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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 3, 2022

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We saw that, but only to a minimal extent.

"I concede this happened, but it's not a big deal."

Okay. Yes it was.

In any case it ended years ago, and it is not in force now, so you are free to make whatever arguments you like on the subject.

Yet it still happened, and only against a right-wing hobby horse.

This one I strongly disagree with. I spent quite a bit of time arguing with the poster in question, and even longer observing their methods. They got away with what they did because they were very, very good at their particular game.

"The norms are fine and not implicitly leftist because they enable traditional leftist methods of trolling" is not convincing me. Yes, Darwin managed to skirt by. He would not in an environment more to my liking.

I don't think I've actually seen this. As mentioned above, I've seen a lot of long-time Blues flame out or get banned, and it's not obvious to me that there's actually a disparity in bans between reds and blues.

If you add up all the bans, I'm confident you'll find more right-leaning than left-leaning names on it. For the obvious reason: incivility is a more typical right-coded transgression, and by far the most common reason for anyone to get banned.

I disagree that there's a requirement for "pathological" civility or gullibility here. I don't think there's a position you personally hold that can't be presented here to good effect. Yes it requires effort, and yes, there is some level of bias baked into the nature of the place, and yes, the norms can often be annoying. Lots of things are annoying; a big part of maturity is learning to accept that fact with equanimity, and not let it distract you from the business at hand.

I just the other day copped a warning for calling out a transparent bad-faith troll. Because calling people out is not something you're supposed to do here. That's a thoroughly bad status quo.

I also reject your definition of maturity.

I just the other day copped a warning for calling out a transparent bad-faith troll.

No, you copped a warning for calling someone a bad-faith troll. Subtle but significant difference there. The fact that this particular user was a long-time poster who has never had a history of trolling of any kind made it transparently obvious that you were just throwing a tantrum and namecalling because someone contradicted you.

Because calling people out is not something you're supposed to do here. That's a thoroughly bad status quo.

This is correct, though. "Calling people out," besides being obnoxious teen girl behavior more suitable for LiveJournal or Tumblr, is not productive. You may argue with people. You may disagree with them. You may express opinions about the quality of their arguments. You may not just fling insults because you've decided someone is a bad-faith troll and therefore you're "calling them out."

The fact that this particular user was a long-time poster who has never had a history of trolling of any kind made it transparently obvious that you were just throwing a tantrum and namecalling because someone contradicted you.

Your inability to not be fooled by transparent sneering does you no credit. You should replace this inappropriate pride of yours with a healthy dose of shame.

This is correct, though.

I know. Thanks for backing me up.