Devil's Advocate....

Exactly Donovan.

There is a difference between playing the Devil's Advocate, and being the Advocate of the Devil.

Amen brother Merwan!

ROFL

I think there defiantly is a mob mentality on these forums and if your opinions are different from the mobs you had better order one of those thick-skinned AVs Chip is going to make because the attacks will be rude and personal.

People say things here that would result in a severe ass kicking in RL because LL is not holding anyone accountable for their actions. It would be nice if the TOS actually had teeth. If you KNEW you were going to be banned for a month if you took part in a personal attack you would think twice about it. As it is now there really is no deterrent at all.

Naked twister sounds great. Sign me up!

Selador...you better not piss her of too much or she'll send her ugly cousin Lolita

From the forum guidelines..

I believe that the ability to express an opinion is highly underrated.

When I think of inflammatory and outright hurtful things being said (insert a string of obvious expletives here), I then think of the people in the world who were born disabled and have severe communication difficulties. Or the people who got into a car accident or another tragedy, and can now not even speak because their vocal cords were severed, or they are quadraplegic, or they were so badly burned beyond recognition that they simply... cannot speak, let alone help themselves to the washroom at night.

It is things like this that keep me focused on expressing opinions, not always positive, but definitely focusing on a brighter future, and done with what I would consider to be the utmost responsibly, accountability, and respect for my fellow human beings -- even if I do not agree with them. While I am not the most adept at deciphering trolling and getting dragged into certain doomed threads, I learn from experience and keep the aforementioned in mind.

As for playing "devil's advocate", I will do so at times to consider a multiplicity of viewpoints. However, I will also explicitly state this, as to not misconstrue or misrepresent how I really feel about an issue. I am not out to prank someone cruelly and say, "HA! GOTCHA, YA SODDEN BASTARD! YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMIN', EH?" and pull the rug out from under their proverbial feet.

That would be mean of me... which leads me back to why:

I believe that the ability to express an opinion is highly underrated..

Torley you rock. I'm impressed at how positive and modest your perspective is. Thank you for reminding me to be grateful for the things I tend to take for granted.

It's definately better to explicitly state that you're playing devil's advocate if your point is likely to become highly inflamitory in doing so, as it protects both you and the point you're trying to make from being instantly dismissed (assuming it's a good point). Other times, it's a judgement call.

Playing Devil's Advocate, I do believe that you two are taunting me.

So I will just have to make, force, coerce, and beg Lolita to give the both of you lapdances.

Of course, you will pay for it quite dearly. And not in Linden's.

Devil's Advocate.

Speaking for the devil. How Noble. Do you folks even understand you are invoking some weird Roman Catholic expression when you do so? I guess it doesn't matter as long as you make a self righteous point, does it?

Whatever it takes I guess...

***1/2

I only give it **1/2. It's a papal edict.

Your views on origin of the expression has very little to do with the actual discussion at hand and if you chopped that unnecessary bit out, the only thing you had to say was to label Donovan and possibly anyone supporting his viewpoint as self-righteous. Next time, I'd suggest finding an actual point to hide your negative opinion of others in.

What's interesting is as far as I can see you've really been the only condescending self-righteous person crapping on this thread. So far, pretty much everyone else has been civil.

To Donovan and the actual subject:

The problem with 'Devil's Advocate' mainly deals with the honesty of the person engaging in it. Is it for the benefit of progress and exploring the merit of socially unpopular viewpoints? Then I'd consider it an honest gambit, otherwise it's just trolling. The problem lies in how one defines someone as being dishonest with their intentions. There's going to be some subjects that a lot of people will automatically believe to be dishonest if someone tries to defend.

I think there's room for it here, as there is everywhere else, because it's required someone actually looks where no one wishes to look. The only thing I'd have to suggest is to tread carefully and eventually one might build the level of respect to actually be listened to around here. I, myself, haven't. I'm a lurker. That's twice in two days you've got me out and posting. Look forward to seeing more posts from you.

Lynn,

<<So I will just have to make, force, coerce, and beg Lolita to give the both of you lapdances.>>

I'm not scared of Lolita. Bring on the Johnson's Baby Oil!

OMFG! nm ... not worth it.

It's simple really.

If you're going to play "Devil's Advocate" you know ahead of time that what you are about to post is going to either a) make individuals think or b) infuriate them.

So knowing that you're going into the thread with the above thoughts in mind, don't whine or complain when someone does take on your advocacy. Part of being the Devil's Advocate also means the strength to explain your thoughts clearly in trying to convince others to your side. If you can't do that, if you're not strong enough to handle the possible flames coming in your direction, then don't play the part.

Awww, you don't know Lolita. She's not the baby oil kinda woman.

She's more WD-40, superglue, and teflon spray all rolled into one.

I prefer to think of it as the movie with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino (and of course the very sexy Charlize Theron). You know, the one where they showed Keanu's butt and Al yelled a lot and Charlize cried. Wait, maybe I need to be more specific there, that sort of sounds like Sweet November and every Al Pacino movie. Bedazzled is sexier anyway. Elizabeth Hurley as the devil is something I definitely advocate.

I do agree with Lynn that it is up to the person who intentionally plays the role of devil's advocate in a particular topic to at least articulate their point clearly enough to not just inflame the situation. That is a big part of the problem a lot of times. It is also about knowing when to choose your battles. Sometimes entering a thread and playing devil's advocate just to play devil's advocate is not well received because tact in that particular situation would be to just not say a word and let it pass, as there is no point in "scoring" some opposite view at that moment since the cost of doing so would just be unnecessarily pissing people off, or worse, hurting and upsetting them.

True discussion of issues certainly needs the role of devil's advocate to keep balance. So much of what occurs in these forums, however, is expression of feelings about various things that happen, and that is not always the wisest time to interject contrary views without repercussions.

LOL I cannot stop laughing at that image. I love Lolita. Tell her I want her to pose for my site

In correlation with our representation agreement as the Devil's Advocate. We, at this time have instructed our client, Lucifer aka. The Infernal Lord of Evil, to issue no statements regarding the impending merger of his company Microsof...um...I mean Hell, Inc with the corporate holdings of his largest competitor, Jehovah...better known as God. The scheduled date of said merger will be kept secret at this time and all parties are now under NDA's until such time as an agreement can be reached regarding the status of the Seventh Seal....Thank you.

Death, War, Famine, & Pestilence
Attorneys at Law

Lynn,

Tell her Cristiano wants her, please!

LMAO

Yeah, I heard Cris has the hots for her but is too shy to say anything.

Yeah, that's me, shy