Discourage/Ban Religious Discussion

Yes hello friends it is I, WD. That one bitch who likes to complain and ruin everyone's fun. And guess what time it is again?

Ahem. As most of you know, these past few months have been plagued with a lot of religious arguments. And absolutely none of it ends well. I know the internet is very different from reality and it's the hub of "freedom of speech", but the fact of the matter is religion is a very big taboo subject, one that not many people can handle. And these forums have proved time and time again that nobody can really handle it well. As soon as the word "Chrisianity" is uttered, people fly into a frenzy. As soon as someone expresses their beliefs, someone gets offended and has to talk back to them. Not to mention it is a tad awkward to read the whole preaching spiels some people go off on.

Yes I know, it's the internet. Blah blah blah. But unlike other parts of the internet though (ex: 4chan), we are rather close knit and I at least would like to think we sort of care about each other, so I feel like it might be useful to just flat out discourage or ban religious mentions in general to prevent further needless drama, thread derailing, and soiled diapers. And religious folks, don't feel like I'm singling you out, I also feel like people bragging about their atheism euphoria should be banned too. If it's not mentioned, there's nothing to argue about.

Anyway, I know this is a real shot in the dark but I thought I'd come out and say it. I doubt any of you will do anything about it and I'll probably get many "hurr it's the internet people argue deal with it" responses but whatever. Again, it's time to speak my mind. Hell, even if this rule can't be fully put into place, at least some action against the full-blown debates would be nice.

Dasu out.

 

YES

 

I would support this.
Debating about religion usually lend to about as much traction as an anorexic teen's converse sneakers on a frozen canadian sidewalk. Nobody on either side is going to budge in their opinion and yelling about it just gets people hot and bothered.

Not that I don't enjoy a bit of yelling now and again

but it's been pretty obvious that nobody can maintain a level head about the subject.

 

And hey, if you're affiliated with a deity or not and you feel that you have the need to say it, go ahead. Just don't cause another typhoon out of it.

 

Well yeah we shouldn't discourage religion, just the debates and hate that come along with that

 

It is a little disheartening when potentially enlightening or friendly conversations die or don't happen because people argue over belief...

There are some people who can handle religious discussion calmly, but they're few and far between...those that are a little more vocal often spark more poisonous discussion anyway, and it doesn't often end on a good note.

I guess I support this as well. I'm not sure what we can do, but I'm sure something can be done to heal a sore spot in discussion.

 

And hey, if you're affiliated with a deity or not and you feel that you have the need to say it, go ahead. Just don't cause another typhoon out of it.

I dunno man. I know freedom of speech is important and all, but I really think it's not worth mentioning in this forum environment. Ultimately it depends on the other person's reaction, and we have all seen how that goes. As I said, no mention, no fighting. I kinda feel like it's an inappropriate topic for this type of forum anyway. It's like if someone made a thread about all the recreational drugs we do. That's just my opinion though. I'm not trying to take away everyone's rights but yeah.

 

Which is why I'm saying if someone says they're (insert religion here), then that's all they can put in.

 

Yeah I suppose to that small degree would be acceptable and not too dangerous. And if someone does happen to start shit over someone casually mentioning they're (insert religion here), then they probably should be banned.

 

I understand your intentions for doing this are for the better, but I don't think flat out banning is the right approach. It's true, some people love to sit on others whose views contradict theirs and as a result, two opposite forces collide. But not every discussion I've seen about religion is like that. The most current thread that I think brings up this thread is two people having a conversation. Asking questions, delivering answers. Maybe both are confused. One is trying to explain his point of view, and the other person thinks otherwise. I don't see this as being a bad thing - in fact, it is very interesting to see how other people view the world. The forum rules even state that arguments are encouraged, but I believe not at the other person's expense.

If religious discussion is banned - even with the 'no extreme atheism' tag at the end, it gives off the impression that the forums are just trying to shove their own absolute views down everyone else's throat. People will find ways to game the system - for instance, how Christianity isn't considered an actual religion because it's ultimately about God reaching out to people and not people trying to seek their God (not considered a religion, people might think it's still allowed). I don't know; this was just something I remember being told once. Maybe no one thinks this way anymore.

Don't get me wrong - heated discussions that attack and target people of a certain group and whatnot is a bad thing. Human pride just doesn't allow us to be civil anymore. Even with my views on this topic, I'm sure someone is going to break them down and disagree with everything. And that's okay.

I would think these heated discussions, personal attacks and such would already be covered in the forum rules - I haven't read them in a while so I might have overlooked some things - there wouldn't be a need for targeting one particular discussion topic. Discouraging the topic would be a more viable approach, and allow for some flexibility when needed.

I almost see a parallel here with the suggested banning of hell mods - should all hell mods not be allowed just because the most recent ones are not up to the previous mods' standards? Likewise, does anything regarding religion get banned simply because a few discussions from select users can't handle discussing the topic civilly?

 

I almost see a parallel here with the suggested banning of hell mods - should all hell mods not be allowed just because the most recent ones are not up to the previous mods' standards? Likewise, does anything regarding religion get banned simply because a few discussions from select users can't handle discussing the topic civilly?

 

I think it would be better to ban it for the sake of you know,
Not getting into anymore ridiculous arguments every time the subject is brought up.

(Obvious and generic, I know, but it's seriously what I think)

 

people should already /know/ not to bring up the topic to begin with
religion and politics, just don't bother unless you're looking for a rise
but I'm well aware that there's often a considerable gap between what people should know, and what people do know
so maybe they should be told

 

I think it would be better to ban it for the sake of you know,
Not getting into anymore ridiculous arguments.

This.

Also comparing banning religion to banning hell mods is pretty stupid. Modding HAS TO DO WITH THE FORUMS. Religion HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FORUMS. It's a taboo subject. All hell breaks loose (no pun intended). I'm pretty sure a mod of a video game doesn't cause heated arguments and bad blood over beliefs, last time i checked. I'm sorry but that argument is completely irrelevant. And I hate to sound like a dick but if people are so passionate about still discussing religion, I'd suggest pursuing a forum where that kind of discussion is more relevant and encouraged.

 

I saw it more as the overall idea, not the specifics. I just wanted to make sure we considered different sides, that's all.

Personally I still think implementing this is redundant but if there's not enough common sense for people to know when to stop then I guess disallowing it is simply for the best.

 

"[4:39:53 PM | Edited 4:41:00 PM] Tsuba (Nadojin): Everytime you say something even potentially controversial, Dasu creates a thread just to ban all the arguments that pop up in it."
I'm noticing a trend here...

Also, Perhaps this " Ban Religious Discussion " thing... Are you saying that ALL discussion about religion should be banned? Or just threads (solely) about it?
Religious discussion should not be banned. Arguments should.
I say that the mods/admin should just lock the threads at their own discretion. Be more aware of out-of-control-arguments.
Whoa... that sounded slightly hypocritical.


I think I've garnered a reputation as, "The guy who brings up stuff that are controversial and right after Desu brings it up in the Forum suggestions thread"
probably not.

 

...seems a little rude... ._.

 

That's only happened twice, for the record.

 

...seems a little rude... ._.

What? how?

.... fine. It only happened twice. I "started" to see a trend.
And no, I'm not implying that I will do it again.
I'll try at least.

 

Twice isn't really a trend.
Have you seen a single religious discussion on this forum that isn't venemous? The problem is that we can't handle that topic of discussion, and everyone gets butthurt over it. And as stated already, this is NOT a religious forum. This is a forum for discussing video games. To be frank no one here cares about what you do or don't believe in.

Also: do you really think the moderators aren't doing their best? How about you take a step in their shoes? Maybe you'd like to ban the dozens of spambots that show up here, or try and figure out what is over the line of provocative behaviour?
Also also: Dasu is not trying to start shit. She made a thread to ban unnecessary arguments TO HELP THE FORUMS. She even said that her reasoning was that she wanted us to be friends. Maybe you shouldn't talk behind her back when she decides to speak up about what she thinks is wrong or bad.