Quote:
Originally Posted by ProDarwin
YOU'RE WRONG! J/k.
IMO, There is nothing wrong with telling someone they are wrong - especially if you have the knowledge/background/data to back up your claim. People are often wrong (myself included) and it's a fact of life.
There IS something wrong with telling someone "You are an idiot" or making personal attacks.
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I'm glad you represented that as your opinion and not as fact, because it's a really BAD idea to tell someone they're incorrect about their assertions UNLESS you have the knowledge and data to back it up. You can play the bluff game and just say it, but then when you are asked to back up what you say, if you don't have that information/data, or anything remotely representative of something that would have given you the impression of having the right information, you only serve to make yourself look the fool.
You lose credibility, especially in places like EM, where facts and data come before feelings and whodunnit.
Start making ad hominem attacks on me, I'm likely to just continue the discussion with complete disregard for anything you've said, regardless of it's relevance. Logical fallacies do not help an argument at all, they only serve to degrade it. I catch myself doing it still from time to time, and prefer that someone point it out so that I may better myself.
So to the point, if you don't KNOW, and have some data to back up your statement, it's best to just read in silence until you can provide valuable input, if that time should ever come. However, there are "generally accepted" notions, most of which are usually correct, and those generally don't need the same type of evidenciary backing. Still, the best bet is to read, know, and understand WHY they're "generally accepted". Someone will ask, inevitably.
Keeping in kind: It's often best to remain silent and appear a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
