Also, consider the suggestion neo made about vulgarity in thread titles. I would think there are people who come here interested in serious discussion, then see Republicunt or Christard or Fucking Theists in thread titles and leave without posting. I believe (I didn't read the whole thread) his suggestion was roundly shot down.This indicates that there are more people here who are interested in insulting theists than in having thoughtful discussion with them. And that's fine...but don't expect a lot of serious debate in such an atmosphere. 

One possible solution would be a single forum with its own set of rules, such as:
- no insults or swearing
- no clearly off-topic posts
- no repeats of what others have already said (i.e. shouting down)

You might get a few more theists to hang around with a section like that.

(May 1, 2018 at 10:54 am)Catholic_Lady Wrote:

(May 1, 2018 at 10:25 am)The Industrial Atheist Wrote: A lot of people shut down when faced with ridicule/embarrassment. I get that this is a forum for Atheists, but I agree with Vulcan and Whatevs.

I don't think it's embarrassment lol. It's just hard to have a discussion when people are hurling insults, strawmanning, and accusing you of having ulterior motives.

And I agree, Vulcan said it right: best to give the benefit of the doubt until there is legitimate reason not to.

In your case, it seems like you are genuinely interested in hearing different opinions. That doesn't mean you are required to agree.

I respect that what I hear isn't "You should believe" or "Decent people believe" but "I believe."

Its all part of learning.

A "serious and civil discussion" section, kind of like a reverse Rlyeh? I think that's a good idea, actually. Problem is I don't think it would get much activity.

(May 1, 2018 at 12:26 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: A "serious and civil discussion" section, kind of like a reverse Rlyeh? I think that's a good idea, actually. Problem is I don't think it would get much activity.

Probably not. While there are occasional calls for more serious discussion, really most of the atheists want to belittle and feel superior to theists.

Rules enforcement would be another problem with such a section. People would push the boundaries, and mods would have more issues to deal with. In the end the section would probably devolve into something not much different from what we already have.

(May 1, 2018 at 11:38 am)alpha male Wrote: That question isn't pertinent to this thread.

Ohhhh so now you're talking about the PD rule. 

Remember that when a certain one of your theist buddies on here engages in quote mining and brings up crap that clearly isn't pertinent to a thread. I'll expect for you to have my back the next time this happens.

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(May 1, 2018 at 12:26 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: A "serious and civil discussion" section, kind of like a reverse Rlyeh? I think that's a good idea, actually. Problem is I don't think it would get much activity.

I believe there is one. It's the "debate" part of the forum and there are rules that are applied if you want to engage in a debate with someone. Haven't seen a debate on this site for a very long time. 

The problem is with some of the subforums here, people like to get into dick measuring contests when people reasonably expect to see verifiable proof of the claims that others are making. When asked for such proof, the person needing to supply it, ends up resorting to the name calling first. Does it work both ways? Of course it does. But if you look at people like LR and Drich, they are two of the ones that generally start off spouting the insults first. Once this happens, there goes any chance of reasonable discussion.

Yeah, but a lot of times people are interested in discussion, not a one on one debate. It would be cool if there was a section for civil discussion.

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(May 1, 2018 at 12:35 pm)alpha male Wrote:

(May 1, 2018 at 12:26 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: A "serious and civil discussion" section, kind of like a reverse Rlyeh? I think that's a good idea, actually. Problem is I don't think it would get much activity.

Probably not. While there are occasional calls for more serious discussion, really most of the atheists want to belittle and feel superior to theists.

Rules enforcement would be another problem with such a section. People would push the boundaries, and mods would have more issues to deal with. In the end the section would probably devolve into something not much different from what we already have.

AM, I think it's worth starting a thread about this on the suggestion subforum. I can go ahead and do that, unless you want to since it was your idea?

Careful. There has been a lot of discussion on the rules of this forum. One of the reasons why I like it here so much is that our rights to free speech are protected. There are things you can't or even shouldn't say, however, what you are proposing, has pretty much been discussed to death.

This should satisfy some of you. 

(May 1, 2018 at 1:21 pm)Joods Wrote: Careful. There has been a lot of discussion on the rules of this forum. One of the reasons why I like it here so much is that our rights to free speech are protected. There are things you can't or even shouldn't say, however, what you are proposing, has pretty much been discussed to death.

I understand the free speech thing. This would be just one section, and not apply to the rest of the forums. If someone doesn't like the rules in that section, they don't need not post in there. It would kind of be a reserved section for people who want civil discussion and exchange of ideas about serious topics, without having to comb through any insults or rude/mocking comments.

We need theist safe spaces..that's the problem.   That's why god discussions are low quality.  

Stop mocking my faith, sir!