WTF???

[Tiberius]

Fair enough, Paul. My original post was civil.

Indeed, but then your follow up posts were not:

"Ah, yes. the typical belligerent atheist." [1]

"You and many other atheists are obstinate." [2]

etc...

I did not step in here without the expectation of getting slapped around, as atheists I have met do not like being disagreed with. My er, 'welcome' here has been met with more hostility than anything I have dished out.

To be fair, that is only because you are addressing multiple people. Multiple people can generate more hostility that one; the point was, both sides were doing it.

Adrian called me out for calling one poster 'honey' which is the way we speak here in the American Southeast. I meant no disrespect. I didn't see where Adrian called him out for calling me 'asshole'. You'll forgive me if I take umbrage at the incongruity.

I appealed to both sides to calm down right here: http://atheistforums.org/thread-4593-pos...l#pid90365

You then said you hadn't committed an ad-hominem, which was true, but seeing as the rules state that all insults are banned, I felt I needed to explain the precise reason you were being called out. This was only a clarification of the rules for your benefit; I didn't see the need to clarify the rules for the member who called you an "asshole", given that he was well aware what the rules say.

However, in the same post I clarified the rules for you, and why you had broken them, I mentioned that "some atheists" are guilty of doing the precise thing you were: http://atheistforums.org/thread-4593-pos...l#pid90381

In this forum, you'll find there are good and bad ways to start a conversation. Good ways involve:

- Setting out exactly what your beliefs are, and what your point of the discussion is.
- Asking others to agree / disagree with your point, and add their reasons for doing so.
- Being polite to anyone who responds, even if they try to rip your reasoning to shreds.

The bad ways to start a conversation are numerous, but most of them should be obvious to anyone. Being arrogant and saying your beliefs are the only correct ones, or dismissing people who disagree with you as "nuts" or "deluded", etc. are just a couple.