Looking for people who have some aim or purpose in these forums

[Jim]

We have seen what works and what does not work as far as free expression of ideas, limits and downfalls of personal insults, levels of acceptable proselytizing, tolerance of of personal sharing, empathy and understanding towards total strangers who really are in pain and learning. We know the benefits of sharing with people on line. We know the limitations of understanding another person only through writing.

One possible reason I can think of for saying that is that you see me as a person who thinks that he knows what everyone here should be doing, and that he has nothing to learn about that from anyone here. If you have some other reason for saying that, I hope you will tell me.

... why you believe you have more experience than anyone else

I do not believe that, but if there is a question about my experience, the answer is that I have 19 or more years of experience in Internet discussions, including discussions about gays and homosexuality, about religions, about atheism, and about feminism and social justice.

... that the people who have been doing this for years are in need your assistance to do what they have learned to do, or lest they be gone.

I do not have any thoughts like that.

For you to assume you can teach everyone to do it better ...

I am not assuming that.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Jim made a comment awhile back in this thread that somewhat made me say "that's me", where he said some members post their thoughts like they will be banned the next day, or something like that. In my case though, it isn't about bans - I simply post my thoughts a lot because in a couple of months, I might be dedicating all my time to work, or IT courses, or something. I'll have to be a responsible adult eventually. It leads to much healthier finances and nicer things.

 

[osgart]

Im in it to find high quality POV's that bring people closer to truth.

Aint lookin for pals. Its the Quest for Truth that draws me in.

 

[Jim]

Im in it to find high quality POV's that bring people closer to truth.

Aint lookin for pals. Its the Quest for Truth that draws me in.

As I’ve been saying to others, if you would like to be able to do that better, and if you think it might help to have some people to talk to about that, I’m volunteering to be one of them.

How do you measure the quality of a POV?

 

[Jim]

Jim made a comment awhile back in this thread that somewhat made me say "that's me", where he said some members post their thoughts like they will be banned the next day, or something like that. In my case though, it isn't about bans - I simply post my thoughts a lot because in a couple of months, I might be dedicating all my time to work, or IT courses, or something. I'll have to be a responsible adult eventually. It leads to much healthier finances and nicer things.

The only mention of banning that I remember was someone else, not me, saying that their goal is to not get banned.

 

[Thief]

Not correct. You have to accept Jesus (I am the only gate), Mohammad (muḥammadun rasūlu llāh), otherwise no salvation and hell for eternity.

heaven is looking for a reflection of itself

the angels will ask what you believe

calling upon a Name will bring you to reckoning

 

[osgart]

As I’ve been saying to others, if you would like to be able to do that better, and if you think it might help to have some people to talk to about that, I’m volunteering to be one of them.

How do you measure the quality of a POV?

When someone offers a sincere perspective , be it scientific, or religious, it makes it worth my while to listen, be it right, wrong, or a matter of fact, or opinion. There is a number of people who do that on RF.

One thing I wont do is blast people for being incorrect.

With human nature and all of anybody, i expect some venting, or axe grinding comments.

People want to defend their rights also. So thats understandable.

People want to spread a message, and that is ok too.

Anything that avoids ad hominem attacks can be entertaining and/or of value.

Some people here seem to be experts, or well studied, and that is worthwhile. I do not always agree with them, but their knowledge is appreciated.

Basically i see no sense in trolls who come here to denigrate people.

I would say the sincerity level on this site is pretty high compared to some other sites.

I do not like those posters who feel the need to tear into people.

 

[Jim]

When someone offers a sincere perspective , be it scientific, or religious, it makes it worth my while to listen, be it right, wrong, or a matter of fact, or opinion. There is a number of people who do that on RF.

One thing I wont do is blast people for being incorrect.

With human nature and all of anybody, i expect some venting, or axe grinding comments.

People want to defend their rights also. So thats understandable.

People want to spread a message, and that is ok too.

Anything that avoids ad hominem attacks can be entertaining and/or of value.

Some people here seem to be experts, or well studied, and that is worthwhile. I do not always agree with them, but their knowledge is appreciated.

Basically i see no sense in trolls who come here to denigrate people.

I would say the sincerity level on this site is pretty high compared to some other sites.

I do not like those posters who feel the need to tear into people.

What do you do, to learn as much as you can, and get the most benefit from the discussions? I try to find some way for what each person is saying to be true, and think of friendly questions and comments to post for the person to comment on. One reason for confusion sometimes is that some words that people use a lot in forum debating mean very different things to different people.

 

[osgart]

What do you do, to learn as much as you can, and get the most benefit from the discussions? I try to find some way for what each person is saying to be true, and think of friendly questions and comments to post for the person to comment on. One reason for confusion sometimes is that some words that people use a lot in forum debating mean very different things to different people.

I take the position of investigator if it interests me. I like to look at it from all sides i can muster; Pros, cons, anti, and neutral, else.

By default i try to remain neutral, and objective.

I love to ask questions. I am not going to try to persuade. If i can challenge the poster i will.

It bothers me how people change the meanings of words, and twist the argument in a totally counterproductive way. Unfortunately people can develope there own language with things.

If the conversation is of high importance, then defining terms is a necessity.

Mostly the conversations are more entertainment then crucial.

The educational aspect is there though. I learn about people from this thing.

 

[Aupmanyav]

.. the angels will ask what you believe ..

If angels ask me what we believe, it will take a long time for me to name the 10,000 Gods and Goddesses that my people believe in. If they ask me what I personally believe, then they would vamoosh, because I do not believe in God, Soul, angels, prophets, sons, messengers, manifestations, mahdis, returning Jesus, creation, birth, death, final judgment, salvation, deliverance, heaven, hell and karma transfer to another life. I give no handle to them to grab me.

 

[Jim]

I take the position of investigator if it interests me. I like to look at it from all sides i can muster; Pros, cons, anti, and neutral, else.

By default i try to remain neutral, and objective.

I love to ask questions. I am not going to try to persuade. If i can challenge the poster i will.

It bothers me how people change the meanings of words, and twist the argument in a totally counterproductive way. Unfortunately people can develope there own language with things.

If the conversation is of high importance, then defining terms is a necessity.

Mostly the conversations are more entertainment then crucial.

The educational aspect is there though. I learn about people from this thing.

That all looks good to me. I don’t know what else to say about it for now. I’ll try to remember, if I get any new ideas, to post them here, and I hope you’ll do the same.

 

[Jim]

Now I don’t know how to keep track of my conversations with people in this thread. If anyone is waiting for a response fro me, I hope you’ll tell me.

 

[Jim]

For my own reference, some aims and purposes that I’ve seen:
- Working out beliefs.
- Learning from other people.
- Building bridges of understanding.
- Promoting tolerance.
- Correcting misinformation and misunderstandings.
- Showing that God is love.
- Procrastinating.
- Serving an empire which was not named.
- Doing research.
- Self Improvement.

Also, it looks to me like some people’s aims and purposes include telling people about something very important that they think all people need to know about.

If anyone knows of any other aims and purposes of people in these forums, I hope you’ll tell me.

 

[wandering peacefully]

One possible reason I can think of for saying that is that you see me as a person who thinks that he knows what everyone here should be doing, and that he has nothing to learn about that from anyone here. If you have some other reason for saying that, I hope you will tell me.

I do not believe that, but if there is a question about my experience, the answer is that I have 19 or more years of experience in Internet discussions, including discussions about gays and homosexuality, about religions, about atheism, and about feminism and social justice.

I do not have any thoughts like that.

I am not assuming that.

Well thanks for trying to explain your purpose in asking repeatedly for people to ask you how they could be better communicating on Internet forums and discussing better ways they could do that with your help. I still have no idea what you are doing here other than to tell everyone they should learn from you how to communicate on Internet forums...and I still have no idea what that method is. It's a waste of time playing guessing games so I'm out.

Edit. I just saw your last post with a list of purposes you have for being here. Good for you and I don't see anything different on that list that other people have for being here. So a couple hundred posts later there is still nothing new.

 

[Jim]

@Katzpur I keep forgetting about words meaning different things to different people. I’m against everything that I’ve seen people calling “tolerance” in public debating, but maybe you mean something different by it. What are you picturing when you say “tolerance”?

 

[Jim]

I just saw your last post with a list of purposes you have for being here.

That is not a list of my purposes. It is a list of what other people have told me about their purposes.

 

[wandering peacefully]

That is not a list of my purposes. It is a list of what other people have told me about their purposes.

Done.

 

[Jim]

I still have no idea what you are doing here other than to tell everyone they should learn from you how to communicate on Internet forums...

That is not what I am doing. What I am doing is continually changing, but it has never been to tell everyone they should learn from me how to communicate on Internet forums.

... and I still have no idea what that method is.

I do not have any method that I am trying to tell everyone that they should learn.

 

[Katzpur]

@Katzpur I keep forgetting about words meaning different things to different people. I’m against everything that I’ve seen people calling “tolerance” in public debating, but maybe you mean something different by it. What are you picturing when you say “tolerance”?

To me, tolerance means respect for differences and a recognition that people don't have to agree on things to be "good" people. I guess it kind of means, live and let live, to me.

 

[Jim]

To me, tolerance means respect for differences and a recognition that people don't have to agree on things to be "good" people. I guess it kind of means, live and let live, to me.

I was wrong to say that I’m against promoting tolerance, without qualifying that. When I see people waving banners of social justice calling for “tolerance,” it looks to me like what they really mean is that they get to decide unilaterally who can say honestly and openly what they believe about moral and social issues and who can’t. It looks to me like camouflage for vilifying some people for what they believe and intimidating or even coercing them into silence about it, which is diametrically opposed to my purposes. If that is not part of what you mean by “tolerance,” then I might not be against the tolerance that you’re promoting. No matter if I’m against it or not, I’m still volunteering to be someone for you to talk to, about how to do it better, if you would ever want to.