3 ms·

The sentence you quoted actually is itself an anecdote, so this is an odd criticism to make. And I don't think we should expect every opinion piece on the web

The sentence you quoted actually is itself an anecdote, so this is an odd criticism to make. And I don't think we should expect every opinion piece on the web to be a PhD thesis based on a ten year double-blind cross-over study. It's just a simple opinion piece that says, "Facebook works for me."

sanderjd 13y ago
> The sentence you quoted actually is itself an anecdote No, it is a conclusion drawn from an implied accumulation of anecdote. An actual anecdote would be something like, "when my brother on the other side of the country had a baby, I found out on Facebook, and was thus more connected to him." Ie. it would demonstrate connectedness to someone far away who is cared about deeply. I think the original author and the poster you replied to probably have very different definitions of "deeply". Facebook doesn't seem very useful for first tier people who get the phone/snail mail/IM/email treatment or third tier people who you don't care to keep up with much, but it has a sweet spot in that second tier. It's usefulness to individual people is probably proportional to how large their second tier is.
dvt 13y ago
I understand that you're being facetious, but I don't think I'm being obtuse when I ask for evidence for X when someone says "I think X."
- steveplace 13y ago
  The essay was full of I's and me's. It was a subjective opinion, not something that required a journal abstract to back up the claim.
- bigiain 13y ago
  Sometime you are: "I think my favorite colour is blue." "I think I prefer brunettes to blondes." "I think creamy pasta sauces are better than tomato sauces." "I think Facebook works just fine, at least for me." I'll give you evidence for things I'm claiming/quoting as _facts_, but ask me for evidence about my _opinions_, and yeah - you're being obtuse.

3 ms·

The sentence you quoted actually is itself an anecdote, so this is an odd criticism to make. And I don't think we should expect every opinion piece on the web

by nostromo 13y ago

sanderjd 13y ago
> The sentence you quoted actually is itself an anecdote No, it is a conclusion drawn from an implied accumulation of anecdote. An actual anecdote would be something like, "when my brother on the other side of the country had a baby, I found out on Facebook, and was thus more connected to him." Ie. it would demonstrate connectedness to someone far away who is cared about deeply. I think the original author and the poster you replied to probably have very different definitions of "deeply". Facebook doesn't seem very useful for first tier people who get the phone/snail mail/IM/email treatment or third tier people who you don't care to keep up with much, but it has a sweet spot in that second tier. It's usefulness to individual people is probably proportional to how large their second tier is.
dvt 13y ago
I understand that you're being facetious, but I don't think I'm being obtuse when I ask for evidence for X when someone says "I think X."
- steveplace 13y ago
  The essay was full of I's and me's. It was a subjective opinion, not something that required a journal abstract to back up the claim.
- bigiain 13y ago
  Sometime you are: "I think my favorite colour is blue." "I think I prefer brunettes to blondes." "I think creamy pasta sauces are better than tomato sauces." "I think Facebook works just fine, at least for me." I'll give you evidence for things I'm claiming/quoting as _facts_, but ask me for evidence about my _opinions_, and yeah - you're being obtuse.