The subtitle on this forum is "Knowledge and Understanding through Discussion." However, I am seeing more and more people propose topics that show great ignorance of the theory of evolution but a willingness to learn and ask questions. These topics generally don't get moved to the regular forums, and I feel that the newbies who post these threads might leave the forum without learning anything. They are simply told that they have a lot of misconceptions, that they are posting something that was already discussed, or that they are thinking about too many things at once.
I worry that maybe people will come here, try to post a thread, and then leave insulted believing that the evil evolutionists don't want to tell them anything or don't want to hear their viewpoint. Therefore, I propose that a new forum be created, in which threads that might be repeats or show misconceptions can be discussed. People might be able to learn more about their own viewpoints and opposing viewpoints that way.
Here’s an example: http://
EvC Forum: How does "creation" explain the appearance of new animals? -->
EvC Forum: How does "creation" explain the appearance of new animals?
This one probably wouldn’t make the greatest thread ever, but I’m sure plenty of people here would be happy to answer his questions, or at least give more information about the evolution of the animals he asks about. There should be a place where this can be done.
Another example: http://
EvC Forum: What would we think if Percy..... -->
EvC Forum: What would we think if Percy.....
This poster is obviously not the best at putting his thoughts into words, but he gets his point across. He’s trying to ask about all these things, but he doesn’t really get an answer. I don’t think that ignoring peoples’ questions fosters any useful thinking.
I do feel that the moderators here do an excellent job of keeping threads on topic and encouraging discussion in threads that do get promoted. Also, I have seen them show great patience with people that I myself probably wouldn’t put up with, were I in their position. They deserve praise for that.