Hi Herfried,
That's making a point using an extreme case and it invites immediate
ridicule. You can't score with an argument like that.
Why? Because I agree that attachments at that level would be disruptive.
Of course I do. The evidence, as you remind us, is just a couple of weeks
behind us.
But your point is <totally invalid> in this discussion because that was a
virus which was <intended> to disrupt.
We aren't talking about people posting 150KB attachments several times an
hour/day. We are talking about the <occasional> poster who attaches a zipped
solution containing a project. It's not even an everyday occurence!!
In the case of the last attachment, mine, it was only 7K!
Having just read Cor's response. Yes. You are getting desperate. So too
with your 'surrealism' in other discussion about quoting. My Vater used to do
that when he saw no other way out without having to admit that his opponent
(me) had a good point. It was both our loss because we never got to finish a
discussion. An opportunity to find common ground was lost.
Learn to do this Herfried. Learn to accept your opponent's point when you
see that there is something valid in it. By all means restate it with a
qualification or two. But accept it.
Why should you do this ?
Well, for one thing, despite being a backing down, it commands respect.
Especially if you get a reputation for being able to back down gracefully
(when appropriate, of course). Someone who can say they were wrong tends to be
more often right when they <do> stick to their guns (or at least seen that
way). They show that they won't waste anybody's time by being stubborn when
they are clearly in a weak position. And that's mature and admirable.
Another reason is that any point that you have to 'get silly' with is
still a big fuzz in your mind. It has the attachment of all the emotions
associated with being wrong and being aware of it and not wanting to show it,
etc. There's nothing better for destroying logical thought than emotion.
(Emotion works very consistently and logically <in its own way> but this is
not a logic that works in discussion.)
When you concede a point you can clear most of this rubbish away. And,
having cleared it from your mind, you are then free to concentrate on real
weaknesses in other points under discussion.
Of course, when <all> your points are wrong, it takes a very big man
indeed to back down all the way. But it's a rare discussion where there isn't
some agreement to be found amongst all the disagreement.
Regards,
Fergus
)