I was looking through the original "Ode to Reality" thread yesterday, and noticed there was two types of content.
A) Gratuitous statements, that could ONLY be construed as poisoning the well, ad hominem, etc. which have no place in ANY rational argument, or any message board.
B) Arguments with Gladius about this or that. Requiring Gladius to defend his actions, etc.
Everything under type A is gratuitous -- needless -- and hence should/will be censored (deleted). Many statements were thrown in (out of passion?) that only confuse the argument and add nothing whatsoever to it.
I noticed just how much "Type A" there was coming from William. I had to censor quite a bit of the "personal attack fluff" and you can see just how repetitious and empty his actual arguments were!
I saw all kinds of wild speculation regarding personal things about Gladius that William couldn't possibly know. It was completely extraneous to the argument at hand -- but it served William's purpose to "take down Gladius" in people's eyes.
Let's just say it makes arguing easier, when needless personal attacks are removed. What purpose do they serve? What could William say? "They help my argument, because they help "poison the well"! Sorry, "poisoning the well" and "ad hominem" are logical fallacies -- so many ways of FORFEITING an argument.
Joe: If you put water in a freezer, it will solidify.
Bob: Says Joe, the mental patient!
Note how Bob isn't dealing with the substance of the argument at all, but is resorting to personal attack.