Happy Atheist Forum

Getting To Know You => Ask HAF => Topic started by: MarcusA on May 05, 2023, 06:41:59 AM

Title: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: MarcusA on May 05, 2023, 06:41:59 AM
Atheists seem so cold-blooded in their deliberations. There seems no room for passion.
Title: Re: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: Asmodean on May 05, 2023, 07:11:58 AM
Heh. You, my friend, have been hanging around the likes of me too much.

True, Atheism in itself has no room for passion. However, you can certainly be passionate and an Atheist. Likewise, you can be passionate about something, yet do your utmost to base your decisions around that something on something... More rational, shall we say.

Point is; you can be more than a <current year> CW character. If individual aspects of yourself have no room for something - you can have that room. You can walk and chew gum, all while breathing and wondering what's for dinner.
Title: Re: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: MarcusA on May 05, 2023, 07:19:16 AM
I just wondering why there is no movement at the station.
Title: Re: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: No one on May 05, 2023, 07:20:10 AM
You're on the wrong platform?
Title: Re: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: MarcusA on May 05, 2023, 07:23:28 AM
No, I'm on the right platform but there's simply no people.
Title: Re: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: Asmodean on May 05, 2023, 07:41:42 AM
The Super Bowl is on?

I guess I should expand the metaphor. If you are referring to the corridors of online communities being a bit drafty here and there, much of that is due to shifting priorities. When it comes to Atheist message boards, a lot of them started in the "Great Interwebs Crusade" of mid-naughties, when predominantly American atheists tried to... Bring their lack of faith to the mainstream, let us call it. They used the then-rapidly emerging medium of public decent-speed Internet towards that end, to find like-minded people in their cause, or just to have a space where they were not the odd one out. That one has been pretty-much "won" by mid-teens, and a lot of those same people now found new trenches, some opposing their former "allies."

Some communities got torn apart then and there - others persisted, though in a somewhat diminished capacity. Others still refocused.

It's an artefact of the Internet - when you live in a house, it's hard to choose your neighbours. Your community is what it is. Online, however, a lot of people tend to flow with their current priorities - and they prefer it that way - both from the angle of relevance and that of confirmation bias. When you can be around "like-minded" people in "most" situations - you may tend to pick those spaces that most reflect your views or, perhaps, that least challenge them.

Atheism not being "hot" at the moment, it gets naturally difficult for a place as open to the exchange of ideas as this particular message board is, to attract that kind of audience. That needs not be a detriment, however. Places that try... Tend to drown in drama in a hurry. Yes, a thousand post a day drama, but overall... Unproductive.

I may be completely missing the mark, of course, but that is my analysis. As far as Atheism goes... It's no longer the Super Bowl in itself.
Title: Re: Is atheism bleak?
Post by: MarcusA on May 05, 2023, 08:41:10 PM
Atheism is already bleak. Without communication, it's downright dark.