"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." -- Frank Zappa.
There goes 60% of the blogosphere right there!
Seriously though, I think Zappa had a point of sorts. I also think one of the real weaknesses of the blogosphere (and of online discussion in general) is that it so often generates far more heat than light. Ah, the fond illusion that somehow, if only you can whack the other person over the head with your argument hard enough, you will somehow achieve something of value... Most online food fights are a waste of time and energy.
Fortunately on my previous blog I almost never had to deal with any of this. In part this was because I had a small readership, a few dozen regulars, and never more than about 350 page views per day. In part it was because I just happened to attract an unusually civilized group of commenters. I was blessed. And I was more than content to leave to other blogs the rigid, the angry, the deranged, those who are deluded to think that spittle-flecked arglementation leads anywhere worthwhile...
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