On dealing with idiots on the Internet

Sometimes I will make a post on the Internet which happens to be true, and perhaps precisely because it is true, it will hit too close to home for some people and they’ll take offense. Even if the post was not particularly aggressive, but just true, it will be apparently willfully misinterpreted as aggressive I’ll find myself in a flame-fight, which is somewhere I really don’t want to be.

It will usually be the case that someone has put up straw man arguments against my position, or is just wrong. The thing is, this always leaves me with something of a dilemma. Invariably the person doing the complaining will not have a valid argument, and I can very easily defeat them in argument, time and time again. But I have found they will never let it lie at that, even when I do it gently. They will sometimes even agree that I am right when I respond to them, but then continue with some other weird tangential point, trying to cling onto some kind of argument apparently for the sake of it, or simply because they misunderstand.

Now, I know this will happen, and I also know that also that while I am very busy and just wanted to make a considered point and get on, this could be anybody I’m dealing with. It is obviously someone who hasn’t properly thought through their ideas, but it is also quite probably someone who really has nothing better to do except play devil’s advocate, argue from ego, and waste my time.

Given that the person is a) not making a valid point b) is unlikely to modify their position when proven wrong (indeed is especially unlike to do so when proven wrong), c) probably has an unending amount of time to waste coming back to me and - potentially - d) is just being insulting, there are a lot of reasons why we should completely ignore such characters. They are not worthy of a moment’s attention.

But if we do this - ignore idiots - we run the risk of it appearing that we “could not” reply, daren’t, or whatever. Therein lies the dilemma, and it’s why I disabled comments on this site.

Well, these people are beyond help but in answer to this dilemma we have to remember the purpose of the posts in the first place. They’re not only to expose stupid ways of thinking to idiots, but also - very largely - to say to decent people “come out”. We can fight the culture of social decadence, glorification of bad values, and promotion of religious delusion. They’re addressed to wavering people in the middle, not the nutters who reply, and they’re addressed to people who are already inclined to agree but who remain quiet. They are as much intended to give encouragement and support to these people as to expose idiocy to the perpetrators themselves.

This being the case, it doesn’t really matter whether a reply is made or not, but I would like to put it on record that I am never in a position where I cannot reply. It’s certainly conceivable to me that I might be wrong occasionally. If so, I’ll say so, but it hasn’t happened yet. When I leave a debate it is only ever because it is not worth staying in - the participants have proved themselves under-qualified, on the grounds outlined above.

Whenever I don’t reply, I trust it is always obvious to intelligent people that I could have done so, but deemed it not worth my time. And it will be obvious I am in no way afraid, since I continue to speak out. I might reply occasionally, if blatant falsehoods are being stated. But once or twice is usually enough - my point is then made. If the person continues just the same it is obvious to me that the conversation is fruitless, and while they may have nothing better to do, I certainly have, and while they may waste their own time I am not about to allow them to waste mine.

And you can extend what I say to any other rare, intelligent individuals on Internet forums who strangely vanish from debates.