Discussion Post Etiquette
- Argue all you want. Challenge the claims your classmates make. But, never forget that we are all in this together. There is no room for personal attacks or impolite discussion. To avoid personal attacks, make sure to focus on the arguments offered and not on the person making the argument.
- Do not copy and paste the discussion prompt into your discussion post. This leads to a lot of repetition and clutter in the discussions. The only thing that should be in your discussions is your original and unique content.
- I am an active and engaged participants in discussions but I won't read everything. If you find a post that you feel is out of line in some way, do not respond in kind! Just e-mail me so we can address your concerns.
Practical Advice on Participating in Discussion
- Read before you post. This guideline becomes more urgent as the week progresses from Tuesday to Monday. Discussion is a conversation and this means interacting with others. Why take the time to write a post that is nearly identical to what a classmate has already posted? A much better option is to join into the discussion already underway.
- Post early in the week! If you are among the first to post in the week you get to set the agenda. Discussions have to start somewhere and it is the early posters who get to start us off.
- Give your classmates the benefit of the doubt; read their arguments in the best possible light before you criticize them. Helping a classmate articulate her ideas or working with a classmate to flesh out his position is just as valuable as offering a counter-argument or criticism.
- Make every post count. Try to stay focused on the core concepts we're addressing. There is plenty of room to explore ideas; just work to make it clear how the focus of your post is relevant to the topic at hand.
- When you make claims, defend them with reasons and arguments. In a philosophy class what you happen to believe is largely unimportant unless you can defend your beliefs with reasons that make sense to the rest of us.
- Avoid one-line replies such as I agree or good post. If you agree take the time to say why. Each reply should push the discussion forward.
The Art of Reply
- Reply to a post that interests you. Your reply might focus on a critique of the original post, you might want to help support a conclusion with your own arguments or examples, you might want to use someone's idea to segue to a related idea, you might want to highlight a theory or concept, or just to push the discussion forward.
- Retitle your reply. Change the default post title and compose a title that previews the main point of your reply.
- Recap the post you are replying to. In a few sentences summarize the specific aspect of the previous post that your reply addresses. Offer a direct quote from the post when it helps. Refer to your classmate by name. Putting your reply in context will really help the rest of us follow the idea thread from post to reply. And, this recapping will minimize the "one-liner" replies that offer little to the discussion. This will also make for fewer posts but higher quality posts for everyone to deal with.
- Respond to the post with your own reasoned views, your clarifications, your questions or your intellectual challenge to the class.
- Reengage the discussion. A good reply offers your own unique contribution to the discussion but also intends to re-engage the person you are replying to ~ aims at getting that person (or others in the class) to consider your ideas and reply to you.
- Repeat the process. Read the replies posted to your reply and continue the discussion!
