I think giving half-baked responses to my critics on another forum got me
very close to getting banned from one community.
This is the thing I found: if someone disagrees with you and you do not make
an effort to stand by what you said, then a critic has grounds to accuse you
of deliberately derailing topics, or spamming, or something to that effect.
Additionally, they are the main voice seen by the moderators, so the
moderators get the impression that the views that they express are the views
of the entire community. If it gets to the point where the moderators
consider any mention of libre software from you to be spamming or derailing,
then there is nothing you can do at that point except never mention libre
software again.
But if you present your views strongly and make it clear that you are
interested in engaging in discussion, dissenters cannot make this accusation.
All they can do is express disagreement. If they do it reasonably, a
reasonable discussion occurs (and reasonable discussions are always a good
thing). If they do it unreasonably, they make themselves look bad.
Please keep in mind that the point of debating or discussing a topic with
someone else is never to convince them that they are wrong. This will never
happen. The point of a discussion serves two purposes: one, to show your side
to any observers; and two, to find the source of the disagreement. Showing
that you are willing and even eager to engage in a debate also serves another
important purpose: to establish and maintain your credibility and integrity.
