Debate in Cyberspace: Winning Tactics for the Online Grassroots Political Fight

By Jeremy Lockhart

"Debate in Cyberspace", or online debate, is a powerful grassroots political tool that brings you and your best ideas in direct conflict with your adversaries and their best ideas, all in full view of any number of spectators who may not as of yet made up their minds. The potential to gain supporters is great, but so is the risk of losing some of these undecided people forever. This book is packed full of first hand knowledge gained through a decade of experience debating hot button issues online to help you convince undecided folks that your ideas are the best out there, and they should join you.
In this book you'll see what elements make up a solid logical argument so you can trim away excess words and deliver a big impact in a statement short enough that everyone will read it. You'll discover the best ways to approach an argument when you enter a debate on a site predominately filled with opposition members, and how you might alter your strategy when debating others who basically agree with you on sites dedicated to individuals with similar beliefs to your own. You'll gain insight into online debate strategy, differing from in person or classroom debate in key ways that you'll learn to exploit.
You'll learn the best ways to begin a debate of your own and get the opposition to respond fast, and how to keep them arguing to get the most out of them.
You'll see examples of how to attack and how to defend, and dirty tricks to watch out for along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeremy Lockhart
• Release date: Oct 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370049653

Jeremy Lockhart

Jeremy Lockhart has a passion for writing that began at an early age after a paranormal experience sparked an interest in reading ghost stories. Debate in Cyberspace is his first published work. Jeremy is currently writing several non-fiction and fiction books, so be on the lookout for new titles.

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Debate in Cyberspace:

Winning Tactics for the Online Grassroots Political Fight

By Jeremy Lockhart

Published by Jeremy Lockhart at Smashwords

Copyright 2017 Jeremy Lockhart

Acknowledgements: To all those family members and friends, coworkers, associates, and teachers that have offered encouragement over the years when I most needed it, this book couldn't have been finished without you. Thank you for your support! To all my fellow debaters throughout cyberspace whom I've come in contact with in the past, even the most profane haters I've had occasion to provoke, thank you for shaping me into the debater I am today. This book never would have happened without you.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: A Powerful Grassroots Political Tool

The Players

The Game: Effective Persuasive Argument

The Anatomy of an Argument

Flavors of Arguments

Debate Strategy

Winning the Game… How to Convince VIPs That You are Worth Following

Different Battlegrounds, Different Tactics

Starting Your Own Debates: Kindling, Oxygen, and a Match...

Editing: The Differences Between Online Debate and Face to Face Debate that You Need to Take Advantage Of

Debate Ethics

In Conclusion

Introduction: A Powerful Grassroots Political Tool

Online debate has grown to be the epicenter of every major political clash. When the heat turns up on hotly contested issues, veteran debaters and amateurs alike mind-wrestle gladiator style, not for their lives, but for the hearts and minds and, ultimately, for the support of their fellow debaters and all those reading along. These otherwise ordinary people do battle, wielding ideas like sword and shield, attacking and defending as they struggle to gain advantage.

Fresh minds flock to online forums of all types to be entertained, to be inspired, to learn more about the subject from those in the know, and ultimately, to develop an opinion of their own. Firebrands wishing to rally support for a cause are able, with a few clicks, to inspire thousands of people to join them. Why risk a friendship by picking up the phone to discuss a hot button issue with a buddy in a private conversation and waste time on off topic chatter and pleasantries, when, with a computer or smart phone, you can jump right into a lively debate with dozens, maybe hundreds of people on both sides of the issue who are just as passionate as you are, with many undecided minds reading the discussion as it unfolds. The opportunity for an ordinary person, such as yourself, to influence the opinions of a substantial number of individuals is exciting, humbling, and maybe even more than a little scary…

The impact you can make through intelligent online debate is impressive, and the results can be felt in the real world when those same people, whose positions you’ve changed on the key issue of your choice, show up at the voting booth, or drop a little something in a donation box, or volunteer their time to support your cause. The flip side of course is that if you cannot hold your own against your opponents, or if you allow yourself to be intimidated into quitting the fight by internet bullies, or if you aren’t prepared with the right information, or worse yet, you behave like a complete jerk, you can wound your cause and find that your efforts have actually marshaled support for the opposition, again in real dollars and real votes. Fear not! With a little knowledge of solid debate technique and ethics, a grasp of the online medium itself, and an understanding of the challenges unique to this form of debate, you can succeed in the fight to unite people in support of your cause and change the world!

The True Goal of Debate in Cyberspace

Politics matter because people can use the law, for better or worse, to force those who disagree with them into compliance. They use government to create and enforce laws, and they use politics to transform that government into a machine that reflects their world view and aggressively pursues policies designed to reinforce that view. To shape and change government so that it works for you, you'll need the support of passionate, like minded people to vote your way and to donate time and money to the cause. That means changing minds and inspiring people at the grassroots level, and as an emerging grassroots political tool, online debate, and a competent online debater, can do just that.

In your favor is the fact that many people debating online fail to understand fully the game they are playing, the stakes, or even what they can do to win, or even how they may inadvertently blow it. For many, anger is the chief motivation for stepping onto the online debate stage, and for these shallow thinking individuals, blowing off a little steam is the only objective. Some perceived threat has gotten under their skin and caused them, in desperation, to lash out at their opposition with hurled insults and cutting comments. Even when they are making a good argument, these amateurs fail to notice when they are blowing the game. By attacking their enemies aggressively and on a very personal level, these people feel like they are winning the debate. What they fail to recognize is the diversity of opinion that likely exists within the masses reading the argument, and the potential to drive a vast, otherwise persuadable audience away and thus wound their own cause with poorly chosen words.

Consider this idea, of all the people reading through the comments that make up an online debate, there is a small percentage who strongly support whatever is being debated, and there is a small percentage who strongly oppose the same proposal. These two groups are unlikely to change their minds, though they are the main players in this struggle. Amateur debaters tend to see red and develop tunnel vision. They have eyes only for the enemy and they forget that the vast majority of people reading along are someplace in the middle. These, middle-of-the-roaders, are your true target audience. By writing with anger, amateurs will often alienate a wide swath of the persuadable audience, who will then be more apt to listen with interest to what their rivals have to say.

In every debate there are some undecided people giving the issue serious thought, probably for the first time in their lives, and for the moment their positions are still soft. While perhaps leaning one way or another on the issue, they don’t yet have a solid opinion. It’s common for some undecided folks to develop a somewhat firm middle of the road view point, but as they learn more about the subject, a little careful nudging can push them further into your column. The fact is that most of these undecided folks are simply too busy with their everyday lives to give serious thought to the issue at hand on a regular basis, and are only reading your debate at this time because the issue has been in the news and has captured their attention, or because someone they know is arguing on one side or the other, or a friend told them to check it out. These people with malleable opinions, whatever their reason for paying attention at this moment in time, are the most important people in a debate, the VIPs, and the reason why consistently winning online debate is so crucial to any grass roots political movement.

The true goal of online debate is to convince these undecided readers, for our purposes we’ll continue to call them VIPs (Very Important Persons), to adopt your views and take on an active role in fighting for your cause, thus growing your base of support. If you do your job and win these people over, they’ll feel compelled to go out and champion your cause in future debates, because your point of view is now their’s as well. They’ll also be more likely to donate money or volunteer their time to organizations that support your cause, and show up to vote for politicians or ballot initiatives that matter to you.

The Players

The pieces in this chess game are living, breathing human beings spread out over the entire globe. Each participant, whether they be an active contributor or just a person only interested enough to read the comments, has a role to play according to their position on the issue being discussed, whether they are aware of it or not. Without the pieces you can’t play the game. Without adversaries there is no discussion, and without an audience the stakes aren’t high enough to spend your time arguing. It never hurts to have a few like minded folks on your team either. Be too harsh, and you may drive everyone away, and if you are boring or ineffective, then you will fail to keep the attention of the undecided members of your audience and the opportunity to change any minds at all goes right down the crapper. Everyone commenting on either side of the debate or silently reading along has a role to play, and represents an opportunity to change a mind, including, believe it or not, those who most vigorously disagree with you..

It’s important to remember that these chess pieces are humans with real lives and responsibilities, with beliefs and concerns based on their own personal life experiences, and perhaps even a little in-depth thinking, so all honest opinions expressed that pertain to the issue should be respected, even if you disagree with them. Remember, it’s quite possible that the people reading along, even the most rabid opponents to your viewpoint, may never have heard of anything like the proposals you are putting forth, and they may be a little shocked at first before you explain yourself. As well, you may be taken aback, even horrified, by some of the ideas your opponents have conceived. Mutual respect will allow thoughts to flow freely, and through intelligent debate you can shatter misconceptions, create new possibilities and plant little idea seeds in VIPs and rivals alike, and hopefully change some minds out there.

It’s likely that as you get more involved in online debate you will find yourself in every possible role in the game at one time or another. You will surely enter many debates either strongly for or against the issue being discussed, and as an active participant you will cover most of the roles discussed above in a single outing, depending on the point of view of the various participants. To those on your side you will be an Ally, or Accomplice, as I like to call those who argue alongside me during debates. Those on the other side of the coin will view you as an Adversary, or Tool. Of course, if you peek in on an active debate over an issue that you are curious but not very knowledgeable about, and you enter it with a fairly open mind and few preconceived ideas, then you might just be one of those ever valuable VIPs…

Role 1.) You, the Captain General, Shaper of Opinions, Trend Setter, Team Leader, Chief, Jackass, Perhaps Chief-Jackass? Whatever you‘d like to call yourself!

You are the best person to inspire others to support the causes that matter to you. I can’t do it. Your boyfriend or girlfriend, wife or husband can’t do it. The President of the United States isn’t interested. Not even your Mommy or Daddy can do it for you. Gathering support for the issues that matter to you is a job only you care about, and it’s best done by you. That’s not to say that you don’t have helpers out there in the universe. Far from it! There are plenty of people all over the world reading opinions and typing some of their own in cyberspace, and every one of them that you come in contact with has a role to play, but 'without you nothing pertaining to your agenda gets done.

You’re goal of course is to persuade others to support your causes with just as much enthusiasm as you do. These others will be reading through the comments on the topic, evaluating the arguments made on each side (perhaps throwing in their own two cents as well), and determining for themselves which ideas are best. If you’ve done your job, some of these people will feel strongly enough about your ideas to donate