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PhDreamer
SFN Regular
USA
925 Posts |
 Posted - 06/29/2002 : 22:28:39 [Permalink]
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quote:
BTW. What exactly is an ictheologist - someone who studies the theory that god is a fish?
LMFAO! Brilliant!
Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.
-D. Hume |
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Rift
Skeptic Friend
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2002 : 05:18:45 [Permalink]
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quote:
Incidentally, I like the Bad Astronomer's insistence on niceness.
Oh so do I. I'm just amazed he is so restrained. If it was my website, I would have told them all off in not so polite terms a long time ago... :)
quote:
I know of at least a few astrophysicists who post on Bad Astronomer's Bulletin Board. I think that the Bad Astronomer's rules make coming there less risky.
I hadn't really thought of that, but you're right. I'm only a failed/wannabe astrophysicist (don't ask) but one of the reasons I do post on the BABB is because I know I will have support if I get attacked. (One strange event last summer, I made the offhand comment that if any planet had free oxygen in its atmosphere, we could be almost certain it had life. Some troll attacked me, i believe asked what kind of crack i was on even. The troops came rallying to me though, i'm not sure that would have happened on a less nice board)
I always thought Phil insisted on Niceness for two reasons. One he has a lot of kids, and two, a related reason, there are a lot of schools recommending his site. If the professionals are more comfortable there, then so much the better.
I don't mean to gripe about not being able to be nasty over there. I love having to be nice. It's just hard not to want to smack those idiots around sometimes, and I'm the first to admit I come close to crossing that boundry, and hate the fact that seems so easy for me... :/
But then again, that's what this folder is for... :P
As for comic dave removing the supposed 'moving video footage, with the video camera in the frame", i'll believe it when i see it...
"Ignorance has caused more calamity then malignity" H.G. Wells |
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AstroMike
New Member
20 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2002 : 13:18:46 [Permalink]
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quote:
I think it's rather sweet that Cosmic Dave has found himself a soul mate over at the BABB (ngant17). But I kind of worry about the future if they find a way to breed. 
Yeah, well that ngant17 guy already made his way to http://www.apollohoax.com/forums/ posting his crap.
And that Looter guy at the BABB is a real nut job, taking quotes out of context and insulting Apollo so bad.
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Espritch
Skeptic Friend
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2002 : 19:29:24 [Permalink]
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quote:
And that Looter guy at the BABB is a real nut job, taking quotes out of context and insulting Apollo so bad.
He isn't just insulting the Apollo program. He's directly insulting the people on the BABB. I figure it's only a manner of time before the BA gets tired of his trolling and bans him (the sooner the better).
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2002 : 09:38:36 [Permalink]
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I hadn't been over there in a while (suffering from PalTalk addiction), so I went and checked out cosmik Dave's stuff. Wow. This guy could almost be considered funny if I didn't suspect he's serious.
However, I'm becoming a huge fan of JayUtah's.
Lisa
We have enough youth. We need a fountain of smart. |
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Rift
Skeptic Friend
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2002 : 11:54:48 [Permalink]
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The Hillary-everest thing had me in tears this morning. Comic dave couldn't be such a clown if he tried to be...
"Ignorance has caused more calamity then malignity" H.G. Wells |
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The Bad Astronomer
Skeptic Friend
137 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2002 : 14:23:11 [Permalink]
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For the record:
I insist on people being polite on the BABB for one reason only: because it forces people to argue based on facts, and not on emotions. It doesn't always work, but it comes close most of the time.
The politeness has a large number of wonderful side-effects: kids can read the board; schools can link to it and feel safe; people can post without fearing insults, rudeness and ad hominems.
Also, it's just plain nice. It sucks to read a flamefest. Flames promote bad feelings, and that's inappropriate for a science board.
I think a major failure in society today is what I call "casual rudeness", where people just don't give a damn about what others think or how they feel. I won't go into details, but I suspect everyone here can come up with plenty on their own.
In the end, it takes a bigger mind to argue points on their merits. Promoting bigger minds is why I started my website in the first place.
*****
The Bad Astronomer
http://www.badastronomy.com
"With tremendous respect to [the] BA, the problem isn't getting scientists to talk, the problem can be getting them to shut up." |
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Chippewa
SFN Regular
USA
1496 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2002 : 17:43:56 [Permalink]
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Bravo! Good points. That's one reason why Bad Astronomy is one of my favorite places to visit.
The Bad Astronomer also wrote: "...I think a major failure in society today is what I call "casual rudeness", where people just don't give a damn about what others think or how they feel."
My girlfriend and I were talking about this in society just the other day. Politeness on the BABB board promotes an open minded attitude among posters too.
"Speaking without thinking like shooting without aiming." - Charlie Chan |
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Rift
Skeptic Friend
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2002 : 06:34:00 [Permalink]
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I would agree about 'casual rudeness" being rampant. But I really only see it on the internet. But then again, I live in a small town in Kansas :P We still hold doors open for strangers and mean it when we say "have a nice day..." :P
The trouble is, rudeness on the internet snowballs. If somebody is rude to me for no reason at all, i'm much more likely to be rude back. Which of course just starts a rudeness arms race.
It is best just to nip it in the bud, and Phil, you do an excellent job at that :)
My other comment is casual rudeness gets my dander up simply because i don't understand it. It's an alien concept to me for somebody to be rude for no reason and not to care how other people feel. So I tend to take more offense at it then i should...
(You may want to check out my growing frustration with 'sixdays' under the creationist folder, lol)
"Ignorance has caused more calamity then malignity" H.G. Wells |
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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2002 : 16:15:20 [Permalink]
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Well, I finally came up with a reasonably polite post on the BABB; a response to the "Famous people who believe in the moon hoax" thread. I mentioned actor/comedian Richard Belzer's intense interest in HBism and gave a link to his book.
IMHO, this thread is getting close to the real heart of HBism.
Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
-Robert Lindner
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2002 : 13:52:45 [Permalink]
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I finally realized what pisses me off the most about many of the trolls.
On Phil's board, before I posted anything, hell, before I even clicked on "forum", I'd read not only the FAQ, but damn near everything on his site. Same goes for this place and JREF.
On the BABB, people will come in with outrageous claims (but the flag is waving!), when for two minutes of their time, they could find the answer elsewhere on his site. Phil's writing is clear and concise, so when people make silly claims, it shows they're either too lazy or too stupid to read the site before entering the forum.
Sorry for the rant, but I'm feeling a bit cranky today.
Lisa
We have enough youth. We need a fountain of smart. |
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Rift
Skeptic Friend
USA
333 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2002 : 14:22:31 [Permalink]
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Well, I agree with you Lisa...
The forum is always the LAST place on a site I go to also. I read the site, the faq, whatever, hell, i even check the links before I go to the forum. Then If i still have a question, I read, or a least scan, the old messages to see if the question has been addressed before.
Just goes to show you that a troll really doesn't care... Two minutes is even too much time for them to spend... They want it spoon fed to them, which is why the conspiracy nuts appeal to them so well. No thinking involved.
"Ignorance has caused more calamity then malignity" H.G. Wells |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2002 : 15:18:47 [Permalink]
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But at what point do you hang out the "Please Don't feed the troll sign"? I guess I'm just getting cranky. I've been on the board for a while, and it's getting a little tiring to see the same silly statements and questions over and over.
I haven't been going over to the astronmy site as much as I used too. If you've read one troll thread, you've pretty much read them all.
Lisa
We have enough youth. We need a fountain of smart. |
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Donnie B.
Skeptic Friend
417 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2002 : 16:39:46 [Permalink]
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Hi, guys,
I ran across some interesting ammunition to use against the "Why should we spend all that money on space?" type trolls. I started a thread in the "Lunar Conspiracies" section about it.
It turns out that Apollo technology is helping to keep our food supply safe.
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!" |
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Piltdown
Skeptic Friend
USA
312 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2002 : 19:37:37 [Permalink]
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I think we have fallen completely through the mirror. John McCartney is complaining that the BABB discriminates against him by rejecting his theory that a line in a pop song is evidence of a moon hoax. He uses all the standard devices of victimological rhetoric, as though his meandering fantasies really are Constitutionally entitled to the same consideration as verifiable scientific evidence. This is a breathtakingly pure example of the literal worship of pop culture. He should sell his albums and use the proceeds to buy a clue.
Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
-Robert Lindner
Edited by - Piltdown on 07/08/2002 19:46:31 |
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