Slander...

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So where is the line drawn between making a derogatory remark, an irreverent comment and slander?...

noun: slander

1.
the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.
"he is suing the TV company for slander"
a false and malicious spoken statement.
plural noun: slanders
"I've had just about all I can stomach of your slanders"
synonyms: defamation, defamation of character, character assassination, misrepresentation of character, calumny, libel; More
scandalmongering, malicious gossip, muckraking, smear campaigning, disparagement, denigration, derogation, aspersions, vilification, traducement, obloquy, backbiting, scurrility;
lie, slur, smear, untruth, false accusation, false report, insult, slight;

This something I am trying to sort out in my mind...

I think we have more issues here on WP arising from calculated denigration rather than slander. Often these attacks start with strawmans, misrepresenting what another poster has written, or taking only a part of it, then twisting it to fit the attacker's agenda to launch a personal attack. Not many members do it, though the minority that do tend to do it fairly consistently.

Strawmans cause a lot of trouble here, possibly more often than anything else, they shut down or corrupt otherwise valid threads, which seems unfair to members who post in good faith (the vast majority of members).

It's the logical fallacy that we see use of more often than any other, and it becomes very tedious when it is employed to hijack or derail threads.

Slander occurs if the "denigration" could affect a person's prospects in life (e.g., obtaining a spouse, job, home).

It's part and parcel of attempts at character assassination.

Yep. Definitely.

Now that's an interesting topic for further research:

Is the plural for "strawman" "strawmen," or "strawmans?"

One thing that should be pointed out: the plural for "Walkman" was not "Walkmen"; it was "Walkmans."

I had intended to make a dedicated thread about "strawmen", but the intellectual/contextual soil here is very fertile...

I am appalled at the degree of usage of the "strawman" in a contentious thread I inadvertently create, in which I refuse to post due to ethical and credibility considerations as a result of what I outlined initially...
The degree of misrepresentation is staggering, and the seemingly obvious solution to remedy the problem by simply pointing out a person's misunderstanding of the context and definitions of terminology is often not implemented...

I believe most instances of the perversion/distortion of the discussion are a result of simple ignorance and/or lack of life experience, but it doesn't change the fact the discussion has become, to a significant degree, a grotesque quasi/pseudo intellectual construct which in many ways humiliates the concept of rational reasonable objective individuals...
Some people should simply know better, but their emotionally fuelled inherent mechanism for confrrmation bias is left unchecked...

For this reason, I am contemplating going to other websites when discussing certain topics, something I find disappointing since, as an autistic individual, I had considered WP a safe haven away from the irrationality of most neurotypical discussion forums...


I have also decided that I don't want to endanger relationships I have built here if my views are in conflict with individuals I care about...

While I still wish this website to be my main "home" dedicated toward personal growth, information enhancement and general enlightenment, it seems I will have to become more circumspect in regards to where the controversial "line in the sand" is...

Unfortunate...