The OV section

Ok, it's good for a laugh, but is it actually productive?

I've just sent the last 20 odd minutes replying to the moron who calls himself "Einstein" (oh the irony!) in the Cosmopolitans section, I think it was.

Whilst these sort of people are easy to lampoon and make fools of, I would question why these sorts of fourms need to be here.

The 20 mins I spent wasting my time replying to this cretin could have been spent browsing the forums and reading threads that would enhance my understanding of revolutionary syndicalism. I could have watched one of the videos in the education section.

I know I should have been doing this, but it's natural human instinct to stand up for yourself when you are attacked. So these time-wasters are vamprising our time, time that could be spent buliding up our movement in far more productive ways.

Occassionaly, there might be someone from the dogmatic left or the reactionary right that wants to, respectfully (and to me, this is a vital thing) ask questions about our ideology. And if they want to, there should be a section for them to do so.

If they are not respectful, and are patently trolls who will never be convinced by rational argument, then do we really need them here? All they are doing is using up our time, time that could be spent in so many other ways, far more productive ways.

So, I would suggest that if someone, like Einstein or that idiot from Manchester who called us all the "C" word, comes here with an obnoxious attitude, their posts are deleted and they are not allowed to post on the main forum.

Seriously, what is the purpose of allowing such posts and such posters through?

But if someone comes here, respectfully, and genuinely wants to know more about your way of thinking, even if they don't share it at the outset, then have a section where the forum members can answer this person's questions and let them know what we're all about.

If they're patent trolls or moonies from the left and right, just get rid of them as they really aren't doing anything for our cause.

Because if one cannot honestly debate their position, then their position is largely discredited. Yes, there are ultimate value judgments at stake, but persuasion is a necessary component of expansion.

Rev Scare wrote:Because if one cannot honestly debate their position, then their position is largely discredited. Yes, there are ultimate value judgments at stake, but persuasion is a necessary component of expansion.

Yeah, fair point. As much as I tired not to, I did reply to Einstein after I posted this thread. I'm only human!

Perhaps the best way would be to see if the OV section is actually productive, i.e. we actualy make hostile posters think. If we're all wasting our time on patently close-minded trolls, then perhaps we should just concentrate on more productive matters and leave the hopeless to their own paths.

Because I take much pleasure in watching Cosmopolitans get debated and end up looking like idiots, of course!