Thanks for all the support for civility. I just hope it carries over into the threads where the blood gets to pumping. This is your site, the home you make is how people will see you, and your ideas. If what you have to say is important, then how you present those ideas to the world is also important.

I have noticed a lessening of hostility since I posted this thread, and I hope that I have somehow contributed to ATS being a better place for all of us. We need to disagree, for that's how we learn. But no one learns when the air turns blue from nasty posts.

Thank you for reading this, and for those that understand that it's about keeping ATS a place where everyone, no matter their belief system, can come and express themselves without fear of a personal attack.

I believe proving, and or disproving God, is the culmination of our being and our thoughts. I believe it's of utter importance. Regardless of the position you stand, you should be given the fair chance on ATS to present your case, your evidence, for your belief and your convictions. If you ridicule and insult members of either stance, then you close that specific avenue of discussion, and therefore you are not contributing to the "denying ignorance" philosophy of the ATS community.

imo, .02, and whatnots

[edit on 033030p://22u16 by Lucid Lunacy]

Dear Moderator NGC2736,

How true what you said. If I may, I just want to share my experience as a newbie. I have taken extra care not to mention any names or attack any one. If this post is considered unfair, do feel free to delete it.

I want to admit I am no angel too, I was guilty of being a wee bit emotional and uncivilized, I went ape for a minute. In fact, this is the first time one of my post was deleted by a Moderator around 10 hours ago. I am feeling a bit sheepish and embarassed right now.

I am man enough to admit that I was a little naughty in my response to a season ATS poster. I am an agnostic, but this season poster accused me to be an atheist in disguised. So I told him that on my Judgment Day, I Gigantopithecus will ask God for permission to sit on his face. I thought there was a pretty good shot to prove I am agnostic. This response was made in defiance, part spike and part humour, but I guess Moderator FredT wasn't laughing and he deleted my post.

My strategy was to take the debate to whom I perceived "rude posters who got away", bearing in mind to be a notch less obnoxious myself. If they can get away with things, I didn't see why Moderators would be on my case. I guess I was wrong after one of my post was deleted. Lucky thing I am so new I haven't accumulated a record of personal attacks on ATS members.

But I need to say FredT is a fair Moderator. At one point our debate went down the toilet and into the sewage. I am still smarting from being "advised" that my comments were irrelevant because I was a newbie with 15 ATS points. One thing is for sure, my adversary and I are ROFL right now, because my ATS points just went into the negative 965!!

Anyway, Moderator FredT removed both our posts because we were acting like children. He did leave my main post and one reply from the season poster intact. Very fair. In other threads this season poster frequented, there seems to be a little double standard going on. I see this season poster getting away with a lot. His personal attacks on many ATS members were overlooked. And it’s hard not to spot them, they are there for everyone to see.

I do understand it's hard to "police" everyone and I am also not trying to get this season poster banned or change the status quo. And if I may humbly say, I love debating too much to lose an opponent and I'm not a baby, I don't need help from a moderator to do my "battle"!

Before I go, I want to give a special shout out to ATS member Riley who so kindly reminded me to mind my postings. Really appreciate your advise. You are a good person. Oops, I mentioned a name, sorry Riley.

Well, everyone have a nice day, and I hereby pledge that I will also be mindful of my posting in the future.

Well couldn't you move those threads to BTS under rants? I always thought Conspiracies in Religions should be about Conpiracy. I think that should be the guiding rule. Something like "The pope gets 10billion dollar check from _____ " see that is conspiracy. Stuff like "Athiests are going to hell","Jesus was never real" and people asking BS questions like "if ______ says _______ then why are so many_______s doing _______". As far as i see it the CiR board should be about conspiracy and that is it, it should not be a discussion board which always turns into a flame war. CiR is not a place to get educated on any religion. Let the people with religion and the athiests duke it out in BTS not here.

Looking back over the forum the bulk of the threads really do not belong on CiR. Its a lot of im right you are wrong and people trying to explain their belief religious or athiest. where is the conspiracy? The thread titles should be changed according to the thread also. There are many different religions but people like to put up somthing on "Religion" which is normaly just about old and new testament based rleigions, people seem to think everything outside those religions are not really religions and are concidered philosophy or cult.

[edit on 29-4-2009 by Dcotor R]

I am in tottal agreement as long as it is done.

May not be what some people on here wanted to hear but it's the best in the long run for this site and it's credibility.

I have a few times gone out of line , because of emotion. but thanks for posting this as a reminder to everyone.

Aight I will personally watch the caps from now on my bad. I do tend to type in fire as I speak in fire sometimes.

One question.

I'm trying to get involved in some talk about religious conspiracies and i thought this was the board to go to. Every second thread is a rant about why so and so hates or loves God/Christianity/Religion, etc, etc. Should there be a separate religious rant forum or is this the way this board is run now?

Cheers.

Originally posted by NGC2736
I have observed the threads in this forum becoming more and more emotional and uncivilized as time goes by. People are addressing each other in ways they would never do in person. Posters insult each other as a matter of course. Posts are made questioning other people's intelligence, morals, intentions, and every small detail that can be brought out in an effort to be mean and nasty.

OK, insults stop. The snide remarks aimed at angering stop. The sarcasm pointing out other people's lack of understanding stop. Yelling your point in all caps stop.

Talk about the subject of the post, not about how you perceive the other posters. I fully expect disagreements, but they will be about the data presented or they will be deleted and little red stickers will show the world how the CiR posters behave.

Now as of me posting this, all of you have a clean slate, in my opinion. Everybody on both sides of every issue is equal, you're starting even. I don't have a side in these issues due to belonging to a small religion that has nothing in common with 99% of the people here. And beyond that, I try to have the professionalism to keep any personal feelings out of things.

Problems can be avoided by discussing ideas and not people. Stay on topic, and post with kindness and not anger. Learn, if you can, and teach, like you were giving a gift, not using a sword.

And if you cannot behave like adults, then expect me to visit you. I intend to read every post in every thread in this forum. Maybe not every day, but I will read them all. From this point, be sure your sins will find you out. If a week from now, I go back and find a three day old post that is attacking someone, it will get the same reaction as if it were posted within the proceeding five minutes.

I will give new members just the smallest of slack. But most of you are old hands at this, so I'm not posting links to the T&C. I'm through treating you like children. If you're old enough to post, you're old enough to own your words.

I would suggest that if any of you have friends, you send them a U2U linking them to this post.

[edit on 28-3-2008 by NGC2736]

Where's the conspiracy ? It just sounds like a complaint about how people use their words to convey their point of view. No one likes it but most do it from time to time when they get in a heated exchange about something they hold dear. But, where's the conspiracy in religion ?

in the spirit of encouraging rational discourse and civility, & making it easier to differentiate between conspiracy and opinion, I thought I'd distribute a little article I've composed on the subject:

If one is unsure which religion is correct, or whether atheism might be valid or not, what kinds of objective tests can be performed upon a belief system to determine which belief system is valid?

- Multiple source checking material, to determine historical accuracy.

- Prophetic consistency, if the religion promotes prophecy and its texts contain them.

- Textual consistency, if the religion's scripture claims to be perfect.

- Clarity and consistency of interpretation, to help determine whether truth is being expressed, or confusion is being spread.

- What might motivate the promotion of the given religion? Does anybody gain money or power as a result of its existence?

- Can anything promoted by the belief system(s) be disproven? If so, what % of the material might be true anyhow, and how much of it is too close to call?

- What is the track record of adherents to the given belief system? When assessing, try to separate pretenders from true believers, admit to similar and similar-seeming but different belief systems, and take into consideration environmental factors when examing a belief system that only occurs in one area, but examine statistical evidence.

- Write an essay for and against something about which you are totally detached, to help you recognize the way your mind works when reasoning impassionately. Then try to write a short essay in defense of the given belief system, and try to write as eloquently against it.

Wait, did we once again just see someone of "power" (lmao) on ATS tell us what not to do?
Lmao, this site is #ing ridiculous, no wonder we're laughed at so much.