>This is sadly common on Internet debates Internet debates can be really good in very small, focused or closed forums where people have time to learn each othe

>This is sadly common on Internet debates Internet debates can be really good in very small, focused or closed forums where people have time to learn each other over time. Some mailing lists and tiny groups are phenomenal. Debates that happen between strangers in a single point of time don't have the minimum requirements for a good debate. Without shared context, history and commitment to the debate it's hard to get any results even among people who try hard.