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theybannedme
New Member

6 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  06:53:18  Show Profile  Visit theybannedme's Homepage Send theybannedme a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I have arrived. I am hopeful that this is an open-minded bunch, unlike many other "skeptic" communities I have visited.

Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26022 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  07:29:10   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message  Reply with Quote
What did "they" ban you for? Ah, nevermind. I see by your homepage that you get your jollies by being banned. Shall we do it now or later?

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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theybannedme
New Member

6 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  07:36:31   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit theybannedme's Homepage Send theybannedme a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't get my "jollies" by being banned. I get my "jollies" by exposing power-tripping admins/mods who ban people for pettiness. The last place I'd expect to find such a phenomenon is on a site of self-proclaimed "free thinkers" although your veiled threat has made me slightly less optimistic.
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Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13477 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  08:16:57   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by theybannedme

I don't get my "jollies" by being banned. I get my "jollies" by exposing power-tripping admins/mods who ban people for pettiness. The last place I'd expect to find such a phenomenon is on a site of self-proclaimed "free thinkers" although your veiled threat has made me slightly less optimistic.

So, you target administrators and moderators? And what counts as pettiness? Just how do you go about figuring out who the "power-tripping" moderators are?

We are not an easy board to get banned from. We pretty much hate banning people. That said, it's really up to you. Just because we don't like doing it doesn't mean we won't. If you are here to discuss, you can find a home here. We don't moderate with a heavy hand.

Good luck.

Welcome to SFN.

Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  08:23:43   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hell, I'm still here, ain't I?

Welcome to SFN theybannedme. Whaddya wanna talk about?




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard

3192 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  08:35:21   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send BigPapaSmurf a Private Message  Reply with Quote

Quote from your website...
You pride yourself on being the world's biggest asshole.

Getting banned makes you feel all tingly inside.

Your idea of a fun Friday night is posting recipes for puppy stew on PETA forums.


Seems like you do enjoy it, we are here for discussion not for jackasses who intentionally push the limits just to see what they can get away with. I really do hope you are here for the former, however "your veiled threat has made me slightly less optimistic."

"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History

"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini
Edited by - BigPapaSmurf on 06/23/2009 08:37:08
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26022 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  10:35:45   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by theybannedme

I don't get my "jollies" by being banned. I get my "jollies" by exposing power-tripping admins/mods who ban people for pettiness.
That's not what your site says.
The last place I'd expect to find such a phenomenon is on a site of self-proclaimed "free thinkers"...
I would think that free-thought and pettiness are pretty much independent variables.
...although your veiled threat has made me slightly less optimistic.
What veiled threat? Before your clarification, it seemed to me that your goal was to be an asshole and get banned. If you had just wanted another "I've been banned" notch in your belt, I could have helped you with that and saved you a bunch of effort. But since you've explained that that's not your goal, then no, you will have to work for it.

So, sorry. "Now" is no longer an option, since that won't get either of us what we want. And only time will tell if "later" you'll get what you want (which isn't what I want).

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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astropin
SFN Regular

USA
970 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  11:07:28   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send astropin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Welcome?

I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.

You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.

Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.

Infinitus est numerus stultorum
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theybannedme
New Member

6 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  12:52:47   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit theybannedme's Homepage Send theybannedme a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf


Quote from your website...
You pride yourself on being the world's biggest asshole.

Getting banned makes you feel all tingly inside.

Your idea of a fun Friday night is posting recipes for puppy stew on PETA forums.


Seems like you do enjoy it, we are here for discussion not for jackasses who intentionally push the limits just to see what they can get away with. I really do hope you are here for the former, however "your veiled threat has made me slightly less optimistic."


So do all skeptics believe everything they read?
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard

USA
4574 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  13:10:35   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send H. Humbert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by theybannedme
So do all skeptics believe everything they read?
No, of course not. Claims are weighed against the evidence. Since your are affiliated with an entire website dedicated to people who like to be assholes, this is strong evidence that you are also an asshole. So in compliance with the evidence, a good skeptic would be skeptical of the claim that you aren't here to get banned. I can see that you have a lot to learn.


"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes

"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman

"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie
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theybannedme
New Member

6 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  13:15:33   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit theybannedme's Homepage Send theybannedme a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Clever but skepticism for me entails avoiding relying on heuristics and forming your own judgments about people from firsthand interaction.

I graduated from Skepticism 101 a long time ago; let me know if you need a tutor for these more advanced techniques.
Edited by - theybannedme on 06/23/2009 13:16:32
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  13:52:30   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by theybannedme

Clever but skepticism for me entails avoiding relying on heuristics and forming your own judgments about people from firsthand interaction.

I graduated from Skepticism 101 a long time ago; let me know if you need a tutor for these more advanced techniques.
No wonder you've been banned so much; arrogance will often do that.

So tell me, O wise one, are you here to conduct a seminar, or engage in discussion? If the latter, let's get at it; if the former, you've caught a Tartar. Many of us have been doing this for a very long time and I rather doubt that you can show us much -- and there's a little skepticism for you.




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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theybannedme
New Member

6 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  13:59:29   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit theybannedme's Homepage Send theybannedme a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'm here to discuss controversial issues in a place I won't be banned for having a strong opinion or even a hated opinion.
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filthy
SFN Die Hard

USA
14408 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  14:06:30   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send filthy a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Originally posted by theybannedme

I'm here to discuss controversial issues in a place I won't be banned for having a strong opinion or even a hated opinion.
That's the way we like it. Let's rock!

But a small word of caution: Don't make a claim that you can't support with reliable reference, and those refereces will be examined. Fair enough?




"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)

"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres


"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude

Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,

and Crypto-Communist!

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knightmare
New Member

USA
42 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  14:10:20   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send knightmare a Private Message  Reply with Quote
heu#8901;ris#8901;tic
#8194;#8194;/hy#650;#712;r#618;st#618;k or, often, y#650;-/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hyoo-ris-tik or, often, yoo-] Show IPA
–adjective
1. serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.
2. encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method.
3. of, pertaining to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods.

4. Computers, Mathematics. pertaining to a trial-and-error method of problem solving used when an algorithmic approach is impractical.
–noun
5. a heuristic method of argument.
6. the study of heuristic procedure.

(Bolding mine).

I have a question, as I am new to this site and am a little confused about this word. Shouldn't forming a judgement about people involve a heuristic process?

Laters
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theybannedme
New Member

6 Posts

Posted - 06/23/2009 :  14:26:22   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit theybannedme's Homepage Send theybannedme a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thank you for your question. I will be happy to explain what a heuristic is.

Heuristic: A rule of thumb, simplification, or educated guess that reduces or limits the search for solutions in domains that are difficult and poorly understood. Unlike algorithms, heuristics do not guarantee optimal, or even feasible, solutions and are often used with no theoretical guarantee.


http://www.cefas.co.uk/glossary.aspx

A "heuristic" is a mental short-cut formed from experience and is often used when there is no time to engage in the process of calculating a solution to a specific problem.

While any good skeptic is, well, skeptical of Wikipedia, I include an excerpt of its definition as well for a lengthier explanation:

Heuristic is an adjective for experience-based techniques that help in problem solving, learning and discovery. A heuristic method is particularly used to rapidly come to a solution that is hoped to be close to the best possible answer, or 'optimal solution'. Heuristics are "rules of thumb", educated guesses, intuitive judgments or simply common sense. Heuristics as a noun is another name for heuristic methods.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristics
Edited by - theybannedme on 06/23/2009 14:31:50
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