Working definitions and online discussions

fleeting and very much WIP!

I feel like when most of the online discussions go wrong, it's because people are talking past each other. They're not having a debate (also why do so many things need to be debates? why do we think that being on the internet gives us a constant right to challenge everything we say? imagine doing that in the real world), they're having an argument with a version of an opponent projected onto another face. There's some irony in that picture, because ultimately those people created that imaginary opponent and are arguing with themselves.

I think when most go wrong it's when people are talking past each other, using the definitions of the thing that suits them.

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a giant foot-shaped snail with a house on its back. the house is still in construction, with a big crane towering above it The image is a stylized black-and-white illustration. In the lower left corner, there is a small, cozy-looking house with smoke rising from its chimney. The smoke, however, does not dissipate into the air but instead forms a dark, looming cloud. Within the cloud, the silhouette of a large, menacing face is visible, with its eyes and nose peeking through the darkness. The creature, perhaps a cat, appears to be watching over the house ominously, creating a sense of foreboding or unease.