It's my opinion man

[King Aragorn]

So here you are, typing away at that little box in whatever forum you visit, perhaps it's about why this movie is super flawed, or why Assassin's Creed Revelations is a failed abortion that should have stayed in the canned projects bin, and then you hit the post button in reply to the person who claims otherwise, and you get a reply.
''It's like my opinion man''.
How do you feel when this happen? to be honest I just can't stand this. It just defeats the point of a forum when all we are going to do is typing away and expecting no replies, we have blogs for that. When you post an opinion, expect it to be challenged, argued, debated, you name it. This is honestly the only place where I haven't gotten that type of comment. The more annoying one is when people need you to shove IMO IMO on everything so they get the message that's its bloody subjective. Did I ever suggest it isn't? no? then why do you think otherwise?

Okay went on a bit of a rant here, but what do you think of this dilemma we often see on the magical land of internet?

 

[Queen Michael]

Yeah, it bugs me as well. I always try to reply with something along the lines of "I know that it is; I wasn't saying it's not. I was trying to explain why I disagree."

 

[tippy2k2]

The answer to this is the same answer to the low content rule:

Why

That's about what it comes down to. You can have any opinion you want. There are PLENTY of opinions that I have that everyone on the internet seems to disagree with (I made a list once, I may have given a dozen people ulcers after they read it ) but I can tell you why for anything I ever have written ever. If I can't, then that is either a stupid opinion or an ignorant one.

To use the code of conduct, you can say that "I like pie" but you should have something to back that up.

 

[madwarper]

How do you feel when this happen?

It depends on the context. If the topic is about something objective, then there are no opinions about the matter. Only facts.
If the topic is about something subjective, then whatever. They have their opinion and I have mine. There's nothing wrong with them being at odds.

When you post an opinion, expect it to be challenged, argued, debated, you name it.

Are you trying to convince someone else that their opinion is wrong and needs to be changed?

I mean, I could mention a certain movie trilogy that was adapted from novels that are commonly celebrated as the cornerstone of modern fantasy. Now, I can objectively state that the events of the films is different from that of the novels. And, I can subjectively state that the films were mediocre as independent works, and as travesties as adaptations. Faithful on only the most basic level of plot. And, the characters hollow imitations absent of the life the author instilled in them.

You want to challenge that? Argue about it? Debate it? Can you do anything other than put up your own opinion?

 

[King Aragorn]

Nah, but others will question it and compare it with their opinions, point of views will be shared across and that creates discussion. What I can do about the example you presented, is explain to you why I disagree and put up counter points to your argument and points supporting mine. You can argue that this is just fancy wording and it is just both of us putting up our opinions, but it's far more fruitful as discussion than just killing it all.

 

[DementedSheep]

Depends on what it's in response to. "in my opinion X is a fun film to watch" is fair enough. There will be reasons why but I don't really think you need to explain them and you can't be wrong about that. You might not even know why because it's often difficult to explain why you like something. Just expect that if you're putting that on a forum people will give their opinion back and you should explain why if you are able/ can be bothered. "It's just my opinion" doesn't really forward discussion.

It's just my opinion it not a valid response to anything that isn't personal enjoyment or preference. It is not a shield that means people can't disagree with it, debate it or call you out if it's stupid or just plain factually inaccurate. People who use it to try and defend themselves when they are being ignorant or bigots make me want to take a bat to their face. It also annoys when people respond with "well that just your opinion!". Yes it is! do have to a put a "IMO" disclaimer on every post? of course its my opinion unless I'm actually listing off known facts.

 

[MysticSlayer]

It really depends. If the person makes a quick comment that they don't bother to back up, then I have little problem with someone making the comment, "That's just your opinion," without bothering to offer an alternative viewpoint. An example would be someone saying, "BioShock Infinite was unquestionably a masterpiece/disaster" or "There's no denying Mass Effect 2 is the best/worst in the series." Comments like that are completely worthy of an equally thoughtless response, at least if the person making the comment makes it as if it is just common knowledge.

Otherwise, if someone is going to put the effort into explaining why they disagree with your opinion and all you can say is, "It's my opinion," then you just shouldn't respond in the first place. At least they don't have to feel like they just wasted their time trying to communicate with you.

 

[Doclector]

Yeah. It's fine to have an opinion, but explain it. It doesn't even have to be an explanation that people agree with, just some rationale as to why.

I remember once I commented about AC4 and people not wanting to give it a chance, and I got a load of people saying it was absolutely terrible, but they actually wouldn't say why, and acted offended when I asked why. The only legitimate reason I got out of anyone, wait, the only reason I got out of anyone, was that someone didn't like the fact that you don't actually do a lot of "assassin" stuff, which is a fair enough point, it's a little absurd that ASSASSIN'S creed four seems to encourage you being about as subtle as a cannonball through a cabin window 90% of the time, but nobody else would state a reason.

 

[FalloutJack]

Posting an opinion is one thing. I have plenty. The question is...do you have anything relevent to say to change my views? Facts help. I like facts. Opinions thrown down at me need to be more than a few words of disagreement. Frankly, I try to disengage when I have little else to say, but some people keep talking even when they have nothing to say. It's no fun talking to someone whose words do nothing to move me when I have already said my peace and then some. The quantity you speak is not as important as the quality you speak. (Although, I have also been quite verbose as well on a number of subjects.)

 

[dyre]

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man!

Honestly I haven't seen this phrased misused against me in a long, long, time. Most people I argue with try to come up with rational arguments, though sufficiently vague/abstract arguments might warrant the use of opinions.

 

[Waffle_Man]

Quite simply, it's because a lot of people use forums as a way to socialize, not to have exhaustive intellectual discussions. Hell, even this thread contains little more than a feedback loop of distaste not dissimilar from shouts of "YEAH SCREW THAT GUY" that one might hear in a bar when the subject of politics is brought up. While I get frustrated with how stagnant discussion on the net can be, certain periods in my social life have made it really easy to sympathize with people trying to fill in a certain niche in their existence. Thus, I continue to read discussions daily while very rarely offering my thoughts on any given matter.

 

[ThreeName]

I've just been having an argument with someone who claims that vaccines cause autism, and when given evidence to the contrary he said he still just "believed" they did and they were dangerous "In his opinion". It's not about opinion you fuckwit, it's about fact, fuck you. I'm not going to "agree to disagree", you're demonstrably wrong. Fuck off.

I find that much more infuriating than people who use the opinion defense when it actually applies to opinion.

 

[anthony87]

If someone says "that's just my opinion" my response tends to be along the lines of "So? I could say it's my opinion that shit tastes like chocolate but I'd still be wrong".

"Opinion" isn't some magic word you can hide behind to stop yourself being wrong, the sooner people learn this the better.

 

[bug_of_war]

Okay went on a bit of a rant here, but what do you think of this dilemma we often see on the magical land of internet?

There's no problem with using, "that's my opinion" as a stopping point. Sometimes people just don't want to argue, especially if they've had to do it many times before on the same subject. For example, most game threads where it's all about "worst ending" end up having dozens of people say, "Mass Effect for obvious reasons". I disagree with them, but we've all argued about that games' quality so much that it's easy just to leave it and say, "it's just my opinion".

I think a real problem that is arising though is people saying something is terrible in every way instead of accepting that they just don't like it.

 

[Sarge034]

''It's like my opinion man''.

I think it depends on the context. If someone has said their subjective thoughts on a matter and they keep having the same conversation over and over again explaining their views with the same people then I think the "It's my opinion and you aren't going to change it" is perfectly acceptable. However, if someone states something and refuses to explain or discuss the matter past "It's my opinion" then they probably have nothing of value to add to the conversation.

 

[Xdeser2]

Look....

I love games as much as the next person...but people take them wayyy to seriously, as if their opinion IS fact, The idea that an opinion has to be backed up to be "valid" is entirely missing the point of an opinion in the first place. This is a subjective medium, and as shitty as it seems, there is no real "This game is objectively good/bad because..." you're just gonna have to deal with it, because it's entirely valid to respond with "its just like, your opinion man" when its about something subjective. Because, in the end, what your getting pissed over is a video game. Not THAT important in the grand scale of life lol

I can understand this, however, if were talking about concrete facts.

 

[King Aragorn]

No, you do have to support your opinion with valid reasoning otherwise what the hell is the damn point? I can state all Middle Eastern people deserve to be bombed because it's my opinion *not my actual opinion by the way, just for the record haha* without giving any valid reasoning. When you just go ''my opinion'' it kills discussion and means you have absolutely nothing of worth to add, tbh.
Also, definition of opinion:
a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
"that, in my opinion, is right"
synonyms: belief, judgement, thought(s), school of thought, thinking, way of thinking, mind, point of view, view, viewpoint, outlook, angle, slant, side, attitude, stance, perspective, position, standpoint.

Doesn't say anything about it lacking valid reasoning behind it so I fail to see how it defeats the point.

 

[Yopaz]

An opinion can't always be explained down to rational reason and that's OK. However if you can't give a rational explanation for your opinion do not state it as a fact, do not make it look like you intend it to be an objective statement.

I am always hard pressed to explain why I don't like Bioshock. I am unable to say anything I don't like about the setting, the mechanics or the concept. Yet I don't like it.

So I stick with "I don't like Bioshock" rather than the internet friendly "Bioshock is objectively bad".