That's your arguement...?

[Zetatrain]

Also, on the subject of Batman: I'm hearing a lot of arguments to the tune of "Villains like the Joker only exist because of Batman. If Batman didn't exist, there'd be no villains in Gotham."

What a minute...wasn't that literally the plot to one of the episodes of Batman TAS?

 

[Shocksplicer]

Also, on the subject of Batman: I'm hearing a lot of arguments to the tune of "Villains like the Joker only exist because of Batman. If Batman didn't exist, there'd be no villains in Gotham." Um, what? So, by that logic, if we got rid of the Fire Department, there'd be no fires? If we get rid of hospitals, nobody will get sick?

Wow. That may be the worst argument I have ever heard. Let me explain this for you.
The point of the "Joker only exists because Batman does" argument is that villains like the Joker exist because they desire to defeat, or be defeated by, Batman. Batman is, in essence, the source of the problem.

Fires don't see Fire Departments and think "Oh, a challenge!".

 

[Mikeyfell]

I've had people on this site of all places go through my argument and find a typo and say my argument is invalid because I misspelled "purpose" or something.
Fuckin' trolls

But I have an example from my days of having a real life too.

I used to be in debate club in highschool and one of my friends had a bit of a temper so he'd always get disqualified for using "ad hominid" (Just strait up calling someone stupid) and he got sick of that so one day they were talking about fuel efficient modes of transportation and he started going on and on about how everyone should ride motorcycles because 2 wheels is twice as efficient as 4 wheels, and he was doing it in a high pitched squeaky voice until his opponent told him to stop being silly. Then he started jumping up and down behind the lectern yelling "YAY I won, I won, she used ad hominid!"

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

I had an argument with NINE people way back in High School about whether Spaniards came from Spain or Mexico.

But you set them straight and told them they come from Egypt, right?

 

[Starik20X6]

-snip

I've always thought of it as "There are villains, so Batman shows up to deal with them. When there are no villains, Batman disappears again." The whole point of The Dark Knight Rises' opening was "Bruce hasn't been Batman for 8 years because there was no need for Batman. Suddenly Bane shows up, and Bruce has to suit up again'. There's also the whole 'Batman only exists because of the criminals' point, seeing as he wouldn't be Batman if his parents hadn't been murdered in the first place. I'll grant you that in a few cases (in fact, the only two I can think of are Joker and Riddler) there is the desire to best Batman, but it's hardly "it's all shitty because of Batman", which is how it's always presented to me.

 

[Signa]

I've had people on this site of all places go through my argument and find a typo and say my argument is invalid because I misspelled "purpose" or something.
Fuckin' trolls

But I have an example from my days of having a real life too.

I used to be in debate club in highschool and one of my friends had a bit of a temper so he'd always get disqualified for using "ad hominid" (Just strait up calling someone stupid) and he got sick of that so one day they were talking about fuel efficient modes of transportation and he started going on and on about how everyone should ride motorcycles because 2 wheels is twice as efficient as 4 wheels, and he was doing it in a high pitched squeaky voice until his opponent told him to stop being silly. Then he started jumping up and down behind the lectern yelling "YAY I won, I won, she used ad hominid!"

Counter argument for typos: "and that changes my point how?" Though I don't think that works if you have the spelling and grammar of a retard so no one understands your point in the first place. I'm not saying you do, but I don't want someone reading this post and thinking they can get away with "i liek sum ting b4 dat oder ting dose bad stuf"... "U HERD ME!!!"

Also, I laughed out loud at your story about your friend.

 

[Mikeyfell]

I've had people on this site of all places go through my argument and find a typo and say my argument is invalid because I misspelled "purpose" or something.
Fuckin' trolls

But I have an example from my days of having a real life too.

I used to be in debate club in highschool and one of my friends had a bit of a temper so he'd always get disqualified for using "ad hominid" (Just strait up calling someone stupid) and he got sick of that so one day they were talking about fuel efficient modes of transportation and he started going on and on about how everyone should ride motorcycles because 2 wheels is twice as efficient as 4 wheels, and he was doing it in a high pitched squeaky voice until his opponent told him to stop being silly. Then he started jumping up and down behind the lectern yelling "YAY I won, I won, she used ad hominid!"

Counter argument for typos: "and that changes my point how?" Though I don't think that works if you have the spelling and grammar of a retard so no one understands your point in the first place. I'm not saying you do, but I don't want someone reading this post and thinking they can get away with "i liek sum ting b4 dat oder ting dose bad stuf"... "U HERD ME!!!"

Also, I laughed out loud at your story about your friend.

If you don't understand what the other person is trying to say that's one thing, but if you can under stand it and catch a typo and base your whole counter argument on "You misspelled that word therefore you're wrong"
That's what pisses me off.

If somebody's arguing in Leet speak I'd just as soon slowly back away from the thread and forget it ever happened.

 

[WanderingFool]

"You said several! That's only four!"

He does know that several doesn't mean seven right?

Doesnt several mean three or more?

OT: There is a reason I dont talk politics or religion.

 

[Deathmageddon]

I hate it when people try to apply the scientific method/reasoning to metaphysical claims. Like they've never read a science textbook. Metaphysical/theological claims fall under philosophy, not science.

 

[James Joseph Emerald]

Reminds me of the really heated argument I got into a friend of mine over 0.999... = 1.

It took SO LONG and SO MUCH SHOUTING to get through to him the SEVERAL ways in which he was wrong.
It was like:
"0.333333 repeating infinitely is a third, right?"
"Sure."
"0.666666 repeating infinitely is two thirds, right?"
"Sure, but, like--"
"SO 0.999999 repeating infinitely is three thirds, right?"
"It's not the same!"
"WHAT IS THREE THIRDS STEVE?"
"THIS IS SUCH BULLSHIT! YOU'RE TRYING TO TRICK ME!"
"THREE THIRDS IS EQUAL TO ONE, STEVE! THAT IS NOT A TRICK, THAT IS BASIC MATHEMATICS!"

I think the main reason he was so stubborn was because he's a B.Sc. Applied Computing student and I've got a B.A. in Anthropology, which means everything I say related to science is automatically wrong.

Captcha: last straw
Close to it, Cap, close to it...

 

[Dangit2019]

I had an argument with NINE people way back in High School about whether Spaniards came from Spain or Mexico.

So which one of you was right?
jk

One time I tried reasoning with one of those 10 year olds on Xbox Live who fling around "fag" and "retard" like they're advertising pamphlets. It didn't end well.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Do you realize how childish it makes you seem that you are telling people they should care what other people think of them?

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Desiring some degree of maturity from my peers rather than faux-angsty overreaction to everything they disagree with is childish? People posting the "I don't want to live" image aren't interested in discussion of a subject, it's a way to wave the "Check me out, I'm so misanthropic!" flag without engaging anyone.

As for it being somehow childish to care what people think of you, that's a ridiculous argument. Humans are social creatures, we exist in tribal groups, and giving thought to the opinions and feelings of others is necessary for proper integration. People who genuinely don't care what others think are very rare, and rightly so, because those people aren't functioning well as human beings; people who think that claiming they don't care what anyone thinks will make them look cool are distressingly common, especially in certain online communities where acting like a teenager with Aspergers appears to be a mark of social status.

You live long enough you'll figure out it isn't worth your time to care what other people think about you, especially on the internet.

That's another argument I hate, now that you mention it. "If you live long enough" - and the many variants - are just a way of claiming "I know better than you, so shut up". Even if you've read my profile, you know almost nothing about me beyond my name, location and age, and yet you attempt to convey that your life experience (and therefore understanding of the matter at hand) is superior to mine. Maybe it is, I don't know (although the argument that age correlates to wisdom is faulty to say the least), but that's not a good enough reason to automatically dismiss a dissenting opinion by taking on some quasi-parental role, patting the wayward youngster on the head and saying "You'll understand when you're older".

It's like saying "I'm right, but I don't need to explain myself, because clearly you don't have the maturity to understand. When you are wiser, naturally you will come to agree with my position, so I needn't waste my time attempting to convince you"

Though I always found that argument odd myself, I love living on planet. I just want several other people not to.

It's a pretty cool place, when all is said and done. It's got tigers and waterslides and cheeseburgers and blowjobs and Peggle. I'd rather not leave, and I can't think of anyone I hate sufficiently that I'd rather they weren't on the planet either, no mater how much of a dickbag they might be.

 

[SonicWaffle]

But to be fair, searching for meaningful debate on the Internet is like trying to find haute cuisine at a McDonald's (no offense intended to McDonald's... I loves me some Chicken McNuggets, pink slime and all).

Going to have to disagree with you there. The internet contains All Of The Stuff, and logically that includes intelligent debates. It just so happens that the faeces-flinging chimps are louder, and get more of the attention. I've seen - and participated in - plenty of interesting or insightful debates on these very forums, which are not widely noted as a bastion of high culture or even people capable of tying their own shoelaces (I kid, mostly; it always struck me as weird that people hate on the Escapist forums so much, because I don't think we're that bad. Plenty of pillocks, sure, but what large forum doesn't have their share?)

There's a big difference between someone interested in a discussion or debate, and someone who just wants to be right and let you know how right they are, and it's nearly impossible to discern between the two at a glance.

Then perhaps more than a glance is warranted? I make an attempt to respond to everyone who quotes my posts, because I'm here to talk to people, even if it does sometimes take me a few days to get around to it. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, because even if they've posted something idiotic it's possible I'm mis-reading or they were joking or who knows, their idiotic statement might actually be correct and my stance on the matter is wrong.

"I don't want to live..." and to a lesser extent the Willy Wonka meme are quick shortcuts for those who have no real desire to explore or expand their ideas, but would like you to still know how much smarter they are than you, you Internet TOOL.

Sometimes that's true, but I don't think it's always the case. Some people just think it's funny, for some reason. More often than that though, I think it comes from this bizarre trend in online communities where acting like a misanthrope is seen to be "cool" rather than making you look like a 14-year-old. I find it very strange that to some people, talking about how people suck and the world is a horrible place makes a person sound edgy and wise rather than mopey and boring. People are pretty cool, generally speaking, even the ones I don't agree with.

I work with a person (exactly ONE) that disagrees with me on just about every fundamental political, societal, or religious ground, but I can't hate him because he is always willing to listen to me talk, take me seriously, and talk back. We aren't friends and never will be, but I get a lot more out a conversation with him than I do looking at Failblog or Memebase.

A conversation when someone is actually caring about what you say rather than gazing blankly at you trying to marshall their next point is a rare thing, and to be cherished! I have a similar person in my life, though in this case he's a best friend rather than a co-worker. We disagree on a lot of things, but that always makes for interesting conversation.

EDIT: Though I am willing to admit that I have a bad habit of confusing "analogy" with "straw man" when arguing with people... it's not fair, but I do so love a good analogy (After all... I compared people to Chicken Nuggets above.)

A McAnalogy, if you will!

 

[Guffe]

I overheard a conversation where one girl asked another what her problem with a third girl was.

Girl A: "I know she comes off as serious but she's a laugh to be around once you get to know her. Not afraid of laughing at her own expense either."

Girl B: "It's not that I think she's boring."

Girl A: "Something she said then?"

Girl B "No..."

Girl A: "What then? I swear you're ignoring her on purpose."

Girl B: "She is just so short!"

Me: what

I am laughing my ass of here!!!!!!
Oh My God that's perfect xD

I don't have anything really to add to the topic, I am bad at remembering stuff like this.

 

[ecoho]

While playing League of Legends
*An ally has been slain*
"You shouldn't have been all the way down there without any wards dude, what were you thinking?"
"LAAAAG"
"You were farming there for 30 seconds with all of the enemy team missing"
"BECAUSE OF LAG NOOB"
"Lag doesn't have you make bad decisions, you keep feeding them"
"STFU OR I FEED"
"You already are feeding"
"NOOB, BECAUSE I'M LAGGING"

this oh god this! i mean how hard is it for people to stay in a dam group or just not push alone?
OT: also from League of Legends, people who call others noobs. Noob means new you idiots the word your looking for is ether scub which mean really bad but willing to try advice or nub which mean someone who thinks they're good but are worse then a scrub since they wont take advice and blame the whole team because they suck.

 

[Sexy Devil]

Oh, if I had a cent for every time I could sum up the other person's rebuttal of my argument as "My life's experience is different than yours therefore you're wrong and have no clue what you're talking about"...

I'm also going to stick the ever-reliable XKCD into this one, too, by the way:

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/argument_victory.png

Because I often feel in these internet arguments that I should just say "Screw you guys, I'm taking a water slide. WHEEEEeeeee---"

XKCD is always so relevant. It's wonderful.

Anyway back in year 10 I was having the deoxygenated blood argument. People were giving me the same old shitty "LOOK AT YOUR ARM! IT'S BLUE!" line. I responded by telling them that it's just how your skin screws with the light, and it's not the actual colour. Even pulled up a picture of a bag of blood lifted from a vein and they still wouldn't believe me. So that argument went on for a few months. Started it up again last year (year 12) and they quickly conceded that it was the single most retarded argument they've ever made.

Feels good winning.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

"Yeah well you're a fag who likes dicks in his ass!"
-My Brother at the end of every argument ever

But have you ever seriously considered his argument? It sounds like you don't even acknowledge it.

 

[SonicWaffle]

I remember once when I was still a cocky atheist I argued with a religious girl about the the bible. Whenever I put doubt in it she would open the book and read lines to me, and when I challenged her to explain to me why it's the unquestionable truth, she just opened the damn bible again to give me a different quote.

"The bible is true"
"How do you know?"
"Well, because it says so in the bible"
"And how do you know that's true?"
"Because the bible is true!"

Repeat until you want to start slamming your head into a wall.

My personal gripe with this stuff is that a good friend and drinking buddy of mine, though reasonably open-minded about religious issues (being a lesbian former drug-and-alcohol addict helps, I think), is a creationist. She doesn't talk about it much, never pushes it in my face, but deep down she believes it. When I ask her to explain the belief, she counters with something like "Well, science hasn't found all the answers yet. They used to think the atom was the smallest thing possible, and then we split that. What next? Maybe all the rules that you think are set in stone will be different tomorrow, so how can you rule out what I believe?"

It really frustrates me, because as an agnostic I'm not denying that there is potentially more going on than we know about, but because by this point there is absolutely nothing we might discover that would prove biblical creationism true. It's not like playing Jenga, where pulling out a brick (in this analogy, that would be disproving some key part of the evolutionary hypothesis or something) causes the whole tower to topple; there's still a whole mountain of other evidence against her personal beliefs. She won't listen to this, though - whenever I try to explain it, she just tells me I'm being close-minded, and that just because she hasn't been proven right yet doesn't mean she never will be.

 

[RustlessPotato]

"Person starts argument"
"I start winning the argument"
"Person responds with :" oh my god, who cares ?"

I HATE that. I remember in secondary school, when somebody made a retarded remark, I always felt the need to point out faults in their reasoning. Which was always answered with "who cares".

 

[Ytomyth]

The problem with arguing about religion is it impossible to prove wrong for the same reasons as magic. If you ever do prove something about the religion wrong then they can just say god made it that way and thus it is impossible to ever really make any real ground. I find it funny that we neither prove god exists or doesn't exist but there are so many people all over the world certain of either side.

Well, mostly I just tried to argue about religion. Not about the (non-)existance of some god out there. I don't know what's there, he/she/it might be or might be not, it aint my problem. But I do know I do -not- believe in whatever any religion is telling us to believe.

It is quite possible to logically "prove" them wrong if you just grab a bible and actually read it. But I'm afraid that's going really far off-topic there.

In general, I just don't argue about it anymore. You (or rather: they) believe what you believe, I will have faith in me. Can we live on now? =D

OT: "Funny" incident today at work, I wanted to use some equipment for moving stuff and my boss said I couldn't because he wanted to keep it close, just in case... It would've taken about 2 mins to use it, but in the end we spend 5 minutes having a row about it and...well, it ended with either me leaving that stupid thing where it was or getting fired. >.> (Power-crazy moron! ) He did not say it but his argument was kind of "I'm the boss. =D Do as I say."
In retrospect, I should've just done it....oh well.