The day the ID died

[Alpha]

Trying to have a decent debate in ID is like trying to have a conversation with Glenn Beck. Everything you say will get turned against you and you'll get labeled with at least one sweeping generalization or pigeon-holed into a social group you aren't a member of.

Hahaha (re: Beck).

I may or may not be guilty of that myself. But it's human nature to pigeon-hole people, to some extent.

So you would be willing to post in ID again if people don't "turn everything against you". Would I be correct in saying that you would like constructive, rather than destructive discussion?

So, the question becomes, how does one form a constructive argument, based not only on their own ideas, but the ideas of others? If that's a skill members of ID have to develop, then I'm willing to try.

But how to extend that to more and more people? I would suggest that people have to lead by example. Give credit to people who are doing this. Tell them, and the discussion at large, why Idea A is creative, holistic, inclusive, constructive. Congratulate them for it. Maybe even expand on it.

This will take more than "waiting and seeing", however. If you want a reality, go out and make it. It's idealism until you start trying.

Also, to Howling Wind. When I start my own threads, I start them usually because I know something about the topic. It is harder to start a topic about something I do not know about.

So, generally, when I do participate, it is because I feel that I am knowledgeable about it.

But if you don't feel that way about a topic, that does not preclude discussion. Try read the arguments. If you don't understand something, feel free to ask. If an ID participant is unable to explain something in terms everyone can understand, then they don't even understand what they are discussing themselves.

Offer a new perspective. Nothing is wrong. The only real difference between ID and GC is that in ID you have to demonstrate that you have a reason to hold an opinion. It doesn't have to be an essay, but there has to be some sign that you have a logical perspective.

If anyone behaves angrily to a fresh perspective, it is their loss. And it is even more their loss if they are trying to build a constructive argument, which is what I intend to be encouraging in the future.