Close, but no cigar.
Six years ago I wrote about my passive participation
on a list devoted to Arab-Jewish dialogue. Even though the participants on this
list were ostensibly interested in furthering the dialogue, rather than the argument,
tempers were always flaring. Simply because of how easy it might have been in
this context to call up Godwin's law, this list wasn't a very logical place to
find it. If people want to yell back and forth, there are easier ways of doing
this than joining a list devoted to dialogue. Of course I've encountered heated
argument in various discussions and lists I've visited, but even though name calling
can be a pleasant spectator sport, I usually don't hang around if I sense that
things are developing in that direction.
Go to: How to lose an online argument.