Some of the rabble (note I said some) at the Great and Spacious Trailer Park (GSTP) are claiming that I am universally attacking everyone who ever posts there. They are wrong. Note what I actually said:
Certain denizens of the LDS apostate intellectual slums of the internet claim that my friend John Gee, a professor at Brigham Young University, lacks all credibility in professional Egyptological circles. (This accusation, by the way, comes from people [i.e. the "certain denizens"] with no advanced degrees in any relevant field, no academic positions, and no peer-reviewed publications of their own.
Note what I am not saying:
1- That everyone on the GSTP are making those claims.
2- That no one at the GSTP has any academic credentials at all.
3- That an intelligent, informed person cannot disagree with Gee about specific issues and interpretations (Egyptologists and academics disagree with each other all the time).
Note what I am saying:
1- Certain people at the GSTP claim Gee is unethical and has no credibility in Egyptological circles.
2- The specific people making these claims that no academic credentials whatsoever by which they can evaluate Gee.
3- That Gee has credibility among Egyptologists is shown by the fact that he has widely published in the field, and has edited an Egyptological journal.
Here are specific examples the types of statements made by those I am referring to as certain denizens of the GSTP (examples could be further multiplied).
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I think the messages quoted above by Bill speak volumes more about the inhabitants of the GSTP than anything else he could have said. It would seem the moderators of that particular forum have suspended the rules regarding personal attacks and name calling as long as the object of the the attack is defending the church. It makes one wonder what kind of person would post that kind of stuff in a public forum, and those who let them do so.
oldgsm:
The rules against personal attacks only apply to registered members. Therefore, the moderators there aren’t abrogating any of their responsibilities.
I know for a fact that this claim is objectively untrue. When Will S. and Dan P. were posting on that board, there were relentless, slanderous attacks against them which have gone on for years, and are still ongoing. Being a registered member made no difference whatsoever.
But even if it is true, it is a silly rule. Why do you allow people to be anonymously slandered on your board just because they don’t happen to be members of your club? If these types of personal attacks are a bad thing, then they are bad whether a member of your club or not.
I’d like to know why you always use the analogy of “trailer park” in disparaging the “other” board. Are not people who live in trailer parks, many good and honorable people who simply cannot afford a normal house.
Come on, it’s a joke. I lived in a trailer park for a couple of years. No big deal. It’s a play on the Great and Spacious Building, but the folks at the apostate boards don’t quite make it to the intellectual level of a Great and Spacious Building.
” folks at the apostate boards don’t quite make it to the intellectual level of a Great and Spacious Building”. Come on there are some quite smart people go there like Chris Smith and Andrew Cook . Its not just controlled like your board at MADB.
Yes, there are smart people there (though the wisdom of posting there is dubious), but that doesn’t change the fact that the overall tenor of the place is vile, composed largely of endless ranting tirades about how evil the church is and how stupid anyone who believes in the church is. Added to that the pornographic discussions (like homosexuals describing how they want to have intercourse with some Mormon apologists), links to pornographic sites, exposés of the temple ceremony, and profanity, I, personally can’t see why any intelligent person could possibly want to post there. When you wade around in a sewer, the stench will inevitably get on you, no matter how intelligent you may be.
Those types of posts may have been regrettably appeared a few times, but those who do so aren’t supported in that by the rest of the community.
This is simply untrue. I see no evidence of the “rest of the community” objecting to slanderous attacks against Mormon scholars, the Church as a whole, or Church leaders. That, as far as I can tell, is the fundamental reason that board exists. If the “rest of the community” objects to slander, exposés of the temple, and pornography, there is a simple way to deal with it. DON’T ALLOW IT.
I expect you’ll disallow this comment, like all my other comments, but I thought I’d let you know that I have asked Shades to move the offending posts to Outer Darkness.
That’s a good first step. On the other hand, the “Outer Darkness” section is still perfectly accessible with a click or two. Simply moving such posts around doesn’t really change anything substantively.