Dave Winer:

I tune out the ad hominems. Try to argue, instead, by complimenting the intelligence and ethics of the person who opposes your viewpoint. Try to understand where they're coming from, and show that you understand. This one change would elevate discourse in the blogging community more than anything else. Matters like AdLink are always subject to judgement. Each of us has a different point of view. That someone sees it differently is a good thing, emphatically, it is not a personality flaw.

I think perhaps he should read some of his very own posts before trying to give out advice on this. In particular, he could start with his political rants.

Update: Dave responds. However, his response amounts to "ad homeneim attacks are ok if you really dislike someone. Umm, sure Dave. There's a sure-fire way to get a dialog going. If your intent is to start an actual dialog with people who disagree with you, that's not the way to do it.

Sure, I often toss around the same kind of attack (see anything I've written about the RIAA, for instance) - but in those cases, dialog isn't what I'm looking for. Apparently, neither is Dave.