Engagement protocol

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Blow my own trumpet?
So you're saying that a person who admits when they're wrong ought to be taken as a point of pride?
What world do you live in, exactly?
The world I reside in expects people to own up to their mistakes as a point of respect for the truth.

My post simply is a statement of fact.
If you have an actual counter-assertion, it mu ...[text shortened]... hich contradict either of my initial claims.

Barring that, your words are just so much noise.

I've been here for years. I can't think of many people who reach positions as contorted as you do in their efforts to avoid admitting that they got it wrong or did not understand. And the more contorted your stance gets, the more you dish out the trash talk. Then again, if people agree with your characterization of your supposed open mindedness, so be it. Mine is merely an observation ~ and one based on reading hundreds and hundreds of your posts over the years.

Originally posted by whodey
On top of being told I'm stupid, FMF also called me a liar by saying that it was virtually impossible to believe that I could have ever won a debate.

I did not say you "could never have won a debate" ~ you're just making that up. What I said was that your anecdote about making a woman co-worker cry with your debating skills on abortion didn't seem very credible seeing as I look upon you as one of the weakest debaters on the Debate Forum. It's much more likely that her tears were caused by your behaviour or demeanour than by your "debating skills". The way you tell it does not sound credible. And I did not tell you you are "stupid" ~ you're just making that up too.

Originally posted by whodey
It's like trying to have a conversation with someone and then they retort, "Your breath sure smells".

Can you quote any posts where you felt that this was what happened to you?

Originally posted by FMF
I've been here for years. I can't think of anyone who reaches positions as contorted as you do in their efforts to avoid admitting that they got it wrong or did not understand. And the more contorted your stance gets, the more you dish out the trash talk. Then again, if people agree with your characterization of your supposed open mindedness, so be it. Mine is m ...[text shortened]... ly an observation ~ and one based on reading hundreds and hundreds of your posts over the years.

what about me? i think i have morphed into more unusual shapes than I care to mention. 😵

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
what about me? i think i have morphed into more unusual shapes than I care to mention. 😵

True. I've gone back and editted it.

Originally posted by FMF
I've been here for years. I can't think of many people who reach positions as contorted as you do in their efforts to avoid admitting that they got it wrong or did not understand. And the more contorted your stance gets, the more you dish out the trash talk. Then again, if people agree with your characterization of your supposed open mindedness, so be it. Mine i ...[text shortened]... ly an observation ~ and one based on reading hundreds and hundreds of your posts over the years.

Wut?

You go from making a counter-assertion to (now) just a mere observation?
Evade much?

The atheists hate being called on the carpet for their lack of consistency, because they know their arguments or claims simply cannot stand the test of either coherence or logical conclusion.

My position on any one topic doesn't change unless new and better evidence forces a change.
The contortions you imagine are simply part of your defense: remove my admissions of error and you will find a very consistent position over the course of nine years on this forum.

You cannot claim such conciliatory measures by any atheist, regardless of their instances of blatant mistakes.

Unless you (like googlefudge) are trying to say the atheists have never been wrong?

Originally posted by FMF
True. I've gone back and editted it.

thankyou, your magnanimity is truly proverbial

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Wut?

You go from making a counter-assertion to (now) just a mere observation?
Evade much?

The atheists hate being called on the carpet for their lack of consistency, because they know their arguments or claims simply cannot stand the test of either coherence or logical conclusion.

My position on any one topic doesn't change unless new and better ...[text shortened]... mistakes.

Unless you (like googlefudge) are trying to say the atheists have never been wrong?

I am simply saying I disagree with the way you characterize yourself. I see you as an intransigent ideologue who resorts to trash talk early on in most engagements. That you see yourself differently is not surprising.

Originally posted by FMF
I am simply saying I disagree with the way you characterize yourself. I see you as an intransigent ideologue who resorts to trash talk early on in most engagements. That you see yourself differently is not surprising.

That hard to stay on topic, eh?

You raised a counter-assertion, but now you're just the casual observer, unaffected by the fray, objectively and innocently chiming in?

I have to chuckle at your douche-baggery.
You'll forgive me, I'm sure.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
That hard to stay on topic, eh?

You raised a counter-assertion, but now you're just the casual observer, unaffected by the fray, objectively and innocently chiming in?

I have to chuckle at your douche-baggery.
You'll forgive me, I'm sure.

I don't see you as a 'I'm the first to admit I'm wrong' kind of poster at all, although I accept that it may be how you see yourself. If others think you are the kind of poster you portray yourself as, they will conclude that I am wrong regardless of whether you call me names.

Originally posted by FMF
I don't see you as a 'I'm the first to admit I'm wrong' kind of poster at all, although I accept that it may be how you see yourself. If others think you are the kind of poster you portray yourself as, they will conclude that I am wrong regardless of whether you call me names.

If, at first your baseless, merit-less claim receives no traction, change it to a casual observation, rinse/repeat?

Brilliant!

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
If, at first your baseless, merit-less claim receives no traction, change it to a casual observation, rinse/repeat?

Brilliant!

Assertion - observation - impression - different opinion. Same thing.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
There is an inference here which suggests the atheists here are never wrong.

Please, please, PLEASE tell me you think this.

The is no such inference, and I don't think that for one second.

I will however happily stand by the assertion that most atheists here are
wrong far less often, and far less impressively as, for example, you are.

And as I have said before, and will no doubt say again.
I am sometimes shown to be wrong, and I have both admitted that I was
wrong, and changed my mind on the topic at hand.

However I am accused, by people like yourself, of being wrong far far more often.
And what you typically fail to do is actually demonstrate that I am wrong.
In fact quite the contrary.

I would also point out that we atheists will point out errors we think other atheists
are making. Something I have been on both ends of... Something which quite frankly
often leads to the most interesting discussions.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
"In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."
Your jacket is a [b]perfect fit.[/b]

Except for the on-topic part. And the part about starting an argument. And the part about intending to provoke an emotional response.

To further elucidate, I believe I could justifiably call you a d|p sh|t here without being rightfully called a troll, given that the label fits you. The reason why this is not trolling, even though it is inflammatory, is that it's directly on topic, and right on the money.

Originally posted by googlefudge
The is no such inference, and I don't think that for one second.

I will however happily stand by the assertion that most atheists here are
wrong far less often, and far less impressively as, for example, you are.

And as I have said before, and will no doubt say again.
I am sometimes shown to be wrong, and I have both admitted that I was
wrong, ...[text shortened]... both ends of... Something which quite frankly
often leads to the most interesting discussions.

So exchange 'atheist' for 'theist' and then change the authorship from you to me and you will see how the resulting entrenched perspective is the primary reason for the lack of clarity or agreement between the atheists and the theists--- we're at an impasse, generally speaking.

Funny thing, though: the atheist must come to the house of the theist for there to ever be a conversation.
Although I am sure such irony is lost on the atheist, from what I've gathered of the lot.