Have you ever seen a RWer change their mind or political stance as a

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

result of "idea exchanges" (the thought makes me laugh) over a message board? Or a liberal become a Bush supporter?

I'm not talking about those personal experiences where someone you know proclaims their change of heart over a long period of absorbing news, emails and reflecting. I'm talking about people you only "know" over a message board. Someone saying, "you know, I've been thinking about what all you liberals have been saying, and I realize what a disaster * has been, I'm going to vote Dem next election" etc.

I sure haven't. Makes me wonder if there's much point to such exchanges on "neutral" boards except to vent.

I've seen a precious few people look like they were LEANING towards being open minded, and at least reading opposing views, but then fall right back into mindless liberal and Dem-bashing talking points.

[Broken_Hero]

1. Umm, nope..

I haven't, not yet...I have a lot of exchanges with other RW people on another chatline, the alamak.com. None of the rw people there have changed their mind in the least bit, and the high prices of gas, plame, the mess in iraq, seemed to changed their mind one bit..

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. No

those 'neutral' message boards are there mainly for people to solidify their opinions and, if they feel like it, call people from the other side names. I've often wondered if those people would act that way if they met other posters face to face.

I long ago stopped going to 'neutral' political sites, and stick now mainly to DU, where I get information and ideas for political action.

[yankeedem]

3. Turn it around

Has any of us ever changed our minds?

I haven't in general, but have modified some of my positions on certain issues. Of course, noone is going to admit this on a message board.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. Yes. I saw one change from bud lite to miller lite because of an ad and a

political discussion.

Considering that 1/4 of people joining a "neutral" board are there solely to convince others, I am not surprised that few change their minds.
However, I have seen (and have experienced) some conversions, especially about the Shrubista Agenda.

Perhaps, I was oblivious, but 5 yrs ago, I was tired of Hillary, Bill, stains, and more. Al Gore, whose father was less than ethical at times, reminded me of a continuation of similar policies and people. Little did I know.

It took one month of Bush in office and being on a neutral board to realize, holy shit, sherlock, these guys are out and out evil. So, I learned and changed my views. By 9/11, I was livid at the Shrubistas, and it went from bad to worse with Iraq.

[Silent3]

5. Left or right, fundy or atheist...

...you seldom ever see people change their minds right in front of you. Every once in a while you can see that you've influenced someone to moderate their position a bit, but even that's rare.

I do think it's possible, however, to plant the seeds of new ways of thinking that might bear fruit later. I've seen people change over time on who are regulars on message boards that I've read for a couple of years.

And while this doesn't so much apply to DU (where we're mostly just venting and preaching to the choir), there are many other forums where you have to consider how many people, perhaps who haven't yet formed strong opinions on the issues which are important to you, are reading on the sidelines, who won't see your side of things if you simply let others have their own say unchallenged.

[gollygee]

6. People who are trying to decide what to do are more likely to lurk

so if you're into that, I guess you should think of the lurkers rather than the people who are participating.

[Mythsaje]

7. There was a time

I'd posted almost exclusively on the about.com Civil Liberties boards, which has a mix of conservatives, liberals, and libertarians. The conservatives struck me as primarily "classic" conservatives rather than this new breed in most respects, though they almost universally fell for the Bush regime's line of bull. I think they thought he was really one of them.

I knew from the beginning that Bush was full of it, and that we were entering perhaps one of the most challenging trials in U.S. history.

I don't believe you can change minds over a message board, or even in real life. Not directly. But what you can do is present sound arguments that can have an effect, over time, alter their perceptions of the world.

Three years ago I was probably more libertarian than liberal, but in keeping my eyes open I was able to come to the conclusion that Big Business is probably far more dangerous to our freedom and way of life than government, in and of itself, could be. These days I consider Libertarians to be rather politically naive, in that they want to discount the power that comes naturally with accumulations of wealth.

Then again, I have a remarkably open mind and am used to critically examining the arguments with which I'm presented. Many people are not.