I made this page to promote science and other ideas that I think are worth sharing.
A large part of that is debating. When debating, it’s important to stick to facts and be polite. While being snarky is fun, there’s a time and place for it, and delving into personal insults does little to further science and critical thinking.
When I debate someone, my goal isn’t to convince them I’m right, because I most likely won’t. Instead, the goal is to convince the person who is *not* commenting on the thread, who is undecided and still forming their opinion. THAT is the person you need to be trying to convince you’re right. THAT is the person you have the chance to have a positive impact on.
tl;dr- Don’t be a dick.