Is it odd to anyone else...

[KingMaker]

that our little community gained quite a few new faces when the subject of atheism was discussed a few weeks ago. But, I've not seen them at all anywhere on the boards as of late.

It makes me wonder if they were real, or just multiple names being produced by a few folks? And just for arguments sake, they were real folks....were they just recruited to come back up a single point and are now gone until needed again to push another agenda?

[Blasko]

The mods only need to check our IPs don't they? I'm as real as they come. :)

[Ted]

that our little community gained quite a few new faces when the subject of atheism was discussed a few weeks ago. But, I've not seen them at all anywhere on the boards as of late.

It makes me wonder if they were real, or just multiple names being produced by a few folks? And just for arguments sake, they were real folks....were they just recruited to come back up a single point and are now gone until needed again to push another agenda?Probably 'All the Above'
- and, maybe, a few 'Google Trolls' that cruise the web specifically looking for the uncountable tangled up
Evolution/Creation/ID/Theology/Religion/Atheist/Agnostic
threads that are out there.

If one searches for their username, you'll often find them in dozens of places scattered across the Web.

[KingMaker]

Ted

I did as you suggested, and low and behold, quite a number of these characters seem to just float around cyberspace pushing their agenda and ideology on everyone, everywhere.

Thanks for the tip.....

[Blasko]

If one searches for their username, you'll often find them in dozens of places scattered across the Web.Actually, we're mostly centered around this forum: Creation & Evolution - Christian Forums. (http://www.christianforums.com/f70) That's where I first heard about this forum and came along. The main attraction is that we get to dress up nifty avatars.

[KingMaker]

So you readily admit that you have no connection with the Hattiesburg community? So, are you just here to push your agenda on a group of people in a community that you have no stake in? My what a sad existence you must lead....

[amanda]

Welcome Blasko. Hopefully you will have fun checking out some of the other interesting topics of conversation.

It's almost turned into a Sci-Fi convention with all the strange names. :)

[Blasko]

So you readily admit that you have no connection with the Hattiesburg community?I've never been to Hattiesburg, but I wasn't aware that you had to be a citizen of Hattiesburg to post here. Wasn't in the rules as far as I could read.

So, are you just here to push your agenda on a group of people in a community that you have no stake in? My what a sad existence you must lead....What agenda might that be? If you go through the Evolution thread from top to bottom, you'd see that it wasn't us newcomers who brought up the topic of whether evolution is correct. It was zorro in post #13. Why don't you ask him that very same question? aaron (the OPer) may have wanted to discuss the politics of evolution rather than its validity, which is presumably why the title of the thread is 'Where evolution is taught' rather than 'Why evolution is right'.

Welcome Blasko. Hopefully you will have fun checking out some of the other interesting topics of conversation. I hope so too. It's not good for your health being cooped up in only one sub-forum. And for that matter, one thread. :(

[amanda]

Furthermore, Blasko. Why do ya'll bother with us? I find interesting that your group has taken us on as a challenge. For those who aren't aware. This group has started a thread just for the purpose of bashing us and finding ways to disrupt our community here. It's not enough that they are on a CHRISTIANFORUM site, but I guess they troll every site in the country that may mention chrisitianity to do the same. Here is the link to the thread just so you can see what is occurring over there:

http://www.christianforums.com/t5203101&page=11

It's up to 11 pages, but with all the wasted space they use for posting, plus all the ads, it probably would only be 1 page total. Maybe I'll sign on there and post a plea for chrisitans and creationist to come here to debate them. But they are probably just as tired of their antics and wouldn't bother.

[KingMaker]

You just answered my questions and confirmed my suspicions, at least you have that decency.

But, the basic facts are that you were recruited to come here and push your agenda (whatever that may be). You have no stake in the Hattiesburg community (you probably couldn't find Hattiesburg on a map). You have no concept of the values, morales or ideas of the community. You troll the internet looking for outlets to push your agenda. You either stumbled up it here or were recruited by another troll to post you ideology in an effort to make it appear that there are more folks in our community that share your beliefs than there really are.

I am sorry, but you are a sad individual.

[TheKing]

welcome to the internet...the purpose is for all people from all corners and all walks to share and discuss everything

including people who arent from hattiesburg

everyone here had a purpose for joining these boards...dont discount the validity of his statements on the basis that it isnt the same as yours

you never know...he might move to the area and spend money and contribute to our fiery hot economic engine because he wants to come attempt to spread atheism...no harm in that...no more harm than traveling mormons or jehovas witness

[amanda]

Well, TheKing, I come at it all with the perspective of :

"Opinions are like ass-hole$, everyone's got one."

and they are entitled to them. I stopped posting in the "WHERE evolution is taught" a while back.

[Blasko]

Furthermore, Blasko. Why do ya'll bother with us? I find interesting that your group has taken us on as a challenge. For those who aren't aware. This group has started a thread just for the purpose of bashing us and finding ways to disrupt our community here. I'd dispute that. We didn't come over here to bash you, nor was the thread in CF created to bash anyone. In fact, the original post was: So my question is this - in my posts, did I overreact? In my posts, did I do a decent job of at least trying to show how Evolution is a valid scientific theory?It was to gauge the reaction of other people on how well his debate went. So the group did not start a thread just for the purpose of bashing Hattiesburg. In fact, Valkhorn lives in your city.

As for disrupting your community, in what way? There's been no spam, hardly any warnings, plenty of put-off people (but that's normal in a forum isn't it?), a remarkable restraint in insults...

It's not enough that they are on a CHRISTIANFORUM site, but I guess they troll every site in the country that may mention chrisitianity to do the same.Christian Forums is a misnomer. It should really be 'cross-religious forums with more Christians than any other group'. It was meant to be an intersection of all different religions, dialoguing with each other. Scroll down to the bottom of the index page and you get the Non-Christian forums, the debate forums, the politics forums, the apologetics forums etc etc. Up the top are the theological and doctrinal forums of Christianity. It's worked so far, amazing really. The whole point of CF was to open it to the world. Hardly trolling if the purpose of the forums is to encourage said 'trolling'.

[amanda]

I'd dispute that. We didn't come over here to bash you, nor was the thread in CF created to bash anyone. In fact, the original post was: It was to gauge the reaction of other people on how well his debate went. So the group did not start a thread just for the purpose of bashing Hattiesburg. In fact, Valkhorn lives in your city.

Yes so he claim he does, however it wasn't until the posting on WHERE Evolution is Taught, did he decide to join.

As for disrupting your community, in what way? There's been no spam, hardly any warnings, plenty of put-off people (but that's normal in a forum isn't it?), a remarkable restraint in insults...


Insults can come in many forms.


Christian Forums is a misnomer. It should really be 'cross-religious forums with more Christians than any other group'. It was meant to be an intersection of all different religions, dialoguing with each other. Scroll down to the bottom of the index page and you get the Non-Christian forums, the debate forums, the politics forums, the apologetics forums etc etc. Up the top are the theological and doctrinal forums of Christianity. It's worked so far, amazing really. The whole point of CF was to open it to the world. Hardly trolling if the purpose of the forums is to encourage said 'trolling'.

To further clarify, and expand on the small part of Valkhorn's inital post in A Plea For Help (Attack of the Creationist) the following were posts made in the referenced thread:

"Also, do you have any suggestions? I really can't fight this alone and since no one is really there to really help me I haven't much of a chance to defend science in my home town. I don't ask you guys to post there (but if you did I won't hold you back) but I just want to make sure I did all I could to try to talk some sense into people.

It's just so depressing when ignorance outnumbers you."

and,

No, you didn't overreact but I certainly can understand your frustration. Sometimes there is an immovable mountain of STUPID that you're never gonna move. I think you just came up against a whole range!

and,

So I didn't imagine things. Advice? I'm thinking about folding but I just can't go back in there alone.

oh....and one of my favorites:

Here's an idea.

Make a New Account and pretend to argue for the opposing side and make all the Arguements that the rest of these guys refuse to do. Then, maybe no one can say that it's an unfair fight while, at the same time, disect their whole position bit-by-bit.

They probably won't read it but, Hey! At least they can't use the Excuse "If no one told us, we can't be held responcible for being wrong!"

Wish I can do that. I wish I can put up a convincing debate.


and who said MH wasn't exciting. :)
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[KingMaker]

Priceless.....

[Hermione]

What I've never understood, and have asked several times, is where Valk & Friends got the idea that they were on some kind of mission to enlighten us here at MH. It's been explained to them any number of times that this is a social site, about as lacking in an agenda as it gets. They come in here all fired up on a mission and then get unhappy because we don't want to play.
Frankly, I have enough education and intelligence to seek out information and forums on those topics should I wish to. The idea that these "missionaries" are needed here is arrogant, and just as ignorant and narrow-minded as they think their opponents are.
If you have no interest in Hattiesburg, you have no reason to be on this forum.

[Blasko]

You have no stake in the Hattiesburg community (you probably couldn't find Hattiesburg on a map).But Valkhorn does live in Hattiesburg, and he got banned ironically.

You have no concept of the values, morales or ideas of the community. You troll the internet looking for outlets to push your agenda.

You either stumbled up it here or were recruited by another troll to post you ideology in an effort to make it appear that there are more folks in our community that share your beliefs than there really are.

I am sorry, but you are a sad individual.Wikipedia defines a troll as: A troll is a person who approaches a board with the specific intention of stirring things up, either with no particular motive or provocation in mind, other than to be purely destructive or if the motive or provocation is against the ethos of the board.A troll is a person who comes to a board with the specific intention of stirring things up with

a) a motive for destruction
b) a motive against the ethos of the board.

I never came here to purposely antagonise the forum members. If you want to call me a troll for this reason, you'll have to prove I came here to destroy. I came here of my own volition in order to clear up misconceptions. I did not come here to laugh or insult people.

Do I have a motive against the ethos of the board? What is the ethos of this board? If the ethos of the board was 'Anti-evolution' and then I stepped in to stir up debate, then I'd fit the definition of a troll. But the ethos of this board isn't anti-evolution, in fact is covers a wide range of topics and not just this narrow subject. If I signed up and instead of debating evolution, debated whether Al Gore is right, would you also call me a troll?

Are you just calling me a troll because you don't like me or what? That was a pretty insulting post.

[amanda]

Blasko, because of the way you conduct your posts and frame your responses with respect is the reason you are still here. Can't you see. If you read over some of your compadres posts on that thread, they were very biligerent. As a community we will argue on issues, debate issues, and out-and-out disagree on things. But overall we give each other the benefit of their beliefs and do not attack those beliefs. It was the tone and tenor that had Valkhorn and some others banned from this forum. But I have enjoyed reading YOUR posts because you do not approach those of us of faith as ignorant. And for that I do thank you but you will have to admit that you would never have thought of coming onto this site without the prompting from Valkhorn to "back him up".

[KingMaker]

It was meant to be an insulting post. I am glade you were bright enough to pick up on that. The reason you are a troll is because you were recruited here to push a certain agenda without having any stake in the community. This is a community that has a wide array of topics and interests, most folks here (non-trolls) take part in many of these different topics and interests. You on the other hand do not, you have no interest in Hattiesburg our local politics, weather, sports, ect? (BTW who are you pulling for in the 2A South State baseball series Richton or St. Andrews?, probably not St. Andrew's....right?)

You sir, are a troll for the reasons listed above. You are a single issue, single, subject poster who was sniffed out, called out and basically outed for what you really are, a troll.

You are no different than a paid protester.

[Blasko]

Yes so he claim he does, however it wasn't until the posting on WHERE Evolution is Taught, did he decide to join.And? Valkhorn's a debater, maybe he stumbled onto this forum and went straight for the subject he knows best. You'll have to ask him though.

Insults can come in many forms. I never said there weren't insults, but there's been a remarkable restraint on them, helpfully enforced by the moderators. Insults have been flying from both sides.


Frankly, I have enough education and intelligence to seek out information and forums on those topics should I wish to. The idea that these "missionaries" are needed here is arrogant, and just as ignorant and narrow-minded as they think their opponents are.The fact that some of our number have diverged from the Religion forum shows that we (or at least some of us) have a vested interest in remaining here, not just to debate in one single sub-forum.


If you have no interest in Hattiesburg, you have no reason to be on this forum.That's a good point. I personally like how this forum is set out and I do want to keep talking with people here, but it has dawned on me that this forum is insular for a reason. If I get out of dodge, I wonder if you'll offer the same explanation to Scotz, who has four posts and all of them in the Religion forum. He seems to have joined up for the express purpose of debating us in turn.

[amanda]

The fact that some of our number have diverged from the Religion forum shows that we (or at least some of us) have a vested interest in remaining here, not just to debate in one single sub-forum.

That's a good point. I personally like how this forum is set out and I do want to keep talking with people here, but it has dawned on me that this forum is insular for a reason. If I get out of dodge, I wonder if you'll offer the same explanation to Scotz, who has four posts and all of them in the Religion forum. He seems to have joined up for the express purpose of debating us in turn.

And many of us have wondered the same about Scotz. We likewise hope he delves out of the thread and wonders around a bit too. You will find that most of us are quite humorous and interested in many things. And just think, if you ever decide to come down this way - you will have a wealth of information at your fingertips.

[Blasko]

It's been explained to them any number of times that this is a social site, about as lacking in an agenda as it gets. They come in here all fired up on a mission and then get unhappy because we don't want to play.Where we come from, it's a pretty bipolar, dog-eat-dog debating forum. It's hard not to get touchy. This is a general social forum, something quite different. It's not dedicated to debate at all.

However, that doesn't mean debate doesn't have a place here. Heck, it's just another way of finding out what your fellow citizen thinks. I think that if everyone kept it nice and clean, you could still have a debate that's in the spirit of a social site. Even evolution. :neutral:

Which goes back to the civility that I think amandah was talking about: If you read over some of your compadres posts on that thread, they were very biligerent. As a community we will argue on issues, debate issues, and out-and-out disagree on things. But overall we give each other the benefit of their beliefs and do not attack those beliefs. It was the tone and tenor that had Valkhorn and some others banned from this forum.We don't bite. Honest.

[Guru]

I'm not certain that there is a human on this Earth that is all-knowing. My faith leads me, sometimes I fall off the fence in confusion but I'm back on it when you look back up. For any person to stand up and say truthfully that they know how everything on this Earth came to be would be quite pretentious. It reeks of the personality searching for a soap box tall enough that everyone will have to look at them and hear what they have to say, that is why people that nobody wants to listen to use bullhorns in a situation that resembles the Tower of Babel. Trolls and unbehaved children are best dealt with the same way, give them no notice and continue about your business.

[noway]

Furthermore, Blasko. Why do ya'll bother with us? I find interesting that your group has taken us on as a challenge. For those who aren't aware. This group has started a thread just for the purpose of bashing us and finding ways to disrupt our community here. It's not enough that they are on a CHRISTIANFORUM site, but I guess they troll every site in the country that may mention chrisitianity to do the same. Here is the link to the thread just so you can see what is occurring over there:

http://www.christianforums.com/t5203101&page=11

It's up to 11 pages, but with all the wasted space they use for posting, plus all the ads, it probably would only be 1 page total. Maybe I'll sign on there and post a plea for chrisitans and creationist to come here to debate them. But they are probably just as tired of their antics and wouldn't bother.

Start on page one and read enjoy the whole thread .LMAO!!!! I like this post

""this Zorro chick is a complete imbecile. And she seems to have a whole crew rallying around her and acting as if she is some sort of goddess"""

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :clap: :smt103