CH a discussion board or bulletin board?

MoreCoffee said:

If you do not want to see the video then do not click on it. If you watch it and dislike its content then why bother commenting about it? If you watch it and think that it is worth a comment then make your comment and see how the thread develops. I see a number of threads started with a video clip and an brief comment. They can be good threads. Many of the Lutheran satire videos were used as thread starters here in CH. Some had comments in the original post along with the video and some have none or almost none. It is okay to let a video speak to the issue that the thread starter wants to discuss.

You could watch this video and see if it helps. It is set in an educational forum context. It has something useful to say about CH too, though in CH quoting an alleged authority is pivotal to many debates; the authority is often the bible but sometimes a statement of faith, a personal experience, or a catechism (which is a more detailed statement of faith). Other starters can be used too.

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The point is that discussion is much easier if the person posting the video actually says something about it. You know, like why I'd want to spend the time to watch it, some thoughts they had on it, maybe a mention of a place in the video where some really good points are being made. Otherwise all you have is a shameless appeal to someone else, which seems rather like an appeal to authority but without the authority. If I watch a video and regard it as a total waste of time then posting something to that effect might save someone else from wasting their time too.

The thing with an appeal to authority, aside from its role as a logical fallacy, is that if both sides to a discussion agree on the authority then it works. To take a silly example, it's probably safe to say that you and I agree on the authority of the 66 books in my Bible. (I know you have more books that I might not accept as divinely inspired, but those aren't relevant to my point here). If we're talking about something that is clearly covered by one of those 66 books then either of us can appeal to the relevant section of Scripture to support our case. We might go back and forth as to what the Scripture means or how it is best applied but we can both accept what it says. If one of us appeals to an authority the other does not accept as being an authority, the appeal is wasted. You probably don't care what my pastor thinks of a particular chapter; I don't recognise the Pope as having spiritual authority over me, and so on. So for one of us to appeal to an example like that makes no sense - we might as well say "but my daddy says...."

ETA: Just for the record, I didn't watch the video.