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Question183

What kind of poster in alt.atheism will no longer get a reply from you and why?

• I used to go toe to toe with just about everyone. But at some point I just got exhausted, and so I shy away from anyone who is not interested in serious discussion. I have my browser set to 'delete' messages from about a dozen people, all of whom happen to be theists. Strange coincident, huh? (Rune Borsjo #1295)

• I only PLONK people who show me to my satisfaction that: 1) they aren't interested in engaging in a logical conversation with anyone and 2) they aren't amusing This boils it down pretty well, I think. Granted, there are a ton of people who visit that meet the first criterion, but there are few of them who also are so dull that they don't meet the second one. Hence, there are few people in my killfile. (Nemo - #1331)

• Current residents of the Sarlacc pit (name not taken, I hope): John P. Boatwright, YJK(4 different ads/names), Kansan1225, Mr. Goodsalt, Skeptic. I'm not making any promises wrt the future, but presently I'm ignoring these. I also don't reply to hit 'n run fundies.

  Other than that I could strike at anything, at any moment ;-) (DJ Nozem #1465)

• LOL The ones to whom I don't reply.

  The categories to which I will probably not reply are those who are:

  ¶ Thick as a brick
  ¶ Willfully dishonest
  ¶ Totally incoherent
  ¶ Obviously nasty trolls (Liz Huth #658)

• Posters who are

  -- nonresponsive
  -- drift off on irrelevant tangents
  -- argue in circles,

  because I'm here to learn something and use discussions to better identify my own point of view, not for aggravation on its own right. (Matthias Weiss)

• Wow. Good question. I had to think about it a bit, and this is what I came up with:

  (In general) I will not reply to a poster who was born with a full set of strings on his or her violin yet plays the same note, over and over, endlessly, with no variation. A recent example of this is Mosely Jones III, who earned a quick trip to my killfile by being so tonelessly homophobic. Kansan is another one, and that porno-nazi chick from San Luis Obispo....

  With rare exemption, WebTVers, because they are such easy targets.

  Recently, I've begun to add relentless top-posters and folks who don't know how to disable html to the list. I'd include folks who don't know how to quote properly in this category, but that would eliminate one of my major enjoyments here: Skypher.

  Also, Dan Fake, because he appears to be a few slices shy of a salami sandwich. (chibiabos)

• The only person in my kill file right now is Bloaty. And that's where he will stay. Most of the other fundys I find amusing, but for some reason, Bloaty's "ha-ha-ha" bit just annoys the crap out of me. (Michelle Martin #1474)

• Big huge guys with hairy knuckles and sloping foreheads.
  Homophobic twits, racist nitwits, theists who post line after line of Bible quotes as though we are going to be intimidated or impressed by a foolish book we don't believe in.
  Closed minded jerks who don't believe they can ever be wrong about anything and who see an opposing opinion as some sort of threat.
  People looking for a fight (I had actually become excessively rude in responding to some people myself and didn't like it.)
  Anybody over one hundred fifty years old.
  Klingons.
  Giant midgets.
  Vulcans....they are way too smug with all that "illogical" or "I am unable to feel that emotion" crap. (I once put a tack in the Vulcan Dubog's chair at work. He was pissed I'm here to say....and pissed *is* an emotion right?)
  People who can't spel propeerly. (atheist@home #1554)

• 1. The truly loony. (Prime example: Dore Williamson.) I get very uncomfortable rattling the cages of Bedlam. Very few are in this category, poor things.

  2. The truly tiresome. (Prime example: Skypher.) Nothing to learn, not even an opportunity for witty repartée. Mucho one-sided. Ho-hum, why bother. (Other examples: Trevor Mytton, Arcticbonefire, John P. Boatwright, ernobbie, etc.)

  3. The truly vile. (Prime example: EJ.) 'Nuff said.

  Tichy, for example, isn't in any of these categories. Although I disagree with this individual in many ways (Surprise! I'm an *atheist*.), and find this individual's understanding of classical and contemporary theologies rather limited in scope, it can make for lively reading now and then...but rarely lively enough to respond to. (Patrick Gliddon)

• First of all, ppl (theists) that get no response from me to begin with are typicallly either trolls (by intention or default). If they are not trolls, but their arguments are not "open" questions and claims but rather assertions with no possibility for discussion then I don't start.

  PPL, like ernobe are the exception. I don't know what it is, but I always feel compelled by his stupidity to respond.

  Apart from that, I cease responding when the poster moves from open discussion to baseless defence, or flat out refusal to consider alleged refutations. At this point they become like the poster outlines above, and my participation in such a thread stops.

  As for atheist discussion. I take part in those discussions that interest me. Those that don't, I may either read if it is interesting (the science ones I find interesting (as an example, not as an exhaustie list)). Some I put on ignore (threads discussing american politics is definately one of those). Others I merely check up on now and then to see if any interesting developments have taken place.

  That is pretty much the theory governing my participation in this group :) (Rob Coats #1856)