Let's see:
Should Faith be allowed to carry on posting?
Yes.
That's a surprising answer from you - why do you say that?
Because she's one of the best examples of how morally and intellectually bankrupt the creationist position is. The more posts she makes, the more there are to link to for the unconvinced (waste of time appealing to those convinced on both sides).
So she's overall a good presence on the board?
Not really - the problem with her imput is that every thread she appears on degrades into another thread about faith herself and her belief, any real debate comes out of the window. she's like a blackhole that sucks in any passing light - of course she has not got that way on her own, everyone her has helped to create that blackhole.
So does bad debate drive out good?
I'm not sure but let me give you some anecdotal evidence. In the past I have had offboard email contact with a number of long-term members of the boards - people with strong scientific backgrounds who no longer post. They don't post because they got sick of being dragged down the same deadend on every thread, they got sick of having their expertise rubbished. They got sick of the bullshit to be perfectly honest.
So what's the answer?
There isn't one - Faith loves the attention (for whatever reason) too much to cut her posting down to a sensible manageable number of threads - she's an addict, she loves the feel of her hairshirt and her position as number one christian martyr on the boards. This issue will not be settled by this thread or any other threads on the matter.
But many people have said her debating has gone a lot better since she first got here?
Not really - the rhetoric and her grasp of debating tactics have got significantly better but she has not shifted one inch in her outlook and willingness to listen (she's not willing). Her position on day 1 was that the bible is true because the bible says it's true (she's say this is an incorrect reading of her position - it's not) and therefore any evidence that suggests differently is incorrect. I've seen the same points explained to her over and over for the last few years - I've never seen any evidence that she is even willing to listen to what she is told - if it does not fit 100% with the bible - it's wrong and to be discarded.
What does this mean for debate in the science forums?
It means that debate is actually impossible - she is constantly remained that the science forums are for science - it never happens, it all leads straight back to the bible. Forgetting her actual position for a minute, why is she unable to follow the rules in that forum?
I would suggest either she has mental or learning difficulties and is unable to grasp it or she grasps it but because she knows that she supplies most of the creationist posts on the boards feels she is untouchable. Moreover, it's a wonderful forum to play into her addiction, she knows the response her posts are going to get and it makes that hairshirt itch in that delightful manner. Many fundies seem to get an almost sexual thrill from thinking they are being hounded and persecuted - they seem to seek it out like Faith does.
Edited by CK, : No reason given.
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