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Or, “argument to the ability.” (Correct me if my Latin is wrong.)

It never fails: if you criticize any form of entertainment, from book to ballet, some butthurt bubblebrain will come along and tell you that unless you can do better, you should just shut up and keep your comments to yourself.

*sigh*

Sorry, fantards, but it doesn’t work this way. Why? It’s a logical fallacy, and a close relative to the Argumentum ad Hominem, or Argument against the Man. Rather than refuting the idea itself, you attack the person presenting the idea. As an example:

Alice: Its important that we try to reduce our waste and use fewer resources.
Bob: You’re just saying that because you’re one of those pot-smoking, tree-hugging hippies!

Whether or not Alice smokes pot or hugs trees has no effect on whether or not we should conserve resources and make less garbage.

Now that I’ve explained the classic Ad Hominem, I’ll introduce the Ad Facultas. Classic example:

Alice: I don’t like Twilight because it’s poorly written, Edward Cullen is a control freak, and Bella whines about everything.
Bob: Unless you could write something better, you don’t have any room to criticize!

However, Bob’s knee-jerk reaction is illogical and irrelevant, and I’ll explain why.

Alice orders a cake because she’s a disaster in the kitchen. However, the cake is terrible. It’s lumpy, the flavor is poor, and the frosting job is awful. Because the cake didn’t meet Alice’s expectations, she tells the baker. The baker looks at Alice and says, “Unless you can make a better one, you don’t have any room to complain.”

But of course Alice has room to complain! She might not be able to bake, but she knows what a good cake should taste and look like!

Now let’s say Bob hires a construction company to build him a house. When it’s done, it turns out they’ve done an awful job. The roof leaks, drafts get in, and the wall is starting to crack. Bob complains to the company, but they simply tell him, “unless you can build a better house, you don’t have any right to complain.”

Of course, this is utter nonsense. Bob might not be able to build a house for himself, but he knows darn well that a good house isn’t drafty and doesn’t have a leaky roof. He has every right to expect more from a construction company.

The same runs true with anything else. Alice might not be able to write a better book than Twilight, but it doesn’t mean she’s not qualified to criticize it. She knows what a good book should be like, and that’s all that matters.

Have you ever heard something along these lines?

Bill: So, where are you from?

Bob: I’m from England. You?

Bill: I’m American.

Bob: America sucks.

Bill: Well, it’s not perfect…

Bob: Your President is an idiot. Your people are fat and lazy. Your school system is the worst ever.

Or worse, have you ever done this to anyone? (Yes, this includes Americans who inform people from other countries that their country sucks.  Shame on you, too.) If so, this post is for you.

1. We know our country isn’t perfect.  We live in it, after all.
2. Our country does not have a monopoly on stupid people.
3. Our country does not have a monopoly on electing poor leaders.
4. Our country is not homogeneous.  What is common in one part of the country may be rare in another.  We are individuals, not drones.  Don’t stereotype based on what you hear in the news.
5. Your country isn’t perfect, either.

Thank you and good evening.

Because there’s nothing that annoys me quite like borked-up forum terminology, I’m going to lay it out.

THREAD: This is what you read posts and post in. Depending on where you go you might find thread titles like “Which is better – InuYasha or Naruto?” or “What does the avatar above you taste like?”

BOARD: This is what contains threads. Many forums contain boards with titles like “General Discussion,” “Roleplaying,” and “Angry Rants.”

FORUM: This is the whole enchilada containing the threads and the boards.

Still confused? This is a forum. This is a board. This is a thread.