It's A Discussion, Not A Debate!

A few of my 149 Goodreads followers have commented upon the fact that I no longer parrticipate in Diccussions Groups nearly as often as I once did, so I decided to respond via my blog rather than within each group.

When I first joined Goodreads more than a decade ago, with few exceptions, the established Discussion Groups provided a valuable learning opportunity.

After reading the messages already posted, I would post my personal opinion regarding the subject, along with the reasons and logic which I believed supported the opinion.

More often than not, none of the other messages convinced me to reconsider my beliefs; however, occasionally others would provide information, along with the sources, that would convince me that my previous belief was invalid so my opinion changed accordingly. Such discussions were interesting, informative, and, as previously stated, an occasional valuable learning opportunity.

That has changed dramatically. All too often participants now are not satisfied with just posting their personal opinion regarding the topic and then seeing what others think. They do not appear able to accept any observation that does not agree with their own. Rather than posting just one or two messages, they post numerous comments, often for days, weeks, or even months. They have transformed the discussions into debates, or perhaps a more accurate term would be never-ending 'arguments'.

The above mentioned paticipants seem unable to avoid insulting, haranguing, and sometimes issuing personal challenges to those with whom they disagree.

So, I will continue to occasionally participate within a discussion if I feel it is constructive and informative, but not nearly as often as before.