Rules against personal attacks?

[kylebisme]

Specifically, I'm looking at the first entry under "Member and Posting Guidelines" in these forum rules:

No trolling, flaming or personally attacking members. Deftly attacking ideas and backing up arguments with facts is acceptable and encouraged. Attacking other members personally and purposefully causing trouble with no motive other than to upset the crowd is not allowed.

But what if I'm incapable of presenting facts to attack another member's ideas or back up my own arguments on the topic at hand, and all I could muster is attempts to discredit him by bringing up his unpopular position on a different topic and by falsely accusing him of unethical behavior; would that inherently constitute a violation of the rules against personal attacks, or are there circumstances where it is considered permissible on this forum?



Any further discussion Kyle regarding this subject should be done in this forum
http://forums.anandtech.com/forumdisplay.php?f=56

Anandtech Admin
Red Dawn

 

[highland145]

P&N

 

[gorcorps]

If you have to resort to degrading your opponents personal standing to win the argument, then you've already lost and are just being childish. You're supposed to discuss the argument, but if you have proof that the OP is lying for some reason (as in he said the exact opposite in the other thread) that that doesn't really count as a personal attack. That rule is meant to stop name calling mainly.

 

[kylebisme]

If you have to resort to degrading your opponents personal standing to win the argument, then you've already lost and are just being childish.

People who are predisposed to my side of the argument won't necessarily see it that way. If for instance I came across you making an argument which I was incapable of rationally refuting, I could conceivably dig up a unpopular position you've taken on a separate topic for the sake of misdirection, and then attempt to further discredit you by falsely claiming you plagiarized an argument you presented on that off-topic issue. That makes a situation of my word against yours, among the people who are already on my side of both the topic at hand and the other one I drug into the thread, some are bound to accept my slander against you as fact despite the utter lack of evidence to support it. That is a win of sorts, albeit a dirty one, but it is it not a violation of the forum rules against personal attacks? Or is it like Highland suggested, those rules don't apply in P&N?

 

[Soundmanred]

Give it up.
It's P&N, so say what you want and deal with the consequences.
It's just a messageboard after all, and dsoesn't impact your life in the slightest. (That's to say it shouldn't impact your life at all.).
I never will understand online debating. Nobodys mind will be changed and people get all kinds of crazy. It seems like alot of wasted energy to me...

 

[kylebisme]

While of course some people are too thickheaded to reconsider their positions regardless of what facts they are presented with, not all of us are that way. Also, some of us realize that an argument's merit stands on it's substance alone, and regardless of if it is made online or otherwise. I'm not trying to persuade anyone to join such debates though, I'm just interested in some clarification in regard to the posted rules of this forum. Is there not a moderator around who is capable of providing authoritative answers to such questions?

 

[erikistired]

so you don't have an argument and you want to know if it's okay to character assassinate them?

wrong forum. i would try posting it in Moderator Discussions.

 

[Infohawk]

Are you talking about P&N or another forum? As a practical matter, not only are personal attacks tolerated in P&N but they're welcomed.

 

[kylebisme]

so you don't have an argument and you want to know if it's okay to character assassinate them?

No, that's not my style. I was just speaking hypothetically because I'm wondering why reporting a guy for incessantly doing that to me doesn't result in any moderator action.

Anyway, I tend to forget we now have the Moderator Discussions forum now since it isn't listed in the sidebar, but I got the impression that for charges of bias against particular moderators rather than questions about forum policy in general.

Are you talking about P&N or another forum? As a practical matter, not only are personal attacks tolerated in P&N but they're welcomed.

Yeah, it's in P&N. So, if I decided to fight fire with fire by responding to the guy who keeps falsely accusing me of being a plagiarist by say falsely accusing him of being a pedophile or such, I shouldn't expect to get any trouble for that?

 

[JEDIYoda]

What Kylebisme is crying about is my incessant factual post that he was caught lying in his 9/11 thread! Which he was...he was using somebody elses math to support an indefensible position...
1 --He was claiming to understand the physics involved in a building collapsing. Then those who did understand the physics asked him to prove it...which he couldn`t.
2-- or it could have been me saying to somebody to keep posting, because when Kyle asks you to support your position with a link he always has a link supporting his position no matter how outlandish his position is....

Why are you crying Kyle???

 

[JEDIYoda]

Yeah, it's in P&N. So, if I decided to fight fire with fire by responding to the guy who keeps falsely accusing me of being a plagiarist by say falsely accusing him of being a pedophile or such, I shouldn't expect to get any trouble for that?

You are a plagiarist but so what?? Since when is that a bad thing to call somebody???
You claim it is a false accusation??? When is that a bannable offense....you could be called much worse....
Why are you crying? It is not as if you had any credibility to worry about anyways....

 

[Number1]

Here we have the biggest 911 loony on the forum crying about being made fun of for his outlandish views. Nobody is calling you a pedophile Kyle, just somebody who copied something he did not understand and tried to claim it as his own.

When you post ridiculous views, expect to be made fun of.

 

[kylebisme]

Nobody is calling you a pedophile Kyle...

Right, JEDIYoda accused me of plagiarism, falsely, and now so have you. So, I figure that if such personal attacks all condoned on this forum, I should start fighting fire with fire, and kick it up a notch by calling you two pedophiles. As I reported both your posts for personal attacks hours ago and it seems nothing has been done to reprimand you for them, apparently such baseless accusations aren't restricted by the forum rules, either in P&N or otherwise, but is there not a moderator around who can make an authoritative statement on this matter?

 

[Sinsear]

Is this where the truthers come to cry?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Plagarism was proven.

When one resorts to such; it calls into account the credability of the person.

Just like on the witness stand; a false truth starts to taint the testimony and possible the complete position.

Therefore your credability toward other arguments has started to become tainted.

 

[kylebisme]

Plagarism was proven.

I've never engaged in plagiarism in my life, which is why neither you nor anyone else can provide any evidence to support such charges against me.

Tell me CC, if I decided to start calling you a pedophile, even though I've no evidence of anything of the sort, would that be allowed on this forum?

 

[Red Dawn]

I've never engaged in plagiarism in my life, which is why neither you nor anyone else can provide any evidence to support such charges against me.

Tell me CC, if I decided to start calling you a pedophile, even though I've no evidence of anything of the sort, would that be allowed on this forum?

I'll answer that, definitely not and I strongly suggest you not try it.