Against Bad Faith Posting in Spirituality
11 Dec '18 10:372 editsWhat does it take to make a good post? Who knows. It's different for everyone. However, I think most people could agree that they want their fellow posters to be forthcoming about what they believe, honest, and engaging, while also not overly confrontational or rigid in their manner.
But we know some of the things that make for a bad post. For instance, very toxic name calling & ad hominem are bad for the Forum. But that alone isn't bad.
Posts & series of posts which are exceedingly:
Repetitive
Interrogative (more specifically, asking questions endlessly to stifle discussion)
Minimalistic
Evasive
Accusative
Deflective
Are all bad for the forum. It is posting in bad faith. To post in good faith means to post with the aims of having an engaging discussion which doesn't hide or slink away; to post in bad faith means to post to aggravate others, seek attention, derail discussions, or seek some moral "win" through duplicitous means. Or, basically, just posting in the above style.
One of the things that has gotten to me is the amount of posts that are the wombo-combo of being repetitive & interrogative. For instance, on page 6 of the "Democrats freaking out about church speech" (hereafter 'D'😉 thread, I stated in response to the question of whether or not Trump was ordained by God the following:
Yet, on pages 6, 7, 8 of the thread I keep receiving the question of whether or not
I asked if he read what I wrote, and, again:
I stated that I previously answered it... And then I get:
... What did this line of questioning even do? Nothing. I stated exactly what I believed, and then was basically asked to restate it somehow, or it was implied I was obfuscating. I could have been charitable, as if the question was absolutely legitimate and perhaps from a first time poster, but the user FMF does this consistently.
He could have elaborated at any point as to why this is problematic to him, or what he thinks about it, but instead, it was just a series of repeating questions.
This is an example of overly repetitious, interrogative, & minimalistic posting -- it's bad, and it doesn't need to be acknowledged by anyone because it is sloppy.
We also see bad habits like being extremely evasive in addition to minimalistic and repetitive.
For instance, when I point out that FMF has basically shown us that he believes in nothing, he immediately deflects & evades this point on page 33 of the The moral argument for God thread with:
And when pointed out again that he is a radical relativist
clearly, the topic would have been what the implications are of actually believing in no objective truth, yet it is deflected into a whole different area. It is evasive, and miniminalistic, and repetitive for the sake of deflecting real discussion of what this actually means.
If I was the type of person who never discussed the weakness of my own arguments, or who never was willing to talk about things like empiricism and God, and thus equally evasive on the topic, I would understand how it would be bad for me to criticize this. But, I do not feel I am that way -- and if I ever am, do tell me to confront the topic directly, because that would be what would make for good posting.
So, I simply propose two things for posters here:
Don't be repetitive, interrogative, minimalistic, evasive, accusative, and deflective.
And, [/b]don't feel responsible for getting into endless chains & circles with people who are. Don't also feel responsible for responding to posters who do this, who drag things out in this way, the same way that you would respond to posters who debate in good faith.[/b]
I think that people who post in good faith should be rewarded, and people who post in bad faith, not to actually have a discussion and be stimulated, should be engaged with differently.
I actually have been very busy this week and may not be as active in this thread as I want, but I felt it was necessary to say this. Have a good one.
But we know some of the things that make for a bad post. For instance, very toxic name calling & ad hominem are bad for the Forum. But that alone isn't bad.
Posts & series of posts which are exceedingly:
Repetitive
Interrogative (more specifically, asking questions endlessly to stifle discussion)
Minimalistic
Evasive
Accusative
Deflective
Are all bad for the forum. It is posting in bad faith. To post in good faith means to post with the aims of having an engaging discussion which doesn't hide or slink away; to post in bad faith means to post to aggravate others, seek attention, derail discussions, or seek some moral "win" through duplicitous means. Or, basically, just posting in the above style.
One of the things that has gotten to me is the amount of posts that are the wombo-combo of being repetitive & interrogative. For instance, on page 6 of the "Democrats freaking out about church speech" (hereafter 'D'😉 thread, I stated in response to the question of whether or not Trump was ordained by God the following:
Not exactly true.
I would not have said that Pres. Obama is ordained by God in some positive aspect where it is as if he was God's chosen to do something great.
In the abstract sense that all authorities have been risen up by God, and in the abstract sense that all authorities also fall by the will of God, everyone from Trump, to Obama, to Gaddafi, to Macron, to Putin, are leaders and authorities within the will of what God has planned.
Just as Pope Francis is the will of God, and just as Pope Alexander VI was.
Yet, on pages 6, 7, 8 of the thread I keep receiving the question of whether or not
So you believe it is the will of your God that Trump is your president?
I asked if he read what I wrote, and, again:
You seemed to be using the turn of phrase "In the abstract sense" to obfuscate in some way. This is all abstract and superstitious stuff. All of it. So, you have the chance now to answer unequivocally. Do you actually believe, in reality, it is the will of your God that Trump is your president?
I stated that I previously answered it... And then I get:
I did. I noticed your wording. So I re-asked. "Do you actually believe, in reality, it is the will of your God that Trump is your president?" Your answer is "yes", right?
... What did this line of questioning even do? Nothing. I stated exactly what I believed, and then was basically asked to restate it somehow, or it was implied I was obfuscating. I could have been charitable, as if the question was absolutely legitimate and perhaps from a first time poster, but the user FMF does this consistently.
He could have elaborated at any point as to why this is problematic to him, or what he thinks about it, but instead, it was just a series of repeating questions.
This is an example of overly repetitious, interrogative, & minimalistic posting -- it's bad, and it doesn't need to be acknowledged by anyone because it is sloppy.
We also see bad habits like being extremely evasive in addition to minimalistic and repetitive.
For instance, when I point out that FMF has basically shown us that he believes in nothing, he immediately deflects & evades this point on page 33 of the The moral argument for God thread with:
I don't believe in supernatural causality and I am not religious.
And when pointed out again that he is a radical relativist
Well, I'm not superstitious and I am not religious, if that's what you're getting at.
clearly, the topic would have been what the implications are of actually believing in no objective truth, yet it is deflected into a whole different area. It is evasive, and miniminalistic, and repetitive for the sake of deflecting real discussion of what this actually means.
If I was the type of person who never discussed the weakness of my own arguments, or who never was willing to talk about things like empiricism and God, and thus equally evasive on the topic, I would understand how it would be bad for me to criticize this. But, I do not feel I am that way -- and if I ever am, do tell me to confront the topic directly, because that would be what would make for good posting.
So, I simply propose two things for posters here:
Don't be repetitive, interrogative, minimalistic, evasive, accusative, and deflective.
And, [/b]don't feel responsible for getting into endless chains & circles with people who are. Don't also feel responsible for responding to posters who do this, who drag things out in this way, the same way that you would respond to posters who debate in good faith.[/b]
I think that people who post in good faith should be rewarded, and people who post in bad faith, not to actually have a discussion and be stimulated, should be engaged with differently.
I actually have been very busy this week and may not be as active in this thread as I want, but I felt it was necessary to say this. Have a good one.
Back to Top