>will only alienate

>No one is convinced

Those are some pretty broad generalizations!

I've certainly been convinced on various topics by people who were correct and also rude about it.

Do you think laywers and police are always nice when trying to get to the truth? Have you ever seen the movie Erin Brockovich, or read about the events that inspired it? Would she have had the same results while being polite the entire time?

Rude comments may break forum rules, sure. But I'm not sure sweeping generalizations about efficacy, such as the above, are needed.