Porn for Bibles

[bradisntclever]

it's my old internet forum moderator days rearing their ugly head. off topic discussion makes my eye twitch. :p

Perhaps this is the reason why I suddenly need glasses. Either way, carry on.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

after reading Dream of a Thousand Cats from Neil Gaiman's Sandman, i treat all cats with kindness and loving respect...

[mpbrockman]

Porn for Bibles

it's my old internet forum moderator days rearing their ugly head. off topic discussion makes my eye twitch. :p

after reading Dream of a Thousand Cats from Neil Gaiman's Sandman...

Trying... to... reconcile...

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

Porn for Bibles

it's my old internet forum moderator days rearing their ugly head. off topic discussion makes my eye twitch. :p

after reading Dream of a Thousand Cats from Neil Gaiman's Sandman...

Trying... to... reconcile...

it was more in response to Kathy's last post about her cat...but Sandman is kind of like my Bible. so it could work.

[Spots]

say I scare people off, that's counterproductive. In many cases my thoughts and opinions on evolution/atheism/et al. follow a certain logic that I sometimes take for granted, imagining others will drop their bags & come along.

I will say I've done my best to be cordial to every individual. I may speak out against a concept here or there but when someone defends that concept I like to think I've listened and even learned a thing or two

Granted, I've been an outspoken dick and nobody has said anything.

I must say, I've been surprised, myself. You might recall, under a movie thread (a movie thread, of all things!) how brutally my personal character was attacked for having what I thought was an amiable and intelligent discussion with you, over whether or not "Get Low" had a protagonist. WTF?

Not that I'm touchy about it, but I did feel that my character had been attacked in that thread also. I believe Dustin only replied bluntly after you dismissed me as a whippersnapper etc.

It gave me a sort of "damned if I do, damned if I don't" kind of feeling is all.

Dustin claimed he was responding to an overall tendency as I recall.

Anyway . . . thought I'd mention that it isn't only Man who has Free Will. She knows that she's not allowed to jump onto kitchen counters, bathroom vanities or dining tables.

That's extra-genetic information & her sense of right from wrong depends on you being around to enforce it, doesn't it?

[KathyRose]

Not that I'm touchy about it, but I did feel that my character had been attacked in that thread also. I believe Dustin only replied bluntly after you dismissed me as a whippersnapper

Then let me personally apologize to you. I thought the word "whippersnapper" was silly enough to be taken in jest, as intended. It's something an old curmudgeonly person might say.

Anyway . . . thought I'd mention that it isn't only Man who has Free Will. She knows that she's not allowed to jump onto kitchen counters, bathroom vanities or dining tables.

That's extra-genetic information & her sense of right from wrong depends on you being around to enforce it, doesn't it?

No, I don't think so. It's learned behavior & voluntary. I have every reason to believe that she behaves when I'm gone (no evidence of tampering with anything or cat hair left behind). And it's not like she fears punishment. The only "enforcement" that has ever been administered is a disapproving voice and gently removing her.

[Spots]

Kathy it's all water under the bridge.

well, i have no official authority so it's not like you HAVE to do it. more a helpful suggestion to increase participation in other threads as well.

Jordan, I seem to be stuck on this. A crucial clarification. "Porn For Bibles." From what I've gathered from your context (and your participation in this thread) I can talk about any one of these 3 words:

"Porn" as in pornographic imagery.
"For" as in exchanges & transactions.
"Bibles" as in the book, and thereby the subject of Christianity

If I speak directly about these subjects you would happily join along in the conversation. But as soon as the conversation gears toward nonbelievers or evolution, you feel I am going "off-topic?"

In a thread titled "Porn For Bibles"? Has the world gone mad? In which alternate universe does "Porn For Bibles" not indirectly infer EVOLUTION? Porn For Bibles is a cause geared towards evolutionists.

I am baffled by the feelings of absurdity I am feeling right now. So I'm moving on. Ultimately this conversation became lackadaisical once we lost common interest. And what derailed us? Someone poking their head in and saying, "Where's the porn?"

I will admit my part in the overall neglect. I referred to Justin as "Dustin" twice.

[Spots]

As I exit I will attempt modesty the only way I know how.

By quoting myself:

There's a double standard here. Seemingly the goal is to convince. But logic dictates that both parties, the speaker & the listener, be actively engaged for convincing to take place.

You can expound millions of passages of sound logic but someone who is emotionally turned off won't follow any of it. You cannot successfully convince with logic while defying the logical steps of convincing.

[dirty baby]

Ultimately this conversation became lackadaisical once we lost common interest.
And what derailed us? Someone poking their head in and saying, "Where's the porn?"

[curtsey]

[KathyRose]

. . . tit!

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

well, i have no official authority so it's not like you HAVE to do it. more a helpful suggestion to increase participation in other threads as well.

Jordan, I seem to be stuck on this. A crucial clarification. "Porn For Bibles." From what I've gathered from your context (and your participation in this thread) I can talk about any one of these 3 words:

"Porn" as in pornographic imagery.
"For" as in exchanges & transactions.
"Bibles" as in the book, and thereby the subject of Christianity

If I speak directly about these subjects you would happily join along in the conversation. But as soon as the conversation gears toward nonbelievers or evolution, you feel I am going "off-topic?"

In a thread titled "Porn For Bibles"? Has the world gone mad? In which alternate universe does "Porn For Bibles" not indirectly infer EVOLUTION? Porn For Bibles is a cause geared towards evolutionists.

I am baffled by the feelings of absurdity I am feeling right now. So I'm moving on. Ultimately this conversation became lackadaisical once we lost common interest. And what derailed us? Someone poking their head in and saying, "Where's the porn?"

I will admit my part in the overall neglect. I referred to Justin as "Dustin" twice.

um...settle down, dude. all i was doing was pointing out that there was, in fact, a discussion thread about evolution. and then i dropped it. it's really not worth making a big deal out of.

[Spots]

Put the shoe on the other foot. If I made a thread that said "Christianity, Piss-tianity" you would feel uneasy if I referred your serious musings there.

Especially if I was acting passive aggressive & remarking that it made more sense to discuss the serious topic there. We easily dismiss those subjects we do not feel so passionate about.

I'm happy right now. Sorry I turned this into a principles thing. But a word in the subject line doesn't make a thread "about" evolution.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

Put the shoe on the other foot. If I made a thread that said "Christianity, Piss-tianity" you would feel uneasy if I referred your serious musings there.

trust me, if there were such a thread i'd already be plenty active in it.

Especially if I was acting passive aggressive & remarking that it made more sense to discuss the serious topic there. We easily dismiss those subjects we do not feel so passionate about.

so your real point of contention is the NAME of the thread? okay, i misunderstood that. i wasn't trying to be passive aggressive or dismissive, i was honestly trying to be helpful and see if we could get that thread going again because, title aside, it was actually a pretty serious and insightful discussion with some wonderfully salient points from someone who is actually in that field of study (Christina De Roos). sorry if it came across as anything other. and this is a topic i DO feel very passionate about...being called a heretic in high school for supporting evolution kind of endeared me to it.

I'm happy right now. Sorry I turned this into a principles thing. But a word in the subject line doesn't make a thread "about" evolution.

no, but the discussion within certainly does. give it a read if you haven't already. i think you'd enjoy some of it if you can look past the tongue in cheek title (which are pretty frequent, this being an improv message board and all. lol!).

[Spots]

Well the last page has Calvin & Hobbes and a reference to X-Men. Those are the only real posts within the last 4 years. But yes, there is some juicy stuff on the bottom of the first page (from 2007).

I wouldn't possibly connect with those commenters by simply responding directly under them. The forums I tend to visit discourage dredging up old threads. Typically nobody rejoins the conversation from quite the same place they left off... if they join the conversation at all.

Besides a thread should have a unique spin on things. A point of inspiration. When I'm told there is "The Evolution Thread" it's difficult to respect since the subject of evolution has millions of cross references.

You have to follow the momentum. The existing dialog. At least in my experience of inspiring internet discussions.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

Well the last page has Calvin & Hobbes and a reference to X-Men. Those are the only real posts within the last 4 years. But yes, there is some juicy stuff on the bottom of the first page (from 2007).

I wouldn't possibly connect with those commenters by simply responding directly under them. The forums I tend to visit discourage dredging up old threads. Typically nobody rejoins the conversation from quite the same place they left off... if they join the conversation at all.

Besides a thread should have a unique spin on things. A point of inspiration. When I'm told there is "The Evolution Thread" it's difficult to respect since the subject of evolution has millions of cross references.

You have to follow the momentum. The existing dialog. At least in my experience of inspiring internet discussions.

which is why i was more than happy to drop the subject when it was clear no one was interested in taking the conversation there. and why i didn't understand why you were seemingly so agitated about it...and since talking about talking about things just leads to semantic loops and makes me dizzy, let us embrace the wisdom of the prophet Bob Dylan and most likely you go your way and i'll go mine.