Countertop Wars, watching the pros debate the issues on materials
For more info, to ask questions, or to find a tester, go to forum.solidsurfacealliance.org
June 4th, 2008
Not all countertop materials are equal, nor do all countertop fabricators share the same opinion on the pros and cons of the material. A consumer thinking to purchase an expensive countertop has to figure out which product is the best material but who to trust? Many of the websites on countertop mateial contradict each other. Who do you trust?
Easy, find a countertop war and see who is winning!
For a year and a half now, these battles have been raging on various consumer sites like Garden Web, HGTV.com Kitchen Forum, or thefabricatornetwork.com with tons of info becoming available to the consumer. Problem was the moderation was lacking, bitter exchanges ensued, with informative posts being deleted, even posters getting banned in the interest of forum harmony. The lack of debate rules allowed unscruplous posters to waste readers time with personal attacks, poor logic, unsupported information, or childish behaviour.
Countertop Wars is designed to end that vicious circle. Here a set of rules will be followed. Repeated violation of the rules will get the miscreants post deleted, along with a specific warning on the rule violated so the poster can do better next time. If a poster doesn’t learn to do better, they will lose posting privileges.
Consumers wanting to listen in, or even join the debate, can follow the debate without the usual time wasting conflict present on these type of threads. Picking out which product is fairly represented will be far easier to do.
The rules are simple.
Avoid the use of Never.
Avoid the use of Always.
Don’t disagree with obvious truths.
Attack the idea not the person.
Use many rather than most.
Avoid exaggeration.
The use of often allows for exceptions.
The use of generally allows for exceptions.
Quote sources and numbers.
If it is just an opinion, admit it.
Do not present opinion as facts.
Smile when disagreeing.
You do not need to win every battle to win the war.
Concede minor or trivial points.
Avoid bickering, quarreling, and wrangling.
Watch your tone of voice.
Don’t win a debate and lose a friend.
Keep your perspective – You’re just debating.
Have fun and learn all about countertop materials.
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