Its not about converting the crackpots, its about pushing back on insane bullshit so others are less likely to become crackpots.

You’re never going to change their minds. That’s not the point. The point is to push back against them. So people who see the interaction will see the rebuttal and the pushback against the insanity. That’s the important part.

I’m not writing to the crackpot I’m responding to. I’m writing to the lurkers on the fence wondering if he has a valid point.

That might be why I’m so used to replies that look like long-form essays. It takes a lot more words to explain nuance and invite critical thought than it does to shitpost.

You don’t change the view of the person you are arguing with on the internet, you are putting a red flag so that would-be readers don’t fall into the rabbit hole.

Online debate is fun. I don’t care if it falls short of solving the worlds problems.

Well, the alternative is a bunch of crackpot comments with no pushback (except downvotes) and 3-10x less actually-decent-takes

Everyone just wants an echo chamber and the internet is happy to oblige

no, it never does, i mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but… but it might work for us.

In the dark times of late 2023 I had long discussions with Israel apologists on here, now they don’t seem to exist anymore. Question is, if they actually changed their mind or if they just left, and if my comments had anything to do with that anyway ofc.

It lives in the internet it lives in the internet oh god help me it lives in the internet

The number of threads that I’ve just completely abandoned on .ml when I realize I’m trying to reason with morons is too damn high.

That reminds me, I really must check my inbox

I wonder if the crackpots ever ask themselves am I the crackpot?

Asking for a friend

https://xkcd.com/386/

Ahh yes the crackpot belief that it is wrong to support a genocide regardless of who is in power.