We need more atheists/agnostics here

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otseng
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We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #1

Post by otseng »

Recently, there has been more deists/theists showing up here. And the atheist representation I feel has been too few. How can we encourage more atheists/agnostics to participate? Are there any particular reasons we haven't been seeing more participation from atheists/agnostics?

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Post #11

Post by otseng »

dangerdan wrote:This is funny, I was thinking the exact opposite. :shock:
Actually, lately, that is true. I originally posted this thread in May. And at that time, I did some Google ads targeting atheists to get more participation from non-believers. And it worked so well that I now have stopped Google ads targeting them. :o
That we were running out of Christians and that Otseng has to do all the rebuttals on more complex issues!
Fortunately, there seems to be more Christians tackling some of the more complex topics.
Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing some skilled Muslims debate with some of us Agnostics / Atheists but I suppose it’s more out of the bounds of this website.
I'd like to see that as well. If it's related to religion, it's not out of bounds, even if it's not Christianity.

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #12

Post by TRANSPONDER »

Interesting. I'd begun to get the impression that a theist or Christian posting an argument got three atheists leaping on him or her.

But it's a point. I came here partly because my previous forum seemed a bit parochial. I wanted one that would allow a dispersal of ideas outside just the forum.

I know that I looked on the 'net for lists of discussion - places and I feel that the various isolated groups of goddless should become less isolated.

One fine tool in discussion is to have the answers all ready. If this toolbox of apologetics were more widely available, atheists would be far more effective than they are.

It wouldn't be an alteration to the various forums, but some way of the atheists on the various forums being aware of each other, and talking to each other and pooling ideas and apologetics.

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #13

Post by otseng »

[Replying to TRANSPONDER in post #12]

It was posted 17 years ago. It's a bit different now.

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #14

Post by TRANSPONDER »

otseng wrote: Mon May 17, 2004 5:22 pm Recently, there has been more deists/theists showing up here. And the atheist representation I feel has been too few. How can we encourage more atheists/agnostics to participate? Are there any particular reasons we haven't been seeing more participation from atheists/agnostics?
I popped i here as I had one or two things to say

("Tell us, tell us both of them")

I do hope that the atheists skeptics, naysayers and the like hellbent satanspawn are making themselves known, on numbers of posts if not in actual numbers.

But I wanted to comment that I was gratified to see (real or imagined) an increase in people logging on half a dozen to a dozen online seems to beat the two bots and me when I logged on before. It's the browsers and Lurkers, the peanut gallery and the undecided; the floating voters of the religious debate, that are in my mind when I post here.

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #15

Post by TRANSPONDER »

20 visitors today :D The most I've seen that I can remeber.

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #16

Post by Purple Knight »

I'm impressed that you've kept this site going for 17 years. Kudos. And I mean that very sincerely.

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #17

Post by AgnosticBoy »

Purple Knight wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 12:43 am I'm impressed that you've kept this site going for 17 years. Kudos. And I mean that very sincerely.
Yes, I agree that is impressive. Most people don't realize how hard it is to build and maintain a forum.

What I like about this site is that a person's views are treated seriously. There's real good debate here compared to other sites.
- Proud forum owner ∣ The Agnostic Forum

- As a non-partisan, I like to be on the side of truth. - AB

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Re: We need more atheists/agnostics here

Post #18

Post by Purple Knight »

AgnosticBoy wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 5:12 pmWhat I like about this site is that a person's views are treated seriously. There's real good debate here compared to other sites.
I definitely agree. And it's thanks to fair and impartial enforcement of the rules.

I admit I don't report people who insult me, because 1) I don't care and 2) I feel it imposes on people to demand they don't insult me - maybe I said something that was insult-worthy, and I don't want anyone being slammed with an infraction on my behalf because it feels as if I've committed a wrong against them. I admit I've had the thought that the rules here are too strict, and that some people who have been banned, should not have been banned.

But I have to look at what the rules buy. I have to look at the environment it creates. I'm a genius, I'm a critically thinking person, I'm logical, and thus I can't simply ignore reality. There's simply no excuse to do so. I can't have got anything wrong, I can't have simply failed to consider it fully, and I can't be guilty of a logical error.

I'm torn though, because I'm a very liberal person (on most issues). I don't exactly believe in free speech, but I definitely believe I (or my behalf) shouldn't be the one restricting it. I was taught sticks and stones don't break my bones, and that is an absolutely factually true statement: They don't. Someone who insults me harms me objectively zero. Nothing is lost to me. But if I report him and he gets banned, that is an objective loss. On the one hand, I'm not hurt, and on the other, he could be. Those are the values I've tabulated to arrive at my conclusion.

But I am forced to say now, perhaps thinking that way is nearsighted.

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