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Wikipedia:Stoopid or lyin'

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We've all done it. Someone comes out with something outrageous, they couldn't be more wrong - nobody in their right mind could believe it. They must be either stoopid or lyin'.

It's not OK

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STOP! Even if you believe it, even if it is true, this or any of the million variants are personal attacks.

Firstly - AGF, they are not lying. Second ..Stupid? Ignorant? - how about "mistaken" or "wrong". Better still, how about being cooperative rather than confrontational.

  • I think you are mistaken...
  • The sources seem to support a different view...
  • I would be interested to hear why you say that...

No really, it just isn't

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  • Someone justified this approach as "it is true it is a tautology" - on that basis he could have said "ignorant or lying or a racist" for example. Not helpful.
  • Adding adjectives generally makes it a worse insult "deliberately lying" "appallingly ignorant" - maybe "slightly ignorant" is less cutting, but "ignorant" is widely perceived as an insult.

Especially because

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Sometimes they turn out to be right!

Examples

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  • 2 points for each real life entry by another editor you find using this trope dated 2013 or later.
  • 10 points for every example of me (RF) using it - and I fear I probably have.
  1. "either ignorant of the way that the judiciary interpret laws, or deliberately lying"