Originally Posted by Val
Originally Posted by islandofapples
How do you guys like to debate?

Because I tend to state my opinions but also play devil's advocate a bit.

I like to debate by presenting information that's supported by evidence. Interpretations may differ, but the evidence has to be there.

This is just my opinion, but sometimes playing "devil's advocate" as I've seen you practice it here can come across as being deliberately inflammatory. As Iucounu said, continuing on a course of action with known consequences = intent to cause those consequences.

You may think you're being clever/just trying to have a bit of fun/probing, but you may come across very differently to many or most others. Maybe this is why you've only found one person in five years who likes your style of "debating." To me, some of your stuff the last few days isn't debating. It's poking people in the eye, wondering why they get wound up, and then blaming them for a natural reaction.

I mentioned in an earlier thread that we all have strong opinions here, and that I like that. But I should have qualified my statement with, "and we're mostly really good at backing up our statements with evidence. We don't just toss them out to inflame others with nothing to back them up."

If you poke someone in the eye, don't act surprised if he gets angry.

Point taken. I will have to step back and really ask myself why I enjoy debating this way and whether or not it is a good way to do things (and if there is a better and equally fulfilling) way to do them.

And I do have family members that will say absolutely outrageous things to see what the result will be, so maybe I need to take a good hard look at how that dysfunctional way of communicating has influenced my own style.