Polite Rules for discussing Audio related things

Whatever happened to Socratic Circles, consisting of (from Wiki) "cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions." "The Socratic method is a method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic method searches for general, commonly held truths that shape beliefs and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series of questions formulated as tests of logic, intended to help a person or group discover their beliefs about some topic, exploring definitions or and seeking to characterize general characteristics shared by various particular instances."

That doesn't sound like anarchy or existentialism to me, and usually I look for discourse that follows this method, but it's been awhile since I took philosophy back in college and since I last read Plato, Camus, Sartre or Hume.

Audiogon should have just said, "OK, we're starting an Asperger's Support Group--forums are now open."  

Hume: "We can't know anything for sure." Including that statement.

Given the heated discussions regarding cable burn-in (etc) maybe Hume should be the patron saint of audiophiles.

I think the problem with a Socratic model (as defined above....I know nothing about it) in regard to how it relates to the contentious topics here is that so many of them are so very subjective and that there is often a very even demarcation between believers and naysayers. Both of these are hard to overcome in a Socratic model.

Nevertheless, it certainly stands head and shoulders above personal attacks and incivility.

Critical thinking requires energy. I for one don’t waste such energy on forum threads. Besides, I can’t overcome my bias inherent to much of my belief structure. Bias gets in the way of most critical thought as a means of protecting inner voice ego. 

Nietzsche was very insightful until became completely mentally ill.
How about this ? Pardon my translation, I read him in another language.
- Push the one who is falling -