1. You tend to make friends with people who agree with you.
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2. This is a problem because it means posting about politics will simply reinforce your political beliefs.
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3. Any "discussions" are almost always one-sided because only one team is invited.
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4. On the other hand, when there is a diverse set of opinions in the discussion, a civil tone often disintegrates because we're not face to face.
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5. And the public nature of every comment means moderate voices are drowned out. (Very few are willing to be seen as sympathetic to other side.)
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6. People rarely want to evaluate an idea on its own merit but rather want to categorize and reject entire schools of thought.
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7. Thus, ultimately most discussions fall into one of two unproductive categories: pointless echo chambers or emotional flame wars.
