So, I guess you only want to talk to people who agree with you

[LuvNewcastle]

5. I see these very words on DU a lot.

It doesn't matter what kind of discussion you're having, certain things are taken for granted, otherwise your discussion will never get off the ground.

The very concept of DU is a good illustration. DU is a place for people to discuss issues from a liberal or leftist perspective. We don't tolerate RWers in discussions on this site. If we didn't filter out RWers, our discussions here would never get anywhere. It is taken for granted on DU that leftist views are generally correct and RW views are wrong. Our arguments are usually about which leftist views are better than the others.

A lot of times I see people say, "let us have our thread," or something to that effect. I might start a thread about bacon and how much I like it. Some people might not like bacon and they'll write a post saying that bacon tastes like shit. Maybe I don't want bacon haters in my thread. Maybe I just want to hear from others about how much they like bacon.

Sometimes it's hard to tell what someone takes for granted when he starts a discussion. Maybe he wants a variety of opinions on a subject; maybe he just wants positive reinforcement for a strongly held belief, or he wants to take the subject to a new plateau. He doesn't want to quibble about things that he already takes for granted.

Sometimes alternative views help a discussion, but other times they ruin it. It's often hard to tell which kind of discussion it is. There's a place for dissent and a place for acceptance.