Keys to productive internet discussions

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by bmac

Giant walls of text are tough for office fisherman to read. Short posts are easier to sneak peeks at between spurts of work.

I understand that pithy insults, flawed assertions, and fallacious sound-bites are easier than fact-filled, well-reasoned discourse.

More inquisitive minds who have time and interest will request that the subtleties be discussed more thoroughly and that some facts are further explored. Minds that are more rushed desire more of an executive summary to see if digging deeper is warranted when time permits.

I hope we all can resist the visceral satisfaction of generating heat rather than light at moments when we don't have sufficient time for more meaningful contributions.