nivul peh

In the course of my lifetime, I have engaged in many sorties in milchamtah shel Tora. In some, I have conceded error; in some, those with whom I disagreed conceded error; in yet others, we agreed to remain in disagreement. However, in none of them did the conversation ever degenerate to the level of personal insult or invective, and certainly not to the nadir of nibul pe. Rather, we each made the effort to understand the other's point of view respectfully, and responded to each other's thoughts and the words by which they were expressed, not to what we perceived to be the other's motives.

2008 November 11, meir b., “Annulment of Vows - How Recent?”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet)