Attrition Argumentation

A form of argumentation, common on social media platforms like Reddit, Discord, X/Twitter, and YouTube comment sections, where the goal is not to persuade or reach truth but to exhaust the opponent into submission or madness. Practitioners use a battery of tactics: sealioning (persistent, bad‑faith questioning), moving the goalpost, moving the proofpost, exhaustive induction (demanding infinite details), fallacy fallacy (dismissing valid points because of a minor logical slip), objective bias (claiming one’s own view is simply “reality”), and unbiased bias (pretending to be neutral while systematically attacking one side). Attrition argumentation weaponises time and energy: the opponent must endlessly respond, and when they finally snap or withdraw, the attritionist declares victory. It turns dialogue into a war of stamina, not reason.

Example: “He asked her for a source, she provided it; he asked for a better source, she gave a meta‑analysis; then he asked for raw data from every participant. That’s attrition argumentation: win by exhausting, not by evidence.”

Attrition Argumentation by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal May 14, 2026