Discussion or Lynch mob - why can't we have a proper debate on Sheffield forum?

[Tony]

sacredearth, I don't want to sound too disparaging but are you just having a moan for having your views challenged?

 

To be fair to both yourself and those who have criticised you would probably have been better served by posting a 'help a medium' type thread in a forum aimed at mediums rather than one that tries to be all things to all people. SF isn't really somewhere that you can expect to have the place to yourself to express views on matters such as mediums / witch's / etc, without a critique.

[handypandy]

Rational debates can, and do, happen on this forum. I've taken part in a great many.

 

Where they fall to bits is when someone starts a thread with something completely irrational and worthless - like claiming to be able to contact the dead, something which has been proven false so many times it's not even worth arguing about any more - and then gets upset when people point out that it's completely worthless.

 

 

Not every subject merits a debate. Some - quite a lot, sometimes - can simply be dismissed out of hand.

 

Some practitioners may have been proven false, but outright, how would you disprove the whole concept? How would you prove that God exists, or not. How do you prove which party would make the best government. How, with so many variables, do you prove which is the best place to live, etc etc. Anything that can't be proven, is up for debate. Once an issue can be proven there is no longer a debate.

[JoeP]

sacredearth, I don't want to sound too disparaging but are you just having a moan for having your views challenged?

 

To be fair to both yourself and those who have criticised you would probably have been better served by posting a 'help a medium' type thread in a forum aimed at mediums rather than one that tries to be all things to all people. SF isn't really somewhere that you can expect to have the place to yourself to express views on matters such as mediums / witch's / etc, without a critique.

 

Tony, there is critique and then there's the 'No one expects the Spanish Inquisition' approach that has become a staple in recent months - probably the last year or so.

 

It should be possible to express a view that's esoteric rather than 'mundane' without being abused for it.

 

RubyDazzler - yes, you're right. I think that there always has been and will be a mob-mentality abroad on Internet Forums due to the anonymity factor. I think there has been a slight shift in political stance on SF (thankfully!!) but the vehemence which some views are expressed with is now much worse than previous - and it doesn't at all encourage anyone to hold a belief or viewpoint that is too far away from the accepted dogma.

[Grandad.Malky]

To respond to JoeP's point, it seems to me that there's always been a bit of mob rule on here anyway. .

 

Then there is the- “if you don’t like it don’t post on my thread mentality”, as if a thread on a open forum can personally belong to some one, and not forgetting the over protective interest groups seeking to run a closed shop.

[Cyclone]

You can't prove a negative.

But you can fail to prove it so many times, find so complete a lack of evidence for something that the most sensible course is (barring further evidence turning up) to treat is as false.

We can't prove that fairies don't exist, but most people will be comfortable with accepting that they don't.

[Tony]

Tony, there is critique and then there's the 'No one expects the Spanish Inquisition' approach that has become a staple in recent months - probably the last year or so.

 

It should be possible to express a view that's esoteric rather than 'mundane' without being abused for it.

 

Of course you can Joe, but SF does reflect what people think, so if somebody holds views that lots of people might think are a bit bonkers then they can (and should) expect to be able to defend them robustly. Such beliefs don't come around by common accident so one would hope that there is some reasoning and rationale supporting them.

 

SF is little more than a mirror of the world at large.

 

On that wider note I'm not sure that it's wise, helpful or correct to suggest that SF was somehow better when you or I were behind the scenes. It's moved on, it's different, just like the world around us has.

[JoeP]

Then there is the- “if you don’t like it don’t post on my thread mentality”, as if a thread on a open forum can personally belong to some one, and not forgetting the over protective interest groups seeking to run a closed shop.

 

And that's fine - you can start another thread to posit a totally opposite view - some posts are designed purely as spoilers rather than debating points.

 

And the groups ARE designed, IMO, as partial closed shops. Why bother posting in them if you don't have an interest in what's there?

 

On a wider note I'm not sure that it's wise, helpful or correct to suggest that SF was somehow better when you or I were behind the scenes. It's moved on, it's different, just like the world around us has.

 

Errr....I'm not believing that I did say anything was better when we were behind the scenes, Tony. I'm saying it was different - am I allowed to say that?

 

It was different, and that's inevitable. I'm not saying better or worse - just different.

[Tony]

Of course you are allowed to say that, and I agree with you. My apologies if I got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

 

 

sacredearth, I'm out of date with activities behind the scenes but long ago we proposed a Group which was to be called something along the lines of "The Unexplained". It would have been a bit more suitable if you wanted to run that sort of thread without too much of a crit'. Perhaps you can chivvy up the powers that be?

[Cyclone]

And that's fine - you can start another thread to posit a totally opposite view - some posts are designed purely as spoilers rather than debating points.

 

And the groups ARE designed, IMO, as partial closed shops. Why bother posting in them if you don't have an interest in what's there?

 

Having an interest though doesn't necessarily mean agreeing or being part of that group.

[rubydazzler]

We can't prove that fairies don't exist, but most people will be comfortable with accepting that they don't.

Awwww! Cyclone, I can't believe what you just posted! You mean you don't believe in fairies? Not even a little sneaking, teeny-weeny, bit?