To Each Their Own

Online chatrooms, like Discord, are fantastic platforms for communication, bringing people together from all over the world. Naturally, people are bound to express their opinions (which they are entitled to). It's not uncommon to encounter someone sharing thoughts like:

Humanbeing3: Man, I can't STAND Windows.

And there's nothing wrong with this! Let's take a look at some definitions of an opinion:

dictionary.com:

A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

merriam-webster.com:

A view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.

In case you don't fully understand this definition, an opinion is something entirely and wholly subjective to each individual and is not to be taken as a fact.

Now that we have those pesky definitions out of the way, we can concur that you, yes you, are entitled to your very own opinion! Congratulations!


Let's take a look at an example of somebody poorly receiving an opinion:

humanbeing32:

I just love the way that Windows 11 is designed. It truly is a wonderful piece of software.

otherhumanbeing47:

Why do you love Windows? It's literally a bloated, horribly created software with miserable design. Windows is the worst piece of software ever made. Now, Arch Linux—that's a great piece of software. To open Firefox, I only have to do:
sudo apt update
echo '#!/bin/bash' > open_firefox.sh
echo 'firefox' >> open_firefox.sh
chmod +x open_firefox.sh
sudo apt update # Can't be too sure
./open_firefox.sh

You are a horrible person for liking Windows.

... What was that? Look at that horrible interaction where humanbeing32 was just expressing their own valid opinion on a piece of software, and then otherhumanbeing47 just decided to take it as an opportunity to start attacking humanbeing32 and relentlessly push their opinion on them. Here's an example of how this should've gone down:

humanbeing32:

I just love the way that Windows 11 is designed. It truly is a wonderful piece of software.

otherhumanbeing47:

Oh, that's nice. I prefer Arch Linux myself.

And if they wanted to continue the conversation EVEN further, they could maybe add:

otherhumanbeing47:

What do you like most about Windows 11? I think its gaming support is the best!

It's okay to have your own opinion! Everybody does, and more people need to be okay with that. Imagine the places otherhumanbeing47 will go now that they know how to accept humanbeing32's opinion and not get offended by it.

So, to summarize:
If someone says "I love/think <thing>", Instead of being offended, either keep your mouth shut or try to be an open-minded, valuable addition to the conversation:
"Oh, that's nice! I prefer/like <thing> myself."
Try to relate to them!

Other similar problems: The XY Problem, No Hello, Don't ask to ask.
Further reading: How do I ask a good question?, or if you have more time: How To Ask Questions The Smart Way.


The person who sent you this isn't trying to start an argument, lmao. They are trying to help you understand how to handle opinions better. If this offends you, there's probably something wrong with you.