Can we please have an irrelevant policy "sticky" removed?

As a semi-permanent resident of the "Religion, Faith and Theology" forum, this post has bothered me for quite some time:

PLEASE PLAY NICE (STAFF ALERT)

which includes the text

No where in there does it say bash each others religion with reckless abandon, nor does it say spew out hate.

For years, I have hit the "ALERT!" flag on threads and posts that are nothing but religious bashing, and I think that I can count the number of times that anything has resulted from it on one hand. This week, I alerted a thread that was nothing more than an unattributed copy and paste from Deuteronomy, along with the statement "This is why the Bible is hate literature and should be banned." I also alerted a post that said, in part, "The more stress we can put on religious people the faster they will all be dead." Neither alert resulted in any action, which I am left to believe is because the moderator who reviewed it said "not a violation of any policy."

But both of these are clearly "spewing hate", and if the official policy of ATS is to ignore reports which are based on that concern, then please remove the thread which says that this behaviour is not tolerated.

I was heartened to see the recent policy change that said hatred of the Jews, as per the Holocaust deniers, was no longer tolerable, but I am disheartened to see that hatred of the religious is still a-okay.

I don't know what to do about the religion-bashing threads apart from ignoring them and not taking the bait.
A large number of religion-bashing posts are actually on religion-presenting threads, so clarifying and enforcing the rules about off-topic posting would go a long way towards cleaning up the forum.
Sometimes a Mod will say "Report them", but if we try, we're faced with a message that says something like "This feature is not to be used for reporting off-topic posts".
Perhaps we should understand that to mean "trivially off-topic posts", and press on regardless to report the deliberately de-railing ones.

PS The definition of the forum implies that it's about positive presentation of your own spiritual approach.
So perhaps all "bashing" threads, whether against Christianity or atheism, should be transferred to "Rant".

Originally posted by DISRAELI
I don't know what to do about the religion-bashing threads apart from ignoring them and not taking the bait.

I respond to them anyway, because when hate speech is posted, and not refuted, there are those who might believe that it's okay to hate. It doesn't win me many friends, lol.

Yes, I agree. It is frustrating to say the least. There are other members I've talked to that see these threads for what they are; hate inspired rants with absolute bias. Unfortunately, in regards to religion, some members recklessly make uneducated statements and present them as fact. This tactic may or may not hold sway over members who may be 'on the fence' concerning these subjects. I usually can't resist and find myself drawn in to a pointless debate.

Aren't we supposed to be hated? If we ain't hated, we ain't doing something right!

My biggest problem is getting snotty when someone starts hating and find myself falling into the same trap. Shame on me.

But keep on fighting the good fight! You did a great job on the debate, btw.

The only religious bashing threads i see come from people like M.O. He never posts anything about any other religions, he just constantly targets christians and taking cheap shot ad hominem fallacies to "disprove" their challenges to his threads. Like his latest thread about Jesus being Santa Claus for adults in one of his many attempts to ridicule christians. Ofcourse i have never seen a moderator even comment in his posts and it's to the point i just about do not even bother to read his depressing drivel.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000


I laughed when u said jesus is the adult santa clause.

Couldn't be more true in my opinion.

The only difference is that you have to sit on your own knee when u ask him for stuff.

The religious have more hate than non religious people I seen that time and time again.

reply to post by TheCaucasianAmerican
Soooo...havin' a little trouble keeping up with your tabs, eh? Maybe you better give your car keys to someone.

reply to post by The GUT


What tabs? Are you going to cry now because I said my mind?
Im entitled to my opinion as much as you are yours.
I didn't say anything hateful I just stated something that was amusing to me.

And no im perfectly fine with keeping my car keys. I didn't pray to jesus to get my car, and neither did I pray to him to keep me out of car crashes. I can do that perfectly fine on my own thank you.

What I see a plethora of are clear bait/troll threads which should not be allowed under the T&C. Honest inquiries and questions are always welcome and encouraged, but the outright attempts to illicit an argument or to mock and ridicule should have no place. There is nothing constructive about those threads.

Originally posted by TheCaucasianAmerican
reply to post by The GUT

 

What tabs? Are you going to cry now because I said my mind?
Im entitled to my opinion as much as you are yours.
I didn't say anything hateful I just stated something that was amusing to me.

And no im perfectly fine with keeping my car keys. I didn't pray to jesus to get my car, and neither did I pray to him to keep me out of car crashes. I can do that perfectly fine on my own thank you.

You were trolling and attempting to bait. If that is 'amusing' to you what does that make you? And if you are trying to make a legitimate argument then you're appealing to ridicule and that's a fallacy.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


The religious are just as much to blame as the non religious.
You push they push back and vice-versa.

Maybe if religious people spent more time on themselves rather than trying to convert people. Then we could live in peace.

do it with the koran and see how quick the jihadi mods are on it

Originally posted by adjensen
As a semi-permanent resident of the "Religion, Faith and Theology" forum, this post has bothered me for quite some time:

PLEASE PLAY NICE (STAFF ALERT)

which includes the text

No where in there does it say bash each others religion with reckless abandon, nor does it say spew out hate.

For years, I have hit the "ALERT!" flag on threads and posts that are nothing but religious bashing, and I think that I can count the number of times that anything has resulted from it on one hand. This week, I alerted a thread that was nothing more than an unattributed copy and paste from Deuteronomy, along with the statement "This is why the Bible is hate literature and should be banned." I also alerted a post that said, in part, "The more stress we can put on religious people the faster they will all be dead." Neither alert resulted in any action, which I am left to believe is because the moderator who reviewed it said "not a violation of any policy."

But both of these are clearly "spewing hate", and if the official policy of ATS is to ignore reports which are based on that concern, then please remove the thread which says that this behaviour is not tolerated.

No, we will not. And, if you keep this up, we will hate you even more than we do now.

reply to post by adjensen


I've seen you post things that some would judge as just as "bashing" toward other beliefs... I'm sure it seems to you that your posts aren't hateful, but to the person you're disagreeing with, they sure could seem that way.

Let the mods handle it. As a group, they have a more balanced view and can edit as they see fit. As individuals, it's hard to see things objectively. Just keep your cool the best you can and if you get upset, leave the thread for a while.

Some people have very negative experiences with religion. Expressing our opinions about our experiences is what ATS is all about.

The policy is highly relevant. Just because you don't always agree with the mods' decisions doesn't mean the policy is trash.

Originally posted by TheCaucasianAmerican
reply to post by NOTurTypical

 

The religious are just as much to blame as the non religious.
You push they push back and vice-versa.

Maybe if religious people spent more time on themselves rather than trying to convert people. Then we could live in peace.

Most of the posters who identify themselves as Christians in the R,F,&T forum aren't evangelists but apologists. There is a distinct difference. And yes, I have seen retaliatory threads from Christians that can be considered "bait/troll" threads, however proportionally they are the exception not the rule. Most Christians gather there for apologetics and theology debates.

Originally posted by sirnukeem
do it with the koran and see how quick the jihadi mods are on it

This is true. My friend posted a picture of the Kaaba and asked simply if it was idolatry and was threatened with being banned. Not a posting ban..a website ban.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by sirnukeem
do it with the koran and see how quick the jihadi mods are on it

This is true. My friend posted a picture of the Kaaba and asked simply if it was idolatry and was threatened with being banned. Not a posting ban..a website ban.

We need to find the cause of getting butt-hurt.

Alot of problems will then be solved.

Originally posted by TheCaucasianAmerican

Originally posted by NOTurTypical

Originally posted by sirnukeem
do it with the koran and see how quick the jihadi mods are on it

This is true. My friend posted a picture of the Kaaba and asked simply if it was idolatry and was threatened with being banned. Not a posting ban..a website ban.

We need to find the cause of getting butt-hurt.

Alot of problems will then be solved.

I personally believe it's the way people are raised these days. This P.C. nonsense.

what ever happened to turning the other cheek & forgive them for they no not what they do ?