We're friends again, as it's finally been realized by both of us how stupid this is.

[Dark Jaguar]

Well that last post makes me think he's totally serious... The two above it had me convinced he must have been joking because it was in the same style as some of mine, in the "I'll make a comment so incredibly ridiculous it'll be hilarious" way.

In my own defense, at most message boards it's a lot more obvious to everyone when I'm joking. Wow, how'd we get back here? I thought we all agreed my jokes were made of pure comedy goodness that's plain obvious to EVERYONE (this sentence is a joke).

And I have been serious about a good number of things even on the board, mainly with other people here though. When I find someone is arguing about something I said that I never had any intention of actually convincing anyone of (just wanting to state something is all I wanted, not defend it), I'll only kinda half-defend my views since I honestly don't care about it. Again, why defend something I don't care about? I honestly don't want to defend everything I say. I don't want every single statement I make to be a potential conflict. That gets so draining... and besides that it's rude to just keep up the constant badgering of every word someone says. Yes, this statement is serious.

I always mix my seriuosness and humor. It's rather obvious to most where the difference lies, even to ABF here (who does have trouble) it's obvious when I am being serious, just not when I'm joking if it's actually serious or not, or something like that I think. The two need not be mutually exclusive after all.

I believe I've done a very good job of making it very clear when I'm joking as of late anyway. The confusion hasn't come up in a few weeks (though to be honest I've stayed pretty much the same elsewhere online since this is a uniquely TC "problem"). You say you aren't accusing me of lying, but to be honest I can't see your statements that you can't trust a single word I say as anything other than that. I am forced to assume you are being polite, like you are saying "well, I know you don't THINK you are lying" or some other backhanded Hank-Hill-istic attempt at being nice about it.

Now then, I am just about to "run away" as you call it from this particular thingymawatchit. Before I was just lightly commenting on things not really all that into the conversation (not joking or anything, but not really caring), but now it seems you really are looking to start something. Before I do this, I must state that my reasons are very simple. I refuse to continue in a debate that leads to nowhere. I believe I defended myself well enough, but you won't budge at all. Why should I stay again? This isn't fun at all really. If you take back one thing you believe in your next post, I'll return because it shows this is going somewhere.

Here begins my reasons for not joining in on a lot of debates here (though I do join in many debates at places like the snopes.com message boards, which I suggest you visit as proof of my claims that I actually like debating :D).

As I've said before, I find arguments with a lack of any logic to be very aggrivating. Now, I hardly use that much logic most of the time myself, not that it's my goal, but sometimes I do. In those cases, I am met with a totally blank response to my arguments like they weren't even said, and generally the very thing I went about debunking is just said again, as a counterargument of all things. For instance, the infamous abortion debate. Generally, during those times when I bother using logic myself and ask for my points to be addressed, I am met with "well your points are stupid for reasons I can't explain because they are so stupid", which is hardly a counter-argument at all. Had I made a point that really couldn't have been argued logically due to being fully illogical, it would actually be easy to point out WHY it was so illogical. For instance, you could have pointed out I was using circular reasoning, or being too arbitrary, or so on. Rather, no actual reasons for it being silly are given, and it's just stated as fact with no logical deconstruction. This isn't to say every single argument you make is illogical. Far from it. You two often do make very valid points at the start, but rather than go after the points themselves addressing any flaws inherant in them, or maybe even acknowledging that no real debate can take place because in this case the statements aren't really logical points but rather just opinion, you just argue. For instance, the controller comfort debate. It started out FAIRLY logical, for instance the listings of friends who like one over the other (using popularity of design as the standard for determining comfort in that case). It then quickly fell apart when it came down to just "but you can't like it because the buttons are all mushed together" type stuff.

Now, I won't say you have to change that, because you two say you LOVE it. It's the fact that you attack me for leaving those debates that annoys me. You acknowledge these very things yourselfs and relish in it, and hey I can see the fun in it because it's just plain hilarious to watch you two go at it (as I imagine it must be when I mistakingly get involved). However, when I just get annoyed at it and leave, it's become this ritual to insult me for it, as though I'm not "standing up for what I believe in". A rather silly thing to say after you acknowledge that it's a meaningless argument for fun isn't it?

In any case, I propose these two things be done. First, allow me to leave an argument you two are having without any comments on my character or whatever. If I feel it's best for me to just stay out of it, so be it. Even though ABF thinks not sharing one's opinions is somehow actually rude, it's not. Keeping one's thoughts to one's self is perfectly polite in every single situation except of course where it's your JOB to give your opinion on something. Secondly, I'll try to make it clearer when I'm joking or not IF, OB1 (since ABF doesn't seem to be having a problem understanding me any more since I made it a bit more obvious as of late), you go ahead and trust me a little more. You have no reason to of course. Not for the reasons you've come up with, but because I'm an anonymous blob online and you can't really proove a thing I say to be true or false, which in other words means I'm about as trustworthy as anyone else here, save Laser Link who you actually met in the corporeal world. I always say when I'm joking if a misunderstanding takes place like right after it happens. If I'm serious and others take me seriously, I don't say I'm joking. Easy enough, since I haven't said "Oh please I was just joking about living in Oklahoma", then you can assume I was stating it as a serious fact. From there, it's up to you whether or not you believe me even when I'm serious.

Now then, see? I can be serious sometimes, but even here I worked some jokes in (making it very clear what was and wasn't a joke). Let's put this whole half-year long debacle behind us now. It's been too long since that first weird confusion happened.

(Oh, one final note. Yes, I do dodge a lot of questions by joking. I do this for two reasons. One, I find keeping secrets amusing in and of itself, and two, often I don't have an answer to said question to begin with.)