Jack, it's good (IMO) to hone your ability to present your ideas and back them up. And one of the best ways to do that is to present your ideas to people who may not agree with you and will challenge your assumptions. It’s also good not to get too emotionally invested in your views (except sometimes as a debating tactic).
Often those challenges to your assumptions will help you to develop your opinions and maybe even slightly change some of them.
I^2 may not always be the best place to do that. Arguments here tend to be decided more by who has the best insults, the best snark, and so on. I currently post on a couple of other forums, one of which has a core group of established members who are very progressive, and where my views fit right in and I rarely get challenged. The other is at the opposite end of the spectrum, a bunch of neo-conservatives with very different views to my own on pretty much everything. I play nice and I don’t hold back there, and if they’ve got some good counter-arguments then I can learn something. And if all they’ve got is insults or trying to stick me in a box, then I’m entertained and I can play off that and have a bit of fun.
You mentioned Scrap and Al. I find that Scrap’s debating style tends to involve finding a YouTube pundit with similar (usually not particularly progressive) views to Scrap, posting that clip, and then insulting anyone who disagrees with it. The reason why I don’t bother watching those YouTube clips any more is that I’ve given them a few chances and found them to be ultimately a complete waste of my time. If I wasn’t entertained and I didn’t learn anything…. I’m not going to trust your judgement on what is worth watching. Occasionally I will watch just enough of a video that Scrap has posted so that I can poke fun at it.
I see Al’s debating style as being strategic. He uses an immense number of words and often it is very difficult to pick whether there is any discernible case in there. There also tend to be a bunch of strategic questions (designed to put you on the defensive and back you into a corner) with Al effectively appointing himself as moderator of the argument and determining whether your answers are acceptable to him or not. The trick is not to play the game by his rules.
I am aware that Scrap and Al are usually clever enough to not play the game by my rules either. I’m really only here to have fun, and when it stops being fun you won’t see me for dust. Occasionally I forget where I am and I try to have a serious discussion. But mostly not.