Discussion underway again in the TalkBoard forum about whether to close Travel News
Feb 13, 2016, 8:04 pm
#16
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It's "ad hominem", as correctly spelled in the original post. And Google is a great tool for learning things.
"I don't like President Obama's failure to keep his promise to close Gitmo."
"Oh yeah? Well, you're stupid"
(of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.
"Oh yeah? Well, you're stupid"
Feb 15, 2016, 2:21 pm
#17
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. My point (seemingly lost on you) was that the poster could have used the simple word "personal," instead of ad hominem. Was this to impress the readership or show the advanced education of the poster? Either way, I'm not impressed although I read the post.
Feb 16, 2016, 5:55 am
#18
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Thank you so much for the Google hint. I had never heard of that expression before you helped me .
My point (seemingly lost on you) was that the poster could have used the simple word "personal," instead of ad hominem. Was this to impress the readership or show the advanced education of the poster? Either way, I'm not impressed although I read the post.
. My point (seemingly lost on you) was that the poster could have used the simple word "personal," instead of ad hominem. Was this to impress the readership or show the advanced education of the poster? Either way, I'm not impressed although I read the post.
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*Including a solid secondary school education, though perhaps not what sometimes gets you a high-school diploma in my country these days.
Feb 16, 2016, 2:22 pm
#19
Join Date: Apr 2015
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Posts: 286
Personal opinion: The word personal has many meanings, including the one it has at the start of this post. Ad hominem is specific to verbal attacks on another. In my experience, ad hominem is not a rare phrase. Since it is more specific to what the poster meant to say, it's a better choice. I don't think using it is showing off, and I think most reasonably educated* native speakers of English would understand it.
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*Including a solid secondary school education, though perhaps not what sometimes gets you a high-school diploma in my country these days.
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*Including a solid secondary school education, though perhaps not what sometimes gets you a high-school diploma in my country these days.
Feb 17, 2016, 7:39 am
#20
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And now back to whether or not Travel News should continue to exist as a forum. For what it's worth, I think it should.