I’m not going to give a very long introduction to this. However, I have been around G@G for a little while, and here are some things I’ve noticed across the forum. I’ve noticed these things from all age groups, both genders, and any topic.
1. Good arguments are hard to find
G@G is a forum where people are able to ask questions and search for possible solutions.
However, when it comes to things that are debatable, most G@G users are not that good at formulating a claim that can be well supported. Opinions are fine, but they hold no weight if you cannot support your claim. Oh, and following up your opinion with the phrase ‘it’s my opinion’ is not a support. That phrase pretty much emphasizes to me, at least, that you do not have a good argument. Opinions are neither right nor wrong, which is why it’s considered argumentative rather than expository. If you have no evidence to support your claim then your claim is really irrelevant. Very rarely does personal experience support an opinion, too, as personal experience isn’t relevant to the population as a whole.
From what I have read, this seems to be more of an issue with the women of G@G. They don’t really cite any evidence to their claims and go based on emotion and personal experience. This is a sure fire way to ‘lose’ your argument.
2. People respond to questions without reading the details
This has happened to several questions that I’ve posed and questions to which I have responded. I don’t understand how anyone can think they can formulate an informed opinion without reading the actual details. If you are not going to read the question, then you shouldn’t respond.
Now, I think this is more of an age thing. I have personally noticed that people in their 30’s and older actually take more time to read the details than anyone else. The people most guilty of responding without reading all the details seem to be those in their 20’s.
3. People respond but don't actually answer the question.
This is very frustrating, and every group is guilty of this. No one does it more than another group. But let's say, for instance, someone asks the question, "What's a college major that will get me a job with a lot of pay?" If your response is, "College is too expensive", then you didn't answer the question.
What's sadder is that a lot of people when told that their response doesn't answer the question then get defensive and try to argue that their response did answer the question when it clearly did not.
4. Too many users think their opinions are fact
There’s really nothing to explain here. Facts and opinions are different. Don’t put so much weight behind your own opinion, especially if you are someone who is guilty of number one on this list. You’ll just look like an idiot.
Again, this is another age difference I’ve noticed. The older users seem to have this idea that their opinions are facts when they are not. It’s difficult to have a conversation with someone who has no intention of listening to your opinion and presentation of facts. It doesn’t make sense to listen to someone who is not going to offer you the same courtesy.
5. Condescension and egos are aplenty
Truthfully, I’ve noticed this mostly from males in two areas: Politics and Dating. The women on here do it, too, to an extent. However, there’s something about the male ego that’s making it run like an incessant disease across these forums. Trying to have a conversation with a lot of males on here concerning politics and dating is almost impossible because their egos won’t allow them to believe that they may actually be wrong. This is especially true when they are speaking with female users.
6. “Not all of us are like that!”
Why is this everyone’s favorite response to a statement on here? Again, this seems to be more of a male response, but women do it, too. Say a woman says, “A lot of men will have sex with a woman and then ghost her for no reason.” This is then usually followed by some male user saying, “Well, not all of us are like that!!”
Um, duh.
Did she SAY that all men were? No. She distinctly used the phrase ‘a lot’. Even if she didn’t specify between ‘a lot’ and ‘all’, do you really believe she meant quite literally every male in existence? No, you didn’t. You just want to be an ass. If that’s your only response to someone’s opinion, then your response really isn’t needed, and it’s pretty useless.
That’s all. Have a good day.
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