RE: Navy - humour

I'll give you the age thing, you have a point there.

Your also right about the opinions, but only to a certain extent. When I said:"No one is ever wrong, but no one is truly ever right... ..everyone is right in there own opinion..." I meant in things that cant be proven, because thats where a persons opinion truly takes form.

"But just as someone has the right to hold an opinion, the rest of us have the right to question it. And this is a good thing. There's an old saying, "I never learned anything new from someone I agree with." By comparing, contrasting and debating one another's opinions we are able to test the validity of our own beliefs and we are able to learn more about the other's beliefs."

Of course everyone has the right to question it, but in that same ideal, they cant question something without first considering it, and seeing it there way. If you go into something without an open mind, you'll never learn anything. If you go in, ready to try and see something from another persons view point, you learn a lot more then you could have by not, even if you decide that the person is wrong, at least you learned how another persons mind works and thinks.

"I would like to think that AT60, myself and any others who wish to join in, can debate without resorting to ad hominem arguments or needless flames."

I wasnt quite sure what you meant by this,could you explain?

Actually, I find these discussions can be educational. Two opposing views can help define a topic.

May I bring up the point that centuries ago, it was land domination that gave power but not anymore. More land meant more place to grow food for exchange of other goods. Now however, the food market is no longer the the dominant way to make money. Things like technology, movies and computers are the growing industries. This doesn't need land just highly educated poeople, therefore expanding out boarders has become unnecessary.

A large military is also one of the things that will ultimately bring US down. Using funds for a large military is diverting funds from other programs including education.

More and more the US is becoming a country with an extremely rich minority and a larger improverished majority. They are being forced to hire highly educated from beyond their borders to continue to grow and allowing other counries to create technology. And since these growing industries are where the money is, their market source will ultimately shrink.

Furthermore, Canada created Nato as a peacekeeping tactic realizing creating a proper military to protect Canada would almost become an impossible task due it's size. We don't have the population to protect every boarder edge from invasion particularly up North. The most we could create is an early warning system which technically, doesn't protect us.

Being a peacekeeping country has allowed us to put funds into building roads and education which has made us one of the best countries to live in.

Flaming is an internet term for giving a verbal tongue lashing. It can be long and eloquent, or it can be a stream of explitives. Quite often the only point of a flame is to publicly belittle the other person, which is why they hamper any useful discussion.

Ad Hominem is latin for "against the man". It means to attack the person and not the argument being made.

Example:
Albert says, "I think that carrots are very nutritious."
Betty responds with, "You would say that because you're a vegetarian. You just want to control everything that we eat."

Betty's argument is ad hominem in that it doesn't once address the relative nutritional value of carrots, but instead attacks Albert.



When someone starts attacking you personally, and not your argument, it means that any useful discussion has come to an end. Quite often it's because they can't counter your actual argument, but are too arrogant or proud to admit they may be wrong.

Oh - sorry.
No - of course it wasn't aimed at you. I've really been enjoying our exchange. It was just a general statement that I feel everyone on the forum with the odd exception here is mature enough to discuss this without it ending up in fisticuffs.

Dont be sorry, I cant read latin, thats all, so I wasnt sure.

aww, Im so proud, lol.

Actually - I'm just a City Rep, which means I don't have the power to ban. But even if I did have that power, to use it simply because you disagreed with me would be sophomoric and arrogant to say the least. Not something I would ever do. Only malicious posts and foolish ad hominems draw my ire.

Feel free to speak honestly and openly with me.

Well of course that's what my profile says - I am a very important person, would you not agree?

The CRs are all listed as VIPs, but they don't have much in the way of mod powers. That's why our names are uniformly blue - so that we don't get mistaken for someone who can settle an argument with the touch of a button.

Now that isnt right. to be able to settle it just by pushing a button. Im mean like sure, if theres swearing or its getting out of control. But if its just because there sick of it then they should have no right. No offense to those of you reading it who can push a button, i mean no dis respect, im just saying to decide whos right or wrong in an argument that isnt out of control, it shouldnt be up to you.

Agreed Launch.

I've been to a good many forums over the past couple of years, and I have developed some strong opinions of how a moderator should behave.

I think of it like a party. The moderator is the host. A good host accomodates their guests. Sees to it that they're having a good time. A good host will come up with new and interesting things to keep things going - but still gives the guests room to do their own thing.

When a debate or an argument breaks out - the host is there to keep things in check. If things have devolved to random insults, then the good host offers the opportunity for the offending parties to cool down. Throwing a guest out of a party should be the absolute last thing a host should ever do - reserved only for those whose sole purpose is to disrupt the party, ruining it for everyone else.

Facillitating discussion. Seeing to it that everyone enjoys their time in the forum. That is the job of a moderator. Anything short of that, and you just have somebody running under the illusion that they run the show. But force things a little to strong, and a little to often, and you stifle conversation. A discussion forum without discussion is a very sad thing indeed.

Just my humble opinion.

[image=http://webhome.idirect.com/~shmi/evilplan.jpg]

I'd ban you Admiral Thrawn. I'd ban you aaaalllllllllllll!

(Of course, this is why no moderaterator in their right mind would ever give me admin powers...)

HEY YOU! In the corner~! You blinked before I did! Your Banned!

I agree with you tragic lad.

AT60 - Don't slam Vert, not even in jest, please. He was a *krunk*ing good mod.

Cris~

I like the sound of that. Tragic, I believe you would make a very good mod. So how do we go about making you a mod?

How much does the gig pay?
Seriously though- I appreciate it, but my chores as City Rep keep me hopping as it is.

Full time job, the half dozen or so other forums that I circulate about, and drawing the occasional web-comic take up the rest of the time. Snatching whatever moments are left in the day, I have some moments to be with my lady love and a spare couple hours each week to catch the new episodes of Buffy and the West Wing. Lord knows what I'm going to do if Enterprise turns out to be a half-way decent show.

I do appreciate your votes of confidence - but for now I'm happy to just be a City Rep.

alright then too bad, you would have been great. You should teach all the mods how to do it right then, lol