Statement of Purpose

I’ve enjoyed debating several topics over the years, but most of those topics get bogged down in rehashing the same, tired arguments over and over. So there are several things I want to do with this page.

1. Have a single point to collect resources, citations, references, articles, and more. The point is to have kind of a digital binder to make it easier to share links to items I frequently use during online discussions.
2. Have an outlet to more expansively and thoroughly talk about these topics, away from the heat of a threaded discussion, and without the restrictions typically placed on hosted forums.
3. Collect the transcripts of my own online antics as needed. This is mostly intended to be able to preserve the arguments of the other person for later examination, but it will also allow me to critically evaluate my own activities, ostensibly to become better at debate.
4. Describe and archive certain behaviors and patterns I observe while participating in or reading online discussions. A lot of this is meant to enlighten me so I avoid typical traps, or just know when to call it quits. But some of this may be useful to show others who are exhibiting these behaviors. Ok, I plan to be a dick about it when someone deserves it.

While this page can’t help but be biased towards my own opinions, I will try to demonstrate balanced information as I find it. I constantly review and test my views, and that means I frequently adjust and refine them. Once in a great while, I actually flip sides based on compelling arguments and evidence. In the interest of becoming a more educated participant in our great experiment, I think it’s important to attempt to examine multiple sides of an issue.

Some of what will be written here will be inflammatory, of course, but I encourage you to read the arguments and examine evidence provided as objectively as possible. And readers are encouraged to share links and other information resources, which I will consider adding to the repository.

So that’s the stream-of-consciousness version. Hopefully I’ll remember to update this as I go, but I think it’s reasonably complete for kicking things off.