Not knowing which levers and buttons to press to land a plane safely isn't the same as having a different opinion from the pilot, it's just a lack of knowledge. You can't have a different opinion about - for example - which lever lowers the landing gear; you can just have a belief, which can be either right or wrong. I don't doubt there are differing opinions about how to safely land a plane in danger*, but these opinions are generally the currency of experts (pilots, safety inspectors, insurance companies, etc) rather than a matter of debate between people who know what they're doing and people who don't.

If, on the other hand, you're hypothesising that one of the passengers of the plane is of the opinion that they should be the one to land the plane instead of the pilot despite a complete lack of training or understanding, then I still disagree with you. That passenger is perfectly entitled to their opinion - I just don't think they should be allowed to act on it.

*For example, I assume (I'm not an expert) there are debates over things like whether it's safer to aim to land in the sea or on land in different situations.

http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l510/JustAKayee/watch-out-we-got-a-badass-over-here-meme.png

The IMO has been used too much in this thread already, which mean I can't use it and still be funny... Dammit.


Annyhoo. I have yet to encounter someone smashing a "that's just your opinion" in my face when talking about something, be it in real life or forums. Sounds like a last resort to "win" an argument, or a last resort to "back out of" an argument.

Not always. It can be just your opinion. I agree that the "that's just your opinion"-phrase is used to avoid discussing the opinions, but in itself, it's valid if used correctly (around .1% of the time on the Internet, true, but still...)

And I'll point out that if I don't agree with someone, I'll state my opinion. It'll be harsh sometimes, and I know it'll spark a negative response, but I know how I'll get in a debate, so I say my peace and leave it at that.

I will only remark there is an increasing tendancy to consider that anybody's point of view is equally worthy, regardless of actual expertise.

Which is completely barmy. Ten minutes on wikipedia will not make you Dr House. Disliking a book does not entail it is bad. I hate reading Balzac, fact is, he's a bleeding genius - you never end commenting his texts.

Having an opinion does not mean we need to voice it at the top of our lungs, like a three-years old going "mum-MUM-MUUUUUM" when advlts don't pay attention to him. Five minutes shutting up, minding people who actually have something to say.

Again, sounds exactly like me.

To those saying, This is pointless: it's not.

"IMO" (gugh) and "IMHO" (even worse) have become so over-used that they've lost the weight they once had in "decent" conversation. They've invited lazy thinking and are actively spoiling what could be many interesting, pleasant and/or thought-provoking interchanges. The phrases invite people to ignore or disregard even well-reasoned arguments and to approach difficult subjects as if they are meaningless.

Please stop using "IMO" and "IMHO" before you ruin humanity.

Oooooh so true.

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion man.

The problem is that alot of people who read a statement without "IMO" or "IMHO" nowadays believes that the one who wrote it wrote it as a fact, rather than an opinion. And what happens then? People will start telling the person how stupid *he is or what stupid idea *he was suggesting.

The reason people tend to clarify that what they are saying are their own opinion, may just be because they want to avoid discussion and questioning all together. The person simply never wanted to start a debate in the first place. I see way to often that people have misinterpret other peoples opinions, and thought they were stating facts. This happens way to often, and it's not only restricted to the internet. I assume some people have begun to think that it is a necessity to add "imo" before they say something, in order to not be misunderstood and be the victim of flaming.

The only place where "IMO" is exploited is in actual debates and discussion, and I agree that it has become a problem. The point I'm trying to make is that there is nothing wrong with saying "In my opinion" if you aren't seeking a discussion, and just want to avoid offending someone. When you start saying it in actual discussions however to avoid counter-arguments it becomes a problem, just like you said. Your post made it sound like you wanted "imo" to be thrown out from any conversation ever, and that's the only part where I disagree, if that were the case that is.

The most important times I use the "opinion" card is with my hubby. When we get into an argument about something/anything in which we have differing opinions there was a time that we would have an all out battle of "who is right". After years upon years of these battles in which neither of us would win or lose the battle and both of us walk away angry I began to be able to see when we had differing opinions on something quite early and thus when we just start having such differences and it only just starts to spiral into us butting heads I often say, "Bob, we obviously have different opinions on this subject and we are obviously steadfast in our thoughts on the matter so we need to stop this discussion now because it will lead only to hurt feelings and saying things we don't mean because neither of us will change our opinions about this so let's just leave it alone and not argue and not discuss it and accept that this is one of those things we believe differently about.

Then he goes off to his corner of the house and I to mine and we simmer down and the only thing that changes is we still think differently about it but we get to skip the emotional rage in between. Same results without the anger.

Interestingly, we've done that so long now that we actually know when something comes up that we will disagree on.

I think it important to be able to separate facts from opinions because there is much in this world that no two people are going to see exactly the same way and it is important to accept that fact and to make sure we don't present our feelings and emotional attachments as having to do with facts.

At least that is my opinion on the matter.