And by airing their dirty laundry on the web they're feeding the anti-atheist trolls.

Stupid.

When I see atheists kissing PZ's ring I'll be upset.

Some people disagreeing. Though I know there are some who so very desperately want to believe this is a "schism" in the "religion" of atheism.

Side note: I wasn't aware ol' PZ was engaging in such name-calling. What's going on with him?

It's an opportunity for some, I guess.

And I'm not about to re-hash the whole thing here. If you want to know more (yes, that's a "Starship Troopers" reference!) you can find the whole story by searching. I've been following the blow-up off and on.

Shortest version I can manage:

1. Comments on Nugent's blog are mostly unmoderated and he doesn't ban people very often. Among the people posting there are some members of the board, The SlymePit.

2. Because of that - in a tweet, Myers accused Nugent of harboring "rapists, misogynists and harassers" in his blog Comments.

3. Nugent asked for an apology. Myers refused.

This part is strictly IMO - Myers went right off the rails with that accusation about Nugent's blog. As he did earlier when he pretty much called Michael Shermer a "rapist" on his own blog. (ETA - that's a whole other long story, also avaliable by searching).

Rape is a damned serious crime and a serious accusation to be levelled at anyone. If true, the rapist needs to be in jail. If untrue, it can destroy a reputation - at least. Rape is not a charge that should be decided in a Trial By Internet. And it shouldn't be tossed around as a casual insult.

But that aside, I think Myers' reaction to Nugent's commenters can be chalked up to troll fatigue. I imagine I'd be pretty fucking testy if I had Slymepitters fucking with me and my friends day in and day out.

And, for as much as I value a free marketplace of ideas, I have never much cared for comments sections on blogs or news outlets. I don't think publishers should suffer any compunction to provide assholes with a soapbox from which to spew their shit.

Now, Myers could have privately messaged Nugent and said something to effect of, "Hey, there are some really awful people using your popularity to springboard their bullshit into the public discourse. Would you consider moderating them?" And I would agree that probably would have been the best way to go about it.

His Commentariat, the famous Horde. Some of whom are just nasty, and others who come across as frankly unhinged. At least to the casual reader like myself.

Their language-policing is often hilarious and bites them in the ass. I've seen threads where people were bludgeoned for being "ABLEIST." Then a few minutes later, the Horde is calling somebody a "crazy deranged fuckwit." Or words to that effect.

One of the funniest incidents happened when the Horde was pontificating on biology. Someone dropped in who said he was a working biologist, and tried to correct some of the mistakes they were posting.

He was viciously attacked with the usual boilerplate: "white privileged cis-het misogynist argle-bargle, you don't know SHIT about biology etc. etc."

The poster turned out to be not only a working biologist and expert in his field. But a co-worker and close friend of none other than PZ Myers.

I think the Brits call that an "own goal..."

they would get along fine with some of the posters on DU. I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about.

I've had mostly positive experiences interacting with others on FtB, but like I said, I think the blogosphere would be better served without comments sections. While good in theory, they ultimately wind up encouraging fanboys and fangirls to fight among themselves for the attention of their hero, or simply serving as a springboard for idiots and trolls who would otherwise attract no audience whatsoever.

Last edited Thu Apr 9, 2015, 09:19 PM - Edit history (1)

It's gon' rain here tonight, with possible tornadoes. Guess who won't be praying to Jeebus?

Is Nugent the New Atheist, or is it Myers?

Kidding aside, you're right--it's a pissing match. I've seen it described as "drama" elsewhere.

If it is vitriol that has Nugent's knickers in a twist and not, as he claims, a personal beef with Myers, why in the fuck is he wasting his time with a Go-Bots blogger when Optimus Prime himself--DAWKINS!N!!N!1!--lives but a few hundred miles to the south?

Because it's personal. That would be my guess.

*commercial break*

Since when did evidence and reasoned argument go out the window?

I've only looked at two articles about this, but the sense I get thus far is, he lady doth protest too much, methinks.

and PZ Myers is farther up the track than he is. Oh well. I suppose that since we atheists have about as much in common as people with brown eyes all do, there are a few hierarchical thinkers out there who think we not only need leaders, we have them.

This kerfluffle deserves only a mild eyeroll.

People will be blowing each other up over this.

Oh wait, that's religion.

How about stop pretending atheism is some kind of "movement" and Myers is some kind of apostle.

Atheism is a "religion," and vocal atheists are its "leaders" or "preachers."

...then several tens of millions of people belong to the First Church of TMZ.

Not very effective either.

is intended as an insult. LOL

have fuck-all to do with the question of whether any gods exist, which is the real issue, but one the religionistas and self-loathing atheists know they can't engage on successfully.

Indoctrination leads to only being capable of looking at issues in terms used in said indoctrination.

Some can't help it, I'm sure. Others are trolls.

Both seem to have some representation on DU, but there's a clear majority in one direction.

ETA: I personally don't pay much attention to stuff like this usually, and only jumped in here out of interest in comparing viewpoints.

You sure called that one.