Argument is war; thus forum becomes battle ground.

[Pokerdemic]

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You are correct. There are many attitudes toward argumentation. I do however think that the common view is that if we are having an argument we are engaged in a verbal altercation. If I tell some one that I had an argument with Dave most people will think that we ‘had words’. Flame wars are not the exception

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While argument and rhetoric are shot through with metaphors of war and aggression, conceiving argument as war is counterproductive. Presumably one reason people participate in forums such as these is to contribute to the discussion, and to influence the ideas of those they are responding too. This simply doesn't work if you are conceiving of what goes on here as a battle ground.

Why? Because you are trying to persuade others. And in order to persuade others, according to Kenneth Burke, you need to share some common ground first. You need to endear yourself to an audience, not piss them off.

This is why the Fox News channel is so counterproductive: the guests that appear on the shows come to do battle, and at the end of the day they leave with only the reinforced sense that their original position was correct.

While 2p2 has no shortage of aggression, partly because it is a male dominated environment, the forum works because people are engaged in a discussion, not a verbal altercation. There is a world of difference between the two.