Civil Commentary on the R'lyeh commentary on Civil Discussion Threads

[Whateverist]

There, now I've made a thread.  Is it just me or does it seem like some people just have a whole lot to say about what other people want to do?  I just want to point out to our voyeurs that we're all consenting adults here of our own free will.  

How do my fellow gold fish feel about it?  Perhaps the novelty will wear off soon enough.

But hey no need to stay on that side of the glass.  The water is fine.  Mmmmm .. civil water.  Nice.

[Angrboda]

Needs more booze. And nudity.

[Whateverist]

Needs more booze.  And nudity.

Is this where you intend to show me yours if I show you mine?  (That's code for telling each other the way we conceptualize what a god is.) 

But in the service of feeling the room, I wonder how other civilitynauts feel about this level of silliness.  Do we think a little levity (never at anyone's expense) is welcome, tolerable or unwelcome.

[John V]

Just checked it out. It's pretty mild. I guess everyone got it out in the other thread.

The main problem in the other thread is that it was based mostly on incorrect conjecture of our motives.

I posted for years at an atheist forum based in Denmark. I think it was atheist.net or atheism.net. I can't recall if it had actual rules about civility, but the threads were all civil. But, as time went by, fewer people wanted civil discussion, and that site died out.

I think this is the right approach - a civil section for those who want it, but an open section so the site maintains traffic.

[Whateverist]

Just checked it out. It's pretty mild. I guess everyone got it out in the other thread.

We all sure got a lot out on that initial discussion thread.

The main problem in the other thread is that it was based mostly on incorrect conjecture of our motives.

I'm not sure we all do have the same motives but I at least am here to understand what can be understood.

Philosophy can be understood as addressing three big questions: what is real; how do we know; and what is important? Getting the facts right really does matter. Recognizing valid justification does too. But once you've got that somewhat sorted you have to discover what actually does it for you, what makes a difference to living a fulfilling life. You wouldn't want to get stuck at a low level job as a fact checker or fallacy identifier. Those are crucial skills but we're all on the clock here and time does run out. So what should we be about, if anything at all?

I posted for years at an atheist forum based in Denmark. I think it was atheist.net or atheism.net. I can't recall if it had actual rules about civility, but the threads were all civil. But, as time went by, fewer people wanted civil discussion, and that site died out.

I think this is the right approach - a civil section for those who want it, but an open section so the site maintains traffic.

I agree. I want both but not necessarily at the same time. But I don't think civility requires solemnity, do you? Ideally, civility should allow us to be more open and frank, while actually getting to understanding more about others. It isn't as though we're shopping for things we're missing. It is more about opening your eyes to who is here with you and not just running on assumption.

[Catholic_Lady]

It annoys me that some folks are still calling this a safe space and saying we cant take the heat or something. In regards to the latter, if by "cant take the heat" means I got tired of having to sift through personal insults or otherwise unserious detracting posts when I'm trying to have an honest and productive discussion, then sure. I cant take the heat. Ya got me lol.