Civility plays an important part in effective communication. You may feel that you are merely stating your opinion directly and with force. But an argument is o

Civility plays an important part in effective communication. You may feel that you are merely stating your opinion directly and with force. But an argument is only as strong as its ability to persuade. When you put people on the defensive--when you force an emotional rather than rational reaction--you rob an argument of its power. Aside from that, there are two other reasons to be more civil. One is that it's just a nice thing to do to treat people respectfully even (or especially) when you're telling them they're wrong. But if that doesn't persuade you, it's worth remembering that civility is explicitly required in the HN Guidelines.