Or, in other words, how to improve the way we debate with one another.

Right now online debates look like this:

Person A: I think these people are bad

Person B: No, people like you are bad!

Person A: NO, YOU'RE BAD AND YOU'RE WHY EVERYTHING ELSE IS BAD

Person B: YOU'RE to STUPID TO know your BAD, That's how BAD you ARE!

And so on. I think it's important that we try to do better than this, so i've made a list of tips that everyone can try to follow. Presenting: Bradman's A+ 100% Tips To Winning Arguments, Or At Least Feeling Smart And Superior On The Internet

If you, at any point, begin using capital letters, YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG.
If you are writing so fast that you are hitting the wrong keys, stop. Breathe. Don’t do it.
Proofread. I cannot stress this enough. If you don’t want to sound like an idiot, don’t look like an idiot. There is nothing you have to post that can’t wait an extra 2 minutes for you to reread what you wrote.
Your goal should not be to make the other person feel angry. Do not insult. Do not call names. These make both of you look bad. Act and speak maturely, always, and you may be surprised at how quickly you can change someone's tone. Kill 'em with kindness!
Do not use one person as the scapegoat for everything you have a problem with in your entire life. This person, whom you do not know, does not support every single thing that you oppose. They are a unique person with a unique set of views and principles that you don't know about. Just because someone supports the Arpaio pardon doesn't mean they want to repeal DACA or that they want to imprison Hilary for sneezing on a burrito.
Related - Please stay focused. If you're arguing about Colin Kaepernick, there is absolutely no reason to bring up Afghanistan, or Roe v. Wade, or Anthony Weiner. One issue at a time, people.
Everyone you disagree with is not a depraved amoral monster. They are simply people different than yourself with different experiences. And some, i assume, are depraved amoral monsters.
Remember this, above all: You are not writing only for the person you are responding to. You are writing for everyone reading. The eyes of the internet are upon you. If your arguments are sound and clear, they will make an impact, even if you don’t get through to the individual you’re directing them at.

Respond with a cool head to someone acting hysterical, and you can often bring them down to a more reasonable level, but if you meet hysteria with hysteria, you accomplish nothing. Welcome people into your perspective rather than trying to force it over their head like a plastic bag, suffocating them with your opinion while insulting them and giving them noogies. This does not work.

People are stubborn and they don’t want to change and they don’t want to be wrong. Provide a path where someone can feel like they’re right while at the same time agreeing with what you’re saying. We need to practice being inclusive, because the radical rejection of everyone who doesn't share our identical beliefs is what's driving this nation apart.

Like it or not, when you voice your opinion in a public forum, you are a representative of everyone else who shares your opinion. To everyone who shares my opinions:

Please don't make us look bad.

Fact of the day: The Czech Republic kindly asks that you now refer to it as "Czechia"

Why FB’s “Marked ‘Safe’” feature rubbed New Yorkers the wrong way

On Wednesday, a commuter train from Long Island came barreling into Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn at over twice the speed limit, hit the blockade at the end of the tracks, and derailed, injuring over 100 people and terrifying the city. People from around the world began texting their loved ones in Brooklyn, as they refreshed Facebook, anxious to see who among their friends would be the next to be marked “Safe.”

I received a text from a friend in Pittsburg asking “OMG are you alright???”

Everyone in New York Metro began to receive word from worried friends and family who had heard about the disaster. Unfortunately, the disaster turned out to be underwhelming:

The train was indeed doubling the speed limit, but the speed limit in the station is 5mph. According to the NYT, the train was traveling at “more than 10 mph”.

They reported over 100 people injured, but according to Governor Cuomo, it was difficult to say exactly how many, because many of the "injured" had left the scene. He added that the most serious injury was a “possible broken leg.” Brooklyn Hospital Spokeswomen Joan Clark said, regarding the injured, “Everyone is in pretty good shape.” It even turned out that the “possible broken leg” was not, in fact, broken.

By the time these facts emerged, it was too late – Facebook’s tragedy-detecting algorithm had been set in motion, and finally, millions of New Yorkers were able to unlock the new online achievement “Disaster Survivor.” As more people checked-in “safe,” more people became worried. Never mind that nobody was seriously hurt. Never mind that nobody who lives in Brooklyn would have even been on that train. My friends didn’t understand when I responded to their concerned calls and texts with an exasperated Napoleon Dynamite-esque throaty sigh.

“UGHHHHHHHHHHHH… yes. I’m ok.

In a city of 8-million people, we are constantly witnessing and coping with all varieties of nonsense. Just a few weeks ago, everyone at my bar was late to work because someone fell off of a subway car and got decapitated. I’m able to phone an ambulance for someone laying in the middle of the road bleeding while talking with a coworker about where to go for dinner. We recognize that 9/11 happened and we accept that something like that could happen again at any time. This is part of living New York City.

The so-called “Train Accident in Brooklyn,” probably wasn’t the worst thing to happen in NYC this week, or even that morning. It probably wasn’t even the worst part of the day for most people on the train. I mean, they actually got to the station ahead of schedule. But for some reason, Facebook had decided this event was serious enough that everyone in the world should be notified. Well, it turns out, it actually wasn’t Facebook that made the decision.

In mid November, Facebook issued this statement:

Safety Check will (now) be turned on by our community instead of Facebook …Once an incident occurs, a third party source alerts Facebook… If a lot of people in the area are talking about the incident, they may be invited to mark themselves safe.

So, a train crashed at more than 10mph, a “third-party” notified Facebook, people in Brooklyn were talking about it, and all of a sudden everyone I’d ever met received notification that I might be in danger. It seems to be the first major gaffe following the implementation of the new algorithm, and will hopefully be recognized and adjusted again, because false alarms and crying wolf have real implications, according to my 2nd grade teacher, my mom, and now me, not least of which is everyone i know thinking i'm dead when i'm actually just hung-over in bed thinking i'm dying.

I’m sure there are many people out there who feel left out by all the disasters constantly happening around the world, and long to one day mark themselves “safe,” and I understand that. People generally want to be as close as possible to a tragedy without it actually touching them. We all want to survive something terrible and let everyone know that we’re alright, because if we have to let people know that we’re safe, it means that there are people who care if we are safe or not. That feels good.

We’re all on the same quest for endorphins, but this is not the way. You must wait patiently for the bad things to actually come. You have to have faith. Trust me: The bad things will come. This is New York City. The Village Voice has an article called “20 ways to die in New York City,” and they’re all things that people actually die from. It CAN happen near YOU. And if you really want to be able to mark yourself “Safe,” and you just CAN’T wait, move to Turkey.

I could not bring myself to mark myself “Safe” for the Train Accident in Brooklyn. I may as well mark myself safe at the end of every day. Is it hard to imagine this:

Facebook’s latest feature allows users to check in daily to let their friends know that they are still alive and well. If a user has gone more than a few days without Checking- In, Facebook will notify the user’s friends. “Hey there, Brad! Your friend Gustav hasn’t checked-in “Alive” in a while! Send Gustav a message to make sure he's alright.

I appreciate your concerns, family, friends and loved ones. Yes, I survived the Train Accident in Brooklyn, and I am ok. A little shaken up, but that just might be from seeing that biker get hit by a car on my walk home.

Fact of the Day: Dolphins can see your heart beating

true dat.

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