Intelligent Design Creationism

I'd like to encourage debaters to remain focused on the technical issues.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director

The debate is supposed to be fun, and I think having fun with quips, one liners and non sequiturs is great, I encourage it, but not if that's all you're doing. At some point there has to be some substance. I'd like to again encourage the participants in this thread to bring more substance to their contributions. I prefer not to single anyone out at this time, but if I have to post like this again to this thread I will, and it will include posting restrictions both for instigators and repliers in kind.Please don't misunderstand. The jabbing back and forth by both sides can continue, but there needs to be some substance.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director

You may not have received the answer you liked, but your question was not met with silence.I have no problem if you offer this as a taunt or jest as part of the discussion, but as Admin I am not part of the discussion, and I need a more constructive response. That you still haven't responded to the concerns I expressed in Message 85 concerns me. That you leave most threads in mid-discussion concerns me. That you have established a very "Fred Williams"-like pattern of leaving for a while, then returning to pick up discussion in new threads while ignoring the threads you left hanging also concerns me.The last member whose posting privileges were completely suspended was Rocket, an evolutionist who proved unable to debate constructively. I personally had no problem with any single one of his posts, and I thought many of them highly entertaining, and not a few thought provoking. But almost none of them contributed to the topic under discussion, and after several warnings and temporary suspensions it was made permanent. In other words, it wasn't his individual posts that were a problem, but a pattern of non-constructive participation.You are causing me the same concern. Please help make it easier for me to think the very best of you. Right now your privileges are suspended only in [forum=-6], but that is very easy to change, in either positive or negative ways.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director

You are ignoring the primary point and addressing yourself to the inconsequential setting of context. No one is expected to maintain a continuous presence here, but you, like Fred Williams before you, have established a pattern of behavior that involves taking several discussions to midpoint, then leaving for a period of up to a few weeks, then returning to begin discussions in other threads while ignoring the earlier threads. If this is unintentional and inadvertent then I'm bringing it to your attention so you can break this pattern.No one is perfect. Even the best behaved netizen occasionally leaves discussions hanging. I'm not requesting that you stick with every single discussion. I'm requesting that you break this now all-too-familiar pattern. All threads you're participating in when you disappear simultaneously have "nothing worth responding to"? Please don't be disingenuous. No one ever really gets kicked off this board, and especially not after the recent improvements that allow us to control access on a forum-by-forum basis. The goal of EvC Forum is to be as inclusive as possible, but another goal is to foster an environment that encourages as high quality a dialogue as possible. Enforcing the guidelines is essential to this goal, and I think all the moderators take this goal very seriously.I recognize that the task of the Creationist is much more difficult here than for the evolutionist, since the scientific foundation of his position is not formally established at this time. That board moderation has been accused of bias by both sides can be interpreted as indicating we've established a fair balance, and if that is a valid conclusions then I think this is something board moderation should be proud of.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director

Yes, I can see that makes sense. But if you click on your name (it appears as part of the login status line on almost any page), it will display a list of the threads you've most recently participated in, and the right most column will say "Yes" if there are responses you haven't yet addressed. This is a longstanding and continuing issue in Creation/evolution debates, where each Creationist seems to be beset by a slew of evolutionists. The evolutionists should try to restrain themselves from piling on. Creationists must recognize that Creationism takes a big tent approach that entertains a multiplicity of conflicting perspectives. It is almost inevitable that in debate the Creationist will be the only one present who happens to hold his particular viewpoint, while the evolutionists all adhere to a single TOE and so can argue together. A more charitable view toward your opponents and a more patient approach might prove more successful.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director

Yes, it could. This page needs improvement and will probably see some changes over the next few months. In the meantime, clicking on the link to your own message will display that message, and at the bottom is the list of replies.

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--	Percy
	EvC Forum Director