Why I Stopped Arguing Online
I used to argue with strangers on the internet.
我以前经常在网上和陌生人争论。
If somebody wrote something I thought was wrong, I replied.
如果有人写了我认为错误的东西，我就回复。
I was often right, and being right felt good.
我常常是对的，而正确的感觉很好。
One evening I spent two hours on a single argument.
有一天晚上，我在一场争论上花了两个小时。
I checked facts, I found sources, I wrote carefully.
我查了事实，找了资料，仔细地写。
In the end the other person stopped replying.
最后对方不回复了。
I had won.
我赢了。
Then I closed the computer and looked at the time.
然后我关上电脑，看了看时间。
It was almost midnight and I had not eaten dinner.
快半夜了，我还没吃晚饭。
I asked myself a simple question: what had changed?
我问了自己一个简单的问题：有什么改变了吗？
That person did not change their mind. Nobody else was reading.
那个人没有改变想法。也没有别人在看。
I had given two hours of my life to a conversation with no result.
我把两个小时的生命给了一场没有结果的对话。
Now I have a rule: I can write the reply, but I must wait until the morning to send it.
现在我有一条规矩：我可以写回复，但是要等到第二天早上再发。
In two years I have sent about three of them.
两年里，我大概只发出去三条。