To me, the thing that really makes online arguments different than in person ones is that I'm usually not trying to persuade the person I'm directly replying to

To me, the thing that really makes online arguments different than in person ones is that I'm usually not trying to persuade the person I'm directly replying to, I'm trying to present an alternate viewpoint to the other people who might see the comments. This happens all the time in FB groups for my neighborhood. Somebody will say a ridiculous NIMBY thing that sounds good on the surface, and I know I can't persuade them based on years of knowing their online persona, but I feel a need to reply in case somebody who doesn't have an entrenched opinion reads it.