The distinction between argument and debate is largely meaningless, save as a rhetorical move to ensure that the debater is doing the Right Kind of discussion, and the arguer is doing the Wrong Kind. Both are equally useless in terms of furthering the goal of improving one's ability to play pretend elves (a farcical goal if ever there was one).
In regards to the actual topic the goal is situational. Not all public fora are created equal. I run an LS for talking about roll-based systems. The rules explicitly say "Do not have the argument about which of the freeform, roll-based, or PvP methods of conflict resolution are the best methods." Not only is the argument incredibly tiresome after hearing it for years in various MMO RP communities, but it undermines the purpose of the LS, which is explicitly about the value of roll-based systems. So I would expect somebody who wants to have that discussion to have it elsewhere, the same way I would expect an Ul'dahn law-enforcement LS to get sick of arguments about how little authority group X Y or Z has, or a Seeker culture LS to get sick of people saying Keepers are best.
Those are easy examples, though, because they will likely have rules about this subject from the outset. But public fora can also have a tone that isn't enforced by any rule but social convention, yet nevertheless dictates what is and isn't acceptable behavior. If I join the Kawaii Sugoi Chat Fun-Time ^_^ and start having heavy discussions about Gridanian trade rights in the LS, people would be right to suggest I and my interlocutor take it elsewhere because they want to make silly jokes and spout memes, and vice-versa if somebody kept spamming image macros and gifs in an LS dedicated to scholarly examination of the setting through the lens of structuralist literary critique. The quality of the discussion has no bearing on its right to be in a particular public space.
If it comes down to it, 2 wins. Lore is not so important that it precludes all other discussions. It's a topic, the same as any other, and some LSes are not going to want to have it. Whether or not the discussion is a "debate" or an "argument" is besides the point.
In regards to the actual topic the goal is situational. Not all public fora are created equal. I run an LS for talking about roll-based systems. The rules explicitly say "Do not have the argument about which of the freeform, roll-based, or PvP methods of conflict resolution are the best methods." Not only is the argument incredibly tiresome after hearing it for years in various MMO RP communities, but it undermines the purpose of the LS, which is explicitly about the value of roll-based systems. So I would expect somebody who wants to have that discussion to have it elsewhere, the same way I would expect an Ul'dahn law-enforcement LS to get sick of arguments about how little authority group X Y or Z has, or a Seeker culture LS to get sick of people saying Keepers are best.
Those are easy examples, though, because they will likely have rules about this subject from the outset. But public fora can also have a tone that isn't enforced by any rule but social convention, yet nevertheless dictates what is and isn't acceptable behavior. If I join the Kawaii Sugoi Chat Fun-Time ^_^ and start having heavy discussions about Gridanian trade rights in the LS, people would be right to suggest I and my interlocutor take it elsewhere because they want to make silly jokes and spout memes, and vice-versa if somebody kept spamming image macros and gifs in an LS dedicated to scholarly examination of the setting through the lens of structuralist literary critique. The quality of the discussion has no bearing on its right to be in a particular public space.
If it comes down to it, 2 wins. Lore is not so important that it precludes all other discussions. It's a topic, the same as any other, and some LSes are not going to want to have it. Whether or not the discussion is a "debate" or an "argument" is besides the point.
Verad Bellveil's Profile | The Case of the Ransacked Rug | Verad's Fate Sheet
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
