Is this the ONLY civil place left on the NET?

[Martin TK]

I have to say this, I have been going to a lot of forums lately, and this is the ONLY one where a person's opinions are really accepted and not ridiculed.  I've never seen so many people with such thin skin.

I'll give an example, there was a thread on this other site about the morals of necrophilia.  Well, needless to say, it was a very interesting discussion and I had some really professional opinions and for the most part we kept them civil.  Then this one guy comes in and begins to throw some reference to homosexuality and necrophilia and it got kind of ugly, and then before you knew it, the attacks on me became ad hominen.  Then a couple of the really weird folks took this guys side, even after he called me a effin idiot among other things.

Well, not that I am trying to bring all that drama here, I was actually posting this to say thank you to everyone here for being so darn civil, even with those you disagree with. I kept telling them over there that a FORUM is expected to be a place where different views are expressed and then debated, otherwise, we might as well have a social club and sit around telling each other how pretty we all are.  

Thanks guys.

[Tank]

This isn't the only civil place on the net, but I don't know the other one, so I'll be stopping here thanks  
 RatSkep.org is way more rough & tumble than here, that's why I started looking for somewhere else a little more to my liking.

[Thumpalumpacus]

This is one reason why this forum got bookmarked here.

I can be as uncivil as anyone, but I sure don't enjoy it, as it sludges any discussion.

[skwurll]

Well, the major reason I'm civil here is because most of the deeply philosophical conversations go right over my head. Being as uninformed as I am, it would only prove to make me look like a fool if I took an overzealous approach.

[The Magic Pudding]

I spent some time on an atheist site where newcomers were asked to introduce themselves in a new thread.
They would be welcomed initially.
If atheism runs strong and true in your veins you'd be OK.

I recall one guy who described his belief as

My current position is that I believe "God" is simply a label we apply to our understanding of the transcendant. "God" is not a being becuase "God" is existence itself (to quote Germn theologan Paul Tillich). I have been raised in the Anglican Christian tradition and will continue to do so, and will continue to partake of Communion and all the attendant rituals simply because it helps me be aprt of a community on a similar life path.
So, can I call myself a Christian Anglican Atheist?

Well it wasn't pretty, he'd receive three insulting posts, which went unremarked, and he’d respond defensively and be pounced on by all for his immoderate attitude.
He seemed to be held responsible for all sins perpetrated by those calling themselves Christian.  Paedophilia and baby eating included.

This is just one example.

Pack behaviour is interesting.

A pat on the back from me Happy Atheists, the name is an excellent place to start.

I hope this isn’t the only haven of civility out there.

[Heretical Rants]

This forum has some issues.
I'd only really call it civil in comparison with the Dark Side of Mt. Internet, which is a place I do not frequent, so yeaaa...

[Martin TK]

This forum has some issues.
I'd only really call it civil in comparison with the Dark Side of Mt. Internet, which is a place I do not frequent, so yeaaa...

Not sure where that place is, but I'll tell you that I have gotten attacked on a Theist site by other atheists who somehow fancied themselves more intelligent than the rest of us.  I invited them over here, for a little reality check, so far none have showed up.  Oh well.

I know atheists can be rough on Theists, mainly when certain things are claimed that seem a bit over the edge.  I for one, try never to attack but to debate, I am human so I do the whole ad hominem thing from time to time, but I do attempt not to be the arse in the discussion.

[Whitney]

This forum has some issues.
I'd only really call it civil in comparison with the Dark Side of Mt. Internet, which is a place I do not frequent, so yeaaa...

?

[Heretical Rants]

What I'm saying is, this site is pretty much average...

Of course, we must consider subject matter, so naturally that means that it is better than most forums centered around theology, as most are pretty bad.

That is all.

[karadan]

Well, You are certainly a welcome addition to the forum Martin. I enjoy your insightful posts. It is certainly the calm nature of this forum which has kept me here for two years (even though I've been known to blow my top a few times).

I recently became a member of the bad astronomy forums. They seem to have a very similar modus operandi to HAF, by all accounts.

[curiosityandthecat]

Being a minority and keeping a level head is difficult when the status quo comes knocking for the umpteenth time. Most of us that've been here for a while, like Karadan and myself, do occasionally get frustrated and let our feelings run away with our reason. The fact that we can laugh about it is what makes this place special.

Once you lose the ability to laugh at yourself, you're lost.

[Martin TK]

I think it's fine to be human and with that humanity comes emotions.  I want people to be passionate in their beliefs, whatever they may be, but there is a difference between passion and dogma.

For instance, I just left a religious forum because two members would follow me around and attack EVERY post I made.  This one guy attacked my post where I asked for a civil discussion on the Jesus of history, the Jesus of the bible, and Paul's influence on Christianity.  Well, this guy, who claims to be an agnostic, used every ad hominem attack you can imagine.  He called me uneducated, ignorant, and one I loved the one where he used the typical Christian tactic, "I'm giving you all the evidence you need to believe in Jesus, why won't you simply read what I'm presenting?"  "I'm informing you that you are refusing to see the truth."  "I hate to see ignorance on these forums."

I just told him that he sounds like he got his knowledge from a Tent Revival Meeting down South.

[zerofivetwoseven]

I used to post regularly on the Forum on Richard Dawkins.Net till it disintegrated and everyone abandoned ship. The new one is more restrictive but I do use it - but this site has the same layout as the old one which is why I like it. The mods on there were fantastic and the quality of debate was of a very high standard. I miss it but life goes on. Hopefully this will prove to be a worthy successor. On the subject of civility I always try to be polite and do not let ad hominems faze me - it's the nature of the beast unfortunately. But apart from one totally unforgivable outburst I have managed to keep my cool. I try to attack ideas not individuals and even apologise if I have inadvertently upset any. I have even removed comment to appease others. You will find me to be a passionate advocate in debate, but I will never resort to ad hominem. I am interested in vigorous argument but there is a line that should not be crossed. I look forward to engaging you all over the course of my stay here - which hopefully will be for some considerable time - Tom.

[Martin TK]

I used to post regularly on the Forum on Richard Dawkins.Net till it disintegrated and everyone abandoned ship. The new one is more restrictive but I do use it - but this site has the same layout as the old one which is why I like it. The mods on there were fantastic and the quality of debate was of a very high standard. I miss it but life goes on. Hopefully this will prove to be a worthy successor. On the subject of civility I always try to be polite and do not let ad hominems faze me - it's the nature of the beast unfortunately. But apart from one totally unforgivable outburst I have managed to keep my cool. I try to attack ideas not individuals and even apologise if I have inadvertently upset any. I have even removed comment to appease others. You will find me to be a passionate advocate in debate, but I will never resort to ad hominem. I am interested in vigorous argument but there is a line that should not be crossed. I look forward to engaging you all over the course of my stay here - which hopefully will be for some considerable time - Tom.

You will fit in well here.  I really wish we had more stong theists to come by who could debate their beliefs without ad hominem attacks, and who could cite reliable sources, without being pompous asses.  I just got booted from a site, where this Biblical Scholar simply wouldn't leave me alone because he was on a mission to convince me that there was a historical Jesus.  Even after I told him that there was NOTHING he could say or do, he and another guy just kept on me to the point that I finally said ONE thing about them being dogmatic.  I was the one who got a warning, me... then I really got nasty with one of the moderators who got an attitude with me like he was a judge or something, even to the taking the position of being superior to me.  That's not a good idea, so when I got finished with him, I was banned... LOL

[zerofivetwoseven]

I really wish we had more stong theists to come by who could debate their beliefs without ad hominem attacks, and who could cite reliable sources, without being pompous asses.  I just got booted from a site, where this Biblical Scholar simply wouldn't leave me alone because he was on a mission to convince me that there was a historical Jesus.  Even after I told him that there was NOTHING he could say or do, he and another guy just kept on me to the point that I finally said ONE thing about them being dogmatic.  I was the one who got a warning, me... then I really got nasty with one of the moderators who got an attitude with me like he was a judge or something, even to the taking the position of being superior to me.  That's not a good idea, so when I got finished with him, I was banned...

I have no evidence to support this, but I am under the impression that because atheist forums place more emphasis on logic and reason, that they are more welcoming to theists because they know they can defeat their arguments by such methods. Whereas theist forums shun atheists because they rely on faith and belief instead to support their propositions, and shy away from vigorous exchange. Ray Comfort even bans anyone from his site if they disrespect Jesus by typing his name in lower case and profanity of any kind - even in jest - is banned. It's almost as if he doesn't want open debate. But I could be wrong.