Best debater award

[Agathon]

"a" is not an "article type adjective" it is an indefinite article.

The difference is because of the verb "to be".

Compare, "I am a furry" with "I killed a furry". The first only mentions one object, me and says that I am located in the class of furries. The second mentions two items, me, and the furry I killed.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Elok
"I am a furry" consists of subject/noun "I," verb "am," "furry," the object of the verb "am," and "a," which is an article-type adjective modifying the direct object "furry."

Am is not an action/transitive word. There is no object. There is no spoon.

[Elok]

I'm full of wine and therefore get a plus-seven to resist! I win anyway!

And by "article-type adjective" I mean that it is an article, and articles happen to be part of the family of adjectives. Which it undoubtedly is, as it alters the noun "furry" within the phrase "I am furry," thereby altering the meaning of the phrase as a whole from some sort of militant-activist statement of Finnish sexual deviance ("I am Furry, hear me roar") to a declaration of one's own identity as part of a larger group. Excuse me for being user-friendly.

[Elok]

"Am" might very well be considered transitive depending on one's language. It's confusing because, in English, the same verb is used for "I exist," which is intransitive, as for "I am a member of, equal to, or identified with," which is most definitely transitive. In, say, Spanish, it would be haber as opposed to estar or ser. Here the sense is quite clearly that of estar or ser, i.e. transitive. "Hay," makes sense in a cogito-ergo-sum sort of way, whereas "estoy" or "soy" are mere sentence fragments, because those verbs function only to define the subject in terms of a given object, which if not given cannot be taken as implied from context.

[Agathon]

It's not transitive, there are just different uses of "is" some require a complement, some do not.

[Guynemer]

You are all wrong. Wrong. WRONG!

[Berzerker]

Seems like I always forget someone when these polls come up, and since he mentioned me I should return the favor.

David Floyd

While I like Wraith's pithy responses, he just doesn't debate people here any more and David does and I haven't seen him lose a debate and I count myself among the vanquished.

MtG also deserves credit although I don't see him debate much. It's always enjoyable watching him rip apart Sava's trolls.

Chegitz occasionally makes intelligent points but lacks the consistency to place highly on my list.

[Elok]

Originally posted by Agathon
It's not transitive, there are just different uses of "is" some require a complement, some do not.

In which case "to be" can be considered both transitive and intransitive, and may or may not require an object as communicative necessities dictate. If you left out "a furry," you would be expressing the idea that you exist and nothing more, which is not the idea you meant to convey and therefore would be labelled a failure or at least an incomplete victory in the annals of human interaction.

[Pax]

Spiffor
Sava
Skywalker

honorable mention
Ned

[Imran Siddiqui]

Let's start a new thread with recommendations for our friend Mr Siddiqui. He can't go through life without pizazz. We who care about him, should help him remedy this defect and improve his pizazz rating.

I suggest he change his name to "Iron" Siddiqui. That's a name that oozes chutzpah.

I need to work on my pizazz quotient. Perhaps I should sit on the foot of the Grand Poohbah Zylka.

And apparently people like my username (at least that is what they told me when I started a thread asking if I should change it), so the pizazz has to be from somewhere other.

--

And of course, the day when I take a plane and thus am not on the boards for a long amount of time is when a debate breaks out about my debating style (funny that). Well, I'll let you carry on, but before I do, Oncle Boris, being right means never having to admit you're wrong .

[Fake Boris]

EDIT: Would the people who post in this thread, please give a list of one to three names for nominations? Counting is an HELL as it is right now.
And, BTW, if you can't nominate for X reasons, please state it clearly, so that I don't waste time trying to make something out of your posts.

Thanks.

[Fake Boris]

Ming:

Didn't know that Evan Schmuctruck was in fact Thorn.

BTW, aren't you happy we mentioned you win your debates?

[Winston]

Ok everyone, while Oncle Boris is busy counting the nominations so far, it's time to start editing your posts.

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Well, I'll let you carry on, but before I do, Oncle Boris, being right means never having to admit you're wrong .

Not in YOUR case, silly. It would be quite the opposite, in fact.

[Ben Kenobi]

indeed the only hardline Catholic I've seen that can discuss their policies

Not bad for someone who ain't Catholic.

People who have not been mentioned who deserve to be on the list:

I'd give Berzerker a vote, but he's already there.


1. DanS.

Deadly on any econ thread. Willing to smother you with facts and evidence. Does not do ad-hominems, or BAMs.

2. Shi Huangdi

I know he hates the acclaim, but he deserves to be on here as well. Very articulate, and patient with posters.

3. Adam Smith

Any list without him would be incomplete.