Debates (The Duels)

Scott Long71 said:I agree with the above—if the discussion remains civilized, there shouldn't be a need to isolate it.

Do you think Judolinov’s text, which was cited in the first post, belongs in this debate? My take is that it can stay. Honestly, he’s still being more polite than the Jergović excerpt we saw. 😁

The trick is, you can always meet him with the same level of intensity.

Judolinov’s post touches on private life.
It mentions ages.
It’s insulting.

How do we draw the line so all of that is included?
What exactly should be banned?

Jacob Alvarez said:Judolino and Rachel Richardson. It’s like Mirko Filipović and Nenad Blatnik stepping into the same ring. Calling it a duel feels a bit cruel when the outcome is so obvious.
That said, I do agree there should be a separate thread for these kinds of confrontations.

Don't worry, you'll get your turn too.

stormylynx4 said:You didn't ask me, but you know how it goes—everyone is entitled to their opinion. : D
In the first part of the post, Judo commented on someone's writing, calling it garbage. That isn't an insult. When I look back at the critiques I’ve left on Goodreads regarding published authors of multi-million dollar bestsellers, Judolinov calling something "garbage" seems downright polite.
Telling someone they are a rude brat is on par with mocking 50-year-old women; it’s not really an insult either, even if it constitutes generational discrimination. 😬
If someone reported Judolinov's post to me, I would ignore it. If you aren't prepared for harsh criticism on a forum, perhaps you should just start a blog for your "works."
It reminds me of those people on certain PDF forums who get upset because their analyses and "high-quality texts" aren't taken seriously. Honestly, we should just introduce a Nobel category for anonymous forum writing. :rolle yes:

🤔

What kind of damn posts...
What you posted is nothing but pure trash, not an actual post.
Besides—what could a corporate shill who has been posting on this forum since 2005 possibly say about writing?
Ugh.

You don't get it—she wasn't being self-centered. She was trying to serve humanity with her superior intellect...

You arrogant old-school types—you and I will never see eye to eye.
Under the forum rules, it’s fine.
As for the language... Look, go catch some Pokemon, but you really crossed the line with the working class.

S🍿entimentally speaking,
What’s your take on that post?
The bold text shows my edits, though I kept the gender the same.

I was making fun of naked (and frankly, subpar) 50-year-old women.
Nothing more, nothing less.

Paul Scott4 said:We should ban insults based strictly on race or ethnicity, but let everything else be settled privately. No other restrictions on creative expression should even be considered. Whoever gets pissed on first is the one who tucks their tail and slinks back to their hole.

Wait, so you'd allow insults against women and children too? 🤔

If a thread like that ever actually gets started, you can bet it’ll be a massive hit, especially if some of the heavy hitters on this forum decide to go head-to-head.

The first attempt at a "duel" was a total bust and ended up on Slack. Clearly, ideas need time to actually mature. 🙂

Once it turns into a performance, the duel loses all its meaning 😉

Hleb and Games

neonskipper2 said:we should be having a civil debate here without attacking people personally—you know, bringing up their status, post count, where they're from, age, or gender.

Sure, that’s how it should work... But look, let’s be real about emotions and adrenaline. Sometimes heat and passion just take over—and when things get intense, you end up blurting out truths that are way harder to say when you're acting all calm and collected.
Let's just allow ourselves to be human for once.
If things get heated and words get sharp, well, just remember—words have power, and sometimes they slip out.

Melissa Garcia70 said:It really should be that way... But we have to account for raw emotion and adrenaline. Think about it—passion and heat often take the wheel, causing us to blurt out truths that are much harder to articulate when we're being perfectly level-headed.
We have to allow ourselves the grace to be human...
Of course, if things get heated and words get harsh, let’s remember: words carry weight, and sometimes they need an apology.

Look, there is a massive distinction between being a human being and acting like an animal.
Trolls typically operate in packs—insulting others while patting their own "intelligence" on the back.
The most effective strategy is to simply ignore them; honestly, what is there to gain from a confrontation like that?
The satisfaction of publicly calling someone illiterate?

If a discussion remains civil—if you are engaging with rational people and someone realizes they messed up—you will receive an apology and the behavior will stop.
But if you aren't dealing with rational people, what is the payoff?
The hollow thrill of driving some stranger halfway across the country just to argue?
What good does that do you?
If that person had even an ounce of common sense, they would have shut up on their own.

If we want to engage with one another, there must be rules—some semblance of measurement and restraint.

Melissa Garcia70 said:It really should be... But look, you gotta factor in the emotion and the adrenaline. When things get heated, passion takes over and we say stuff that we probably wouldn't dare say when we're stone-cold sober.
Let’s just be human for a second..
Sure, if some harsh words fly out, remember—words have power.

Look, we’re all human, but what happened to actually having integrity? I get the emotions and the rush; I’ve been there too. But at the end of the day, what you say shows your true colors and how much of your real self you let slip. Intelligence helps, sure. Personally, I’ve never gone low by calling someone a "pig" or a "moron"—to me, using insults like that is just a sign of weakness. Even when I'm fuming internally and thinking, "this guy is a total idiot," I just see it as a personal failure. It makes me feel weak, so I have to reset before I step back into the ring.

I’m not perfect; I know how to snap sometimes.😁

But hey, that's just how I see myself.😁

Honestly, there's just something about the Eastern wisdom found on Wikipedia that hits me right in the feels 😢

Nicholas Watson said:Honestly, this Eastern wisdom on Wikipedia just speaks directly to my soul! 😢

Total chakra cleansing

Richard Ramirez87 said:If someone actually starts a thread like that, people are going to flock to it, especially if some of the heavy hitters on this forum start clashing.

Scott Long71 said:That first attempt at a "duel" was a total bust and just ended up over on Slack. Clearly, the idea needs time to actually mature. 🙂

Years ago—maybe even xx years back—there was already an initiative like this where a duel/discussion/whatever actually happened (I think one of the guys involved was that CP tar/Lastan, RIP), but that was it. Nobody gave a damn after that.

Man, I still remember this massive debate back in my philosophy class about whether God even exists... maybe fifteen years ago now? I can't for the life of me recall who was actually arguing, but man, they were really going at it—it was intense...