

"Well *insert schooling method here* children generally score higher than those of *opposite schooling method*" - thread

is a source even sited. I mean how are you supposed to convince me that homeschooled children are smarter than publicly schooled children (or vice versa) when you've got NOTHING to support that claim?

"Well statistically speaking, the rate of oil consumption will triple in the next five years and then slowly level off as oil reserves deplete!"

"That is completely untrue; statistically speaking, our oil supplies will last another five hundred years!!!"

Yeah? Are these all facts? Oh, I wouldn't know as you just pulled that out of your ass and have provided nothing on which to found your ridiculous claims.

I would love to carry on and list all the threads with no sources, but I'd have to sift through pages and pages of emotions and personal stories just to be sure that some smart person didn't decide to actually provide some factual evidence to support their claims.

Then again, I can see why no one tries to support their claims with facts; the other side just mentions how biased the source is and the stories/emotions continue!

Discuss!

Welcome to internet chat room debate.

We arent solving lifes mysteries here, we are passing time because we are bored. Sources and credibility optional

I've already provided at least one source for my claims, i.e. the thread on homeschooling.

See, this joke would be funny if I had merely complained about no sources, not included one of my own, and had not explained why I included no others.

nope, it doesnt bother me a bit

but i do appreciate it if when someone quotes a firm statistic that they provide some link or citation.

otherwise i just think of it as .... talking.

You're a noob. Don't worry. Soon, you will give up hope and just go with the flow here.

Then again, I can see why no one tries to support their claims with facts; the other side just mentions how biased the source is and the stories/emotions continue!
Exactly, damned if you do, damned if you don't, so why bother wasting the extra effort?

Boards like these are meant for entertainment purposes only.

What?!?! No sources?! The world is doomed!!! (Oh, you want sources that say the world is doomed with that don't you?..... Never mind....)

I've already provided at least one source for my claims, i.e. the thread on homeschooling.

See, this joke would be funny if I had merely complained about no sources, not included one of my own, and had not explained why I included no others.

Pfft. What gave you the impression that my joke should be FUNNY?

Anyway. Most of the older players probably just can't be bothered anymore. When you've been in 100 or so "Evolution vs Creationism" debates, you tend to lose some of that idealism...

What?!?! No sources?! The world is doomed!!! (Oh, you want sources that say the world is doomed with that don't you?..... Never mind....)

http://www.exitmundi.nl/

There you go.

You're a noob. Don't worry. Soon, you will give up hope and just go with the flow here.

I've had four different accounts, I'm far from noob. However, I did come back here from a different forum in which I was used to seeing sources cited to support claims of realism, which would provide the reason for the disparity I see.

[snip]
I don't tend to bother citing a source unless those I am debating with demand it, and even then, sometimes I decide they can look it up themselves if they want. It's not like it's hard to use a search engine.

Discrediting any source whose point they don't agree with gets a little old. Particularly when they haven't made an effort to provide sources themselves. Google is a two-way street.

I've had four different accounts, I'm far from noob. However, I did come back here from a different forum in which I was used to seeing sources cited to support claims of realism, which would provide the reason for the disparity I see.

If you've made an entire thread complaining about the way things happen here, you're a noob. It means you haven't had your spirit and belief in humanity completely crushed yet by this forum. No one who has carried past noob status still has either spirit or belief in humanity left. It's not an insult.

I agree with Nova Roma. If you are going to argue, you should at least bring a little bit of evidence to back you up, lest you look silly when someone comes along with evidence to refute your claims.

i just looked through the last 40 posts of that thread. you arent going to get a better discussion than that on this forum. you must be looking for something else entirely

try posting a "creationism is nonsense" thread and see what you get.

If you've made an entire thread complaining about the way things happen here, you're a noob. It means you haven't had your spirit and belief in humanity completely crushed yet by this forum. No one who has carried past noob status still has either spirit or belief in humanity left. It's not an insult.

and yet your sig gives us all hope!

and yet your sig gives us all hope!

"And learn to love cunnilingus" ?

"And learn to love cunnilingus" ?

I would, but no woman will let me.

"And learn to love cunnilingus" ?
well
yes

the desire to please can restore you faith in humanity

well
yes

the desire to please can restore you faith in humanity

I'd love the opportunity to restore my faith in humanity with you. ;)

The actions of the members of a left-leaning online gaming forum have no influence on my hope in humanity. I don't need to visit a forum to tell me that humanity is doomed; just watch the news for that.

i just looked through the last 40 posts of that thread. you arent going to get a better discussion than that on this forum. you must be looking for something else entirely

I suppose I am.

The actions of the members of a left-leaning online gaming forum have no influence on my hope in humanity. I don't need to visit a forum to tell me that humanity is doomed; just watch the news for that.



I suppose I am.

Left leaning, ha.

*blushing*

i dont see why you would want a debate based on statistics anyway.

post #1 "im right this is my proof"

post#2 "your wrong this is MY proof"

post #3 "this is why your proof sucks"

post #4 "oh yeah i guess youre right"

the end.

dont people write books for this kind of thing? are teens on an internet forum going to do a better job than paid professional researchers? a discussion of ideas and experiences is so much more interesting.

a discussion of ideas and experiences is so much more interesting.

Okay then, lets have an idea.

Okay then, lets have an idea.

i just watched a documentary on the chinese cultural revolution, we could discuss that.

i just watched a documentary on the chinese cultural revolution, we could discuss that.

Why not.

What is it? :confused:

Id say these forums do matter. Everything you read/hear infulences your opinions. Sources can only strengthen your point, so theyre generally a good idea. Id say your opinion on the real world is pretty much worthless if you dont have facts to base it on.

Sources can only strengthen your point, so theyre generally a good idea.

Seconded.

This is a very good point. Nobody on this forum sites any facts (if the have any). What really annoys me is when someone starts a thread with a headline of an article, but they don't give you an article and you begin to reallize that the host didn't even read the article they're talking about.
"If you don't accumulate the knowledge, you can't divulge your opinion," Mrs. Cote 9th grade English. Basicly, know what you're talking about or shut the f up.

Well, there are people on these threads who are very interested in serious debate. I am not sure why they are, perhaps they just like a good argument or maybe they like the feeling of winning such an argument. . .or whatever. So those kinds of people link and site sources left and right. If someone does not site sources they are dismissed by this class of people.
Then there are the people who come to these threads for fun. They idea of running around the net looking for things to back themselves up seems pointless and time consuming because siting these sources will only lead to counter siting and then they have to site something else which earns another counter site, so on and so forth until one person gets tired and stops siting sources and is then declared the loser. This isn't so much fun so they do not bother to site sources in the first place.
I would fall into the second catagory for the most part. I have never, not even once, sited a source to back up an argument. I feel absolutely no shame about this and really don't care if other lose respect or something for me because I didn't put an article from the New York Times outta my butt to back up what I said.
I am here to have fun, not score points as a good debater.
So either way, whatever, site sources, don't site them just be polite and take it easy.

1. We dont discuss scientifically.
2. As said before, you can find almost everything in the internet.
3. Quoting from other sources not available for the others is nearly pointless because no one can look up up whether you quoted correctly.
4. Not every discussion needs sources (e.g. about god, opinions about homosexuality,...)(if facts are available at all)
5. I dont think the problem is that there are to few facts in those discussions, but often there is not a discussion about one question defined before, but rather chit-chat about single aspects (which can be interesting).
For example in the homeschooling thread everyone listed advantages and disadvantages ( and a lot of personal experiences), but it was not clear whether one was discussing about whether homeschooling should be an option or whether it should be mandatory etc.
6. That is just the style newspapers write and often TV reports. Why should we be any better than journalists?

Do any of you debate competitively?

I think forum posters are mostly people who wish they were debaters. Or people who are too stupid to be debaters. Or just morons who think they know everything so they dont need to provide facts.