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In another thread on this forum "admiralh" shared some definitions that may prove to be useful in this discussion. Taken from Encarta's on-line dictionaries, he made the distinction between opinion (personal view: the view somebody takes about a certain issue, especially when it is based solely on personal judgment) and fact (1. something known to be true: something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened; 2. truth or reality of something: the truth or actual existence of something, as opposed to the supposition of something or a belief about something). To which I added the following comments: Finally, light instead of heat on the subject of participating in a forum such as this. Thank you, admiralh, for taking the time to distinguish for us between fact and opinion. Failure to recognize the difference is not only dooming the usefulness of this forum, it is also dooming the ability to dialogue on any subject of any nature in any forum. Yes, opinions are like anuses: everybody's got one. But just because you have one (an anus) doesn't mean you go around mooning everyone. Same with opinion: just because you have one doesn't mean it should be shared. There are laws and rules of civility that prohibit mooning. In the same way, there are rules against publishing opinions: these are known collectively as the rules of rhetoric, rules that demand opinions be backed with fact and logic before they can be shared and dressed up in decent, correct grammar when they are. Sadly, most of what I read in these and other forums ignore commonly accepted rules of rhetoric. And, just because a person doesn't know what they are, that doesn't give them the right to violate them. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If you want to share your ideas in this forum, observe the rules of rhetoric (or, if you don't know what they are, learn them) or just plain don't participate! There are some, who unfortunately, will see my position as intellectual elitism. I assure you it is not. Just because you are entitled to an opinion doesn't mean that you are entitled to share it. You are entitled to share it when, like I said, you back it with data and logic (in which case it ceases to be an opinion and instead becomes a fact) and dress it in language that demonstrates acceptable usage. I know the editors at the Kalmbach publications that sponsor these forums generally adhere to these principles when selecting materials to publish in print. I would appreciate it very much if they would do the same for these forums. As it stands now, these forums are loosing their credibility as a useful exchange of ideas, and not at all reflecting positively on Kalmbach Publishing. C'mon, guys; it's time to get back in the driver's seat. Just because the medium is different doesn't mean your responsibilities as editors have changed.
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