The ignore button

Please see my response at Post # 100 of this thread.

 

Oh well, I've been trying, but my Ignore list is growing again. After I restored everybody (80) except two posters (so I restored 78 posters), I'm up to 14 again, so, ever since, I had to put 12 back on ignore. Some people are just impossible. It is a complete waste of time to dialogue with them. Not seeing their far-fetched threads unclogs the front page.

Two of them are tagged as banned. I do not know how this works, here. I see people with the "banned" tag, still posting. So I guess they are not perma-banned but if they get banned once, the tag is there. Correct?

So if that's the case, how do we differentiate between temporarily banned and perma-banned?

 

I really gotta ask, with many of you having ignore lists that high - what's the real criteria? I mean, it just CAN'T be people who disagree with you. And a collorary to that would be - if there's so many people rude to you, why would that be?

Like I said, the most I ever had was seven or eight, it's never been as high as ten. And - I clear it out every month now or when I remember to. I dunno how this place would even be worth it with half the active members on ignore.

 

For me it's never simply because I don't agree with someone.
It's not even rudeness.
It's the lack of honest debate that triggers my ignore button.
If a member has repeatedly shown his inability to be honest I won't waste my time on them.

 

Being rude to me is not my criterion. Being a troll and a jerk and a dishonest debater (e.g., those who keep putting stuff in your mouth that you didn't say, and keep ignoring factual links offered to them, and responding with one fallacy after the other) are among some of my criteria. Generally, simply being a conspiracy theorist is one of my criteria, because talking to those is a complete waste of time. No matter what factual reality that is proven and demonstrable you throw their way, they will continue to hold their conspiracy theory, so, what's the point? Racism is also a reason for me to summarily ignore someone. A racist is a person with a small brain.

 

That's why I like it when people tell me I'm on ignore. I get to deconstruct their posts for the board to see and they'll never know it.

 

I don't see very many racists here - although you might wanna stay away from the World Events forum where they have Jews on the Brain Syndrome. I prefer dealing with racists to bots. The racists at least are passionate about their racism. The bots simply repeat the same thing again and again. We have a radical feminist here who goes off into militant feminism and can go over the top but I'd never ignore her even if we can't agree what color the sky is because she's fun to debate even if she's a sexist. Maybe for the same reason, I've never put someone on iggy for being a conspiracy theorist. I find these people fascinating as well. I like listening to their differing outlooks - and they do give me something to consider, even if I end up rejecting the premise in the end.

If I went by the troll/jerk count, I could go up to mmmmmmaybe a dozen active posters, with number one being a bot and number two being a fount of disingenuousness ever since I came to this board. We used to have a lot more bots here.

OH: How do you tell the difference between a temp-banned member and a perma-banned one? You can't - well, unless you wait six months after their last post and they still haven't returned, I guess that's the only way.

 

LOL. Yep, good point.

 

People who refuse to intake any information that is contrary to their opinion. It's willful ignorance. I'm not here to be right; I'm here to learn, share ideas and see how other people think. I apologize when I'm wrong about something. Just did that yesterday, in fact.

I have no time, whatsoever, for one trick ponies who are so stuck in their mindset, they have absolutely nothing left to learn. People like that make my teeth itch. Being bipolar, I have to watch out for triggers.

If one of the kids pulls that crap, I literally leave the room, instead of listening to the same drivel, over and over again.

Same here. I'm just leaving the room where they are spouting utter nonsense.

Conspiracy theorists, too. Anyone who truly believes that thousands of people can conspire and collectively keep a secret? They are so stuck in their head, there's no getting through.

 

Here? At PF? I'd like to see that thread.

 

Well, I agree with you there - unless said person is unintentionally entertaining. We have one here who has said stuff that would make you cringe - stuff like how Obama is exempt from certain rules because he's black. I'm not kidding - got that one bookmarked.

It's still fascinating listening to them though - and sometimes, they make you think. Hear me out: There's times they say stuff and I wonder, hmmmm - there is something to this. It's almost never ALL true, but sometimes they will put something out there that at least a part of it makes sense. And in the end, you don't have to believe any of it - but it's a different point of view, worth at least a listen. Again, worth the time just for the entertainment value alone. You would have enjoyed listening to the Raelian we had here years ago.

 

Like what? I doubt it.

 

I had someone recently tell me I was on ignore. My reaction was "Oh yeah! Time to go to town on this guy!" Not that I really need to but in his case it's fun and I really need the laughs nowadays.

I mean, he just told me he's never gonna notice me doing the forum equivalent of photo-bombing his posts. What's not to like?

I know two people who have banned me and in both cases it makes me smile when I point out using their own words how wrong they are and everyone else but them can see it. After a rough day at work, those kind of posts where I feel like I'm really getting away with something make me happy.

I've actually found a lot of common ground lately with maybe a dozen posters who are miles apart from my political views but it turns out we get along after all. I'm enjoying this place a lot more lately.

 

Oh man, I dunno - I could find stuff and post it but I think it would turn you off so maybe I better not.

The point I was trying to make is that sometimes they'll say something that makes you go hmm. It's not like that happens in every post, and sometimes you have to dig for it, and it's never the complete conspiracy, only a small portion of it - but it's there.

 

I don’t know if it’s intentional on the part of the owners of this site, but the non-political subforums here allow us to become more personally acquainted, resulting in better dialogue on all issues. We all seem to agree anonymity increases animosity and decreases civility online. I think learning to participate more in the non political areas of the forum help reverse that trend.

I guess if members have you on ignore so they can’t see posts containing logic and reason, they aren’t ready to accept reality anyway. Everybody wins!

 

Re:

In these times where truth is often stranger than fiction the lines between a conspiracy theory and the truth are frequently blurred.
The notion that the earth revolved around the sun was once considered a laughable conspiracy theory because "everyone knew" that the sun revolved around the earth.
Today, most of us know better.
What are some of the things that you consider conspiracy theories and why do you consider these topics unworthy of discussion?

Thanks,

 

Dominion machines switched votes to Trump out of a conspiracy by Hugo Chavez (despite the fact that Hugo Chavez died 7 years ago).
The coronavirus is man-made and was unleashed by China as a bio-weapon to damage the world

These are just two of the currently popular ones... And no, there will be no "tomorrow most of us will know better" because I don't believe a dead dictator can plot anything from Hell, and as a scientist in this field, I know that the genomic sequencing of this virus doesn't support it being man-made (and I've posted the details as recently as a couple of days ago, for those who can comprehend this piece of science). So, no, there won't be any reckoning like your example of the sun and the earth.

 

Yes, those two examples are pretty far out there but I admittedly don't know enough about the coronavirus to state with certainty that it was not man made so I'll take your word for it.
Thanks for your time.

 

Merry Christmas CF.
I reckon you of all people have earned a day off from the trolls.
Hope you are having a nice family day.
Are you off work at least?

 

Thanks. Here is the post where I mentioned the genomic similarity between the SARS-CoV-2 and natural bat viruses:
http://www.politicalforum.com/index...-virus-or-spain-virus.581978/#post-1072315914

It makes no sense to think of the SARS-CoV-2 as man-made by the Chinese as a bio-weapon, for three Virology reasons:
1) The genomic sequences look very natural. There is no big break with the evolutionary drift of natural viruses.
2) If this virus had been tampered with to use as a bio-weapon, it would make more sense to use as a platform, the much more lethal SARS-1 and MERS, tweaking their S proteins to make them more infectious (these were very lethal but not very infectious viruses). However, the SARS-CoV-2 shares way more characteristics with natural bat viruses than with the SARS-1 and MERS viruses
3) More and more evidence is being found that this virus maybe didn't even originate in China; as we test blood samples that were frozen in the past for other purposes, we've been finding the virus present in other countries, months before the first Chinese outbreak.

But like I said, I'm sure that if I say so to conspiracy theorists, they won't believe it. First of all, they won't understand the science. Second, they will dismiss it as fake news and cling to their certainty that against all scientific facts, this virus MUST be man-made because it fits their ideological hopes.

There are a couple of other very convincing pieces of evidence that this virus wasn't a bio-weapon attempt by China, that are not linked to Virology science itself, but just to common sense:

1) The Chinese took one year to make effective vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 (Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Cansino) and to give the vaccines to their military personal, high officials, and border agents. If they were about to unleash a lethal virus, they would have waited UNTIL they had the vaccine, and would secretly vaccinate their folks FIRST, before releasing it. It makes no sense whatsoever, given the risks involved of the effort majorly backfiring on them, to proceed the other way around.

2) Once the Wuhan outbreak started, the Chinese frantically moved to secure PPE for themselves. They spent three weeks cancelling export contracts and gobbling up the stocks of PPE. Again, if they were planning to unleash a biological weapon like this, they would have secured the PPE calmly and efficiently and much sooner, and would have appropriate stocks at hand BEFORE they unleashed it, instead of having to frantically rush to secure the equipment.

So, you put together the Virology facts, and you observe the non-Virology moves mentioned above, and any person with an IQ above 50 will understand that the SARS-CoV-2 is NOT a man-made biological weapon unleashed by the Chinese.

 

Yes, Montegriffo, I've been on vacation since last Friday. My wife and I were able to get together with our kids for Christmas, who quarantined for 14 days before joining us and traveled by private vehicle without stopping anywhere, so we did it safely. I resume work this Tuesday. Nice break indeed. Thanks for the well wishes, and Merry Christmas to you, too.

 

I too have been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. I never know what will trigger it but so far nothing I've read on the web has.

I got a DUI in Florida in 1998. Part of the process of returning to normal society was to get a Psychological exam. The Psychiatrist informed me that I was bi-polar. She went down the list of symptoms and I had them all. I used to get angry and break stuff when I'd hit my lows, but once I knew what was going on I just deferred my gloom and told my self it will pass. It always does.

Good luck to you. I usually enjoy your posts.

 

I was offered lithium but declined. I just ride the wave. The highs are awesome.

 

I once put a member on ignore for being extremely stupid. I have a low tolerance for stupidity. I removed them shortly after and now have no one on ignore.