It Seems To Me

It seems to me, In my opinion, It is my belief.

They are all ways to legitimize an unsupportable viewpoint by cloaking it in false humility. People who resort to ItSeemsToMe avoid reason, facts or logic because their viewpoint doesn't have any.

Whenever you encounter ItSeemsToMe, do the following. Start by changing the phrase to say "It is evident", "It is obvious", or "It is clear". If it isn't any of these, then proceed to change the sentence to "I don't understand, can you explain why it isn't the case that". Then you get to judge whether the question is of interest to anyone. If its author didn't sign and it seems to have an obvious answer then one option is to just delete the question. If it isn't that obvious, it's a good idea to replace the question with an answer, to preserve DocumentMode.

That's one use of the phrase. However, it's also a good way to couch a well-supported viewpoint in a way that isn't as threatening to the listener, and won't make the listener reject it out of defensiveness.

There's a good discussion of this usage in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin:

: [I developed] the habit of expressing myself in terms of modest diffidence; never using, when I advanced any thing that may possibly be disputed, the words certainly, undoubtedly, or any others that give the air of positiveness to an opinion; but rather say, I conceive or apprehend a thing to be so and so; it appears to me, or I should think it so or so, for such and such reasons; or I imagine it to be so; or it is so, if I am not mistaken. This habit, I believe, has been of great advantage to me when I have had occasion to inculcate my opinions, and persuade men into measures that I have been from time to time engag'd in promoting; and, as the chief ends of conversation are to inform or to be informed, to please or to persuade, I wish well-meaning, sensible men would not lessen their power of doing good by a positive, assuming manner, that seldom fails to disgust, tends to create opposition, and to defeat every one of those purposes for which speech was given to us, to wit, giving or receiving information or pleasure. For, if you would inform, a positive and dogmatical manner in advancing your sentiments may provoke contradiction and prevent a candid attention. If you wish information and improvement from the knowledge of others, and yet at the same time express yourself as firmly fix'd in your present opinions, modest, sensible men, who do not love disputation, will probably leave you undisturbed in the possession of your error. And by such a manner, you can seldom hope to recommend yourself in pleasing your hearers, or to persuade those whose concurrence you desire.

They are all ways to legitimize an unsupportable viewpoint by cloaking it in false humility.

ItSeemsToMe that this is a minor use of ItSeemsToMe. Social lubrication is another, more important use. At any rate, ItSeemsToMe that ItSeemsToMe is rarely nefarious--and seldom a fallacy. After all, it doesn't add strength to the speaker's argument--none, nada, zip. If anything, it softens it (and invites counter-examples), by adding the possibility of doubt.

I'll plead guilty; I'm a frequent user of ItSeemsToMe. I use it a) when I believe something to be true, but am not sure; or b) when I know damn well something is true, but I don't wish to sound too argumentative. Occasionally, I use it for humourous effect as well. And often I use it to introduce the conclusion of an argument, right after rattling off the premises which support it.

And ItSeemsToMe that that the claim that users of ItSeemsToMe avoid reason/facts/logic is (at least most of the time) downright silly. Use of ItSeemsToMe (or avoidance thereof) has no correlation whatsoever to the quality of the argument--at least in my opinion/experience/belief.

At least that's how ItSeemsToMe.

If its author didn't sign and it seems to have an obvious answer then one option is to just delete the question.

But be careful of engaging in DisagreeByDeleting. This practice is discouraged on Wiki.

I'm almost always using "ItSeemsToMe that [...]" to mean: "My current knowledge leads me to believe that [...], but I'm keeping the possibility of having my mind changed by any new piece of knowledge you may add to the debate."