I suppose that specifically I am wondering if there are any things you do to perhaps:

  1. stay calm
  2. calm the other person down
  3. get them to understand you better
  4. understand their point of view
  5. diffuse trolls
  6. just be a good person who wants to participate in a conversation that enhances your understanding of others, different cultures, and the world and how it works
  • Hyperreality@kbin.social
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    7 months ago

    Also that Sartre quote:

    Never believe that [they] are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. [They] have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.

    This being said, the Socratic method sometimes works. Just keep asking them questions and let them argue with themselves.

    Obviously not everyone online is a troll.

    • OpenStars@startrek.website
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      7 months ago

      Depends on what you mean by “works” - it won’t change their minds, though I suppose you mean it can help reveal their style to other onlookers.

      It is like arguing with children, except that’s fun! :-D