A trustworthy tone. Arguments can stand or fall on the way readers
perceive the writer. Very simply, readers need to trust the person
who’s making the argument. One way of winning this trust is by
demonstrating that you know what you’re talking about. Lessig offers
plenty of facts to show his knowledge of copyright history — and he
does so in a self-assured tone. There are many other ways of establishing
yourself (and your argument) as trustworthy — by showing that
you have some experience with your subject, that you’re fair, and of
course that you’re honest. Occasionally, an outraged tone such as
Leonard’s is appropriate, especially when it is tempered by good reasons
and qualified as he does in noting that he is “undoubtedly reading
too much into the Kohl’s . . . parody.”