(April 7, 2015 at 3:50 am)whateverist Wrote: Frankly, if it were up to me, I would be a hell of a lot less fair.  I have no use for Drich.  I'd toss his ass out for being on an obvious mission to preach and convert rather than to interact honestly. 

Although I haven't been on this forum long, I have been here long enough to agree with this sentiment. Being constantly victimized by someone who really doesn't bring any sort of value to this place, I honestly would like to see him permanently gone as well. At the same time, I admire the staff for handling things as they have. They have a tough job to do and it is more often than not, a thankless one. The staff here can not make all of the people happy all of the time. Hard decisions have to be made and this was one of them. It's been two weeks, so I'm guessing he'll be back later on today. I'm just going to have to prepare myself for the onslaught of insults, put-downs and rudeness that I've come to expect from a few here. I'll carry on as I have been but perhaps finally utilizing that block feature.

Thank you whateverist for your courage to speak the words that I'm quite sure, many of us here would like to have said. It takes guts.

Thank you to the staff for all you do. I'm glad you're all here to make those tough calls and withstand the onslaught of harsh opinions. It takes guts.

(April 7, 2015 at 4:44 am)Judi Lynn Wrote:

(April 7, 2015 at 3:50 am)whateverist Wrote: Frankly, if it were up to me, I would be a hell of a lot less fair.  I have no use for Drich.  I'd toss his ass out for being on an obvious mission to preach and convert rather than to interact honestly. 

Although I haven't been on this forum long, I have been here long enough to agree with this sentiment. Being constantly victimized by someone who really doesn't bring any sort of value to this place, I honestly would like to see him permanently gone as well. At the same time, I admire the staff for handling things as they have. They have a tough job to do and it is more often than not, a thankless one. The staff here can not make all of the people happy all of the time. Hard decisions have to be made and this was one of them. It's been two weeks, so I'm guessing he'll be back later on today. I'm just going to have to prepare myself for the onslaught of insults, put-downs and rudeness that I've come to expect from a few here. I'll carry on as I have been but perhaps finally utilizing that block feature.

I would.  If anyone causes distress, you should ignore them.  This forum is supposed to be enjoyable, for the most part, not something to cause angst.

I would like to point out, too, that we didn't strike because we felt specifically underappreciated- we expect that- but speaking for myself, I did it because I felt we had been unfairly accused, and unfairly misunderstood without concern over what we were actually doing and actually trying to accomplish: a well-oiled forum with good discussions. 

Quote:Thank you whateverist for your courage to speak the words that I'm quite sure, many of us here would like to have said. It takes guts.

Thank you to the staff for all you do. I'm glad you're all here to make those tough calls and withstand the onslaught of harsh opinions. It takes guts.

Thank you for your appreciation.  Honestly, though, while a lot of us on staff have major guts, it's not really guts that keep this forum running; rather, it's our very laid-back and honest attempts at being as fair as possible. We are only human, but we check each other all the time.  I have to say, I love my fellow staff members because of our very different personalities mixing with our general desire to run the forum smoothly and honestly.

It's good to hear from you Becca, I was worried about you and planned to send you a message today. Are you alright?

Oh yeah! I'm actually great! Thanks for asking

How are you doing?

Excellent! I'm glad to hear it

I'm OK thanks, muddling through life as best I can. Just did a house sit for my friends, looking after their cat while they had a holiday. I got to mostly rest while helping them, so it was good!

It's always interesting whenever there's the odd article about the "hostility" of the AF staff in regards to bannings and the like from a certain other site.

The same article [some of you probably know what I am referring to, it was a few years back] went on to talk about how 'rude' the forum members were and how 'close-minded' we were towards religious discussion. I remember going to that site, and I remember how much I realized how much of a namby-pamby group of people the forum-goers there were. They practically allowed themselves to get dumped on with hardly a word in defense, and more often than not they would concede to an argument without a fight in a way that outright enabled the continuation of the spewing of bullshit and contempt towards them.

I remember thinking to myself "if this is what all atheists and atheist groups were like, we'd never be taken seriously." Sometimes you have to be confrontational. Sure, the internet nowadays is rife with delusionists bitching about how aggressive and hostile and rude atheists on the internet tend to be. None of them ever stop to wonder why. Oftentimes, the vitriol that gets spewed in their direction is a direct result of their own statements being ignorant and intolerant towards anyone who doesn't believe like they do.

Christopher Hitchens called religious belief and its influence on peoples' actions and perceptions as solipsism, and he said that that solipsism becomes a part of those peoples' very personalities. I could not agree more.

As far as Drich goes, I'm apathetic to whether or not he is here. His points and stances are on things that I have long since examined and come to understand are completely incompatible with the natural world, the concepts of morality, and the ways in which human societies work. It can get tiring, but at the same time it also provides an opportunity for me to look at the common arguments of your average delusionist and determine how to rend them asunder in case I am confronted by them in person.

Quote:I would like to point out, too, that we didn't strike because we felt specifically underappreciated- we expect that- but speaking for myself, I did it because I felt we had been unfairly accused, and unfairly misunderstood without concern over what we were actually doing and actually trying to accomplish: a well-oiled forum with good discussions.

Ok.  Just go back and ban anyone who deserves it!!!

I will be taking a break from the forums for at least a couple of days, possibly longer.

(April 13, 2015 at 9:42 am)Norman Humann Wrote: I will be taking a break from the forums for at least a couple of days, possibly longer.

Take your time. We hope you rejoin us refreshed and renewed!

OK take care of yourself Everything alright?