Site stuff type question

[picklemewalnuts]

Could we report comments on this board and have them deleted for being effectively 'off topic', please?

I've noticed it's really hard to have a conversation specifically within a religion, without people spamming the thread with 'God doesn't exist/your God is evil' type comments.

It's really off putting, and makes a decent conversation hard.

I'm not trying to stifle discussion, but when the OP has specified they want a response about or within the Christian tradition (for example) or a response from Christians, it would be good to be able to keep it free from 'only idiots and psychopaths believe in God' type comments.

Yes, we are supposed to turn the other cheek….and the other and the other and the other
It does get boring , the smug dismissal of faith, I wish the sky fairy comments could just be zapped ( maybe by a bolt of Jove’s lightening?)

Only up to "seventy times seven" IIRC, and I think that limits gets exceeded here! Thanks for the welcome, @picklemewalnuts, I'll try to be a bit more active here.

I think it's because we generally listen and give them a platform, rather than short shrift with a resounding "F off!".

All of this. I did see the thread you mentioned - it makes very sad reading.

I could take the ‘sky fairy’ and ‘bullshit’ and ‘alas I am too clever to turn my brain off and be consoled by religion’, myself, if people just stopped trying to shoehorn it into every single thread somebody else starts about religion on this board.

I have my issues with humanism, but I wouldn’t jump up in the middle of a friend’s humanist wedding ceremony to go “well that’s a bit trite and preachy, isn’t it?” because I can recognise there is a time and a place. And that people who disagree with me exist as people in their own right, not as a blank canvas for me to screen the film of me and my fascinating thoughts on.

Amen!

Just popping in because I was curious how 'site stuff' & 'religion' were enmeshed!

@picklemewalnuts et al.

I am (though I shouldn't be I suppose) surprised you get lots of 'sky fairy' & 'bullshit' type posts on this board

as Becky has waded in (well done Becky) hopefully people will feel more able to report and MNHQ will delete more of them I agree they really derail a discussion.

i don't hate any religion, but I don't agree with any either.

I think people should respect this board & mind their manners, but I disagree with @ZenNudist that people shouldn't be able to air their own opinions in other boards.

I do see 'her' point though that Christianity seems more 'fair game' than other religions/minority groups. But it isn't the only thing that's seen as more 'fair game. I think it's because it's not a minority group, rather than anything else.

I'm going to go away again now, because this really isn't my natural habitat 🤪 & I don't want to intrude, but I hope you get the moderation required and the 'sky fairy' posters get told to mind their manners on this board.

@TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination While I respect your opinion, I disagree. There should be a blanket ban on prejudice in all it's forms, across the whole site, not just this board. Enough is enough.

I think people should respect this board & mind their manners, but I disagree with @ZenNudist that people shouldn't be able to air their own opinions in other boards

But there are some threads where this clearly isn't appropriate - if the OP wants a discussion in the context of a particular faith - it really isn't helpful to plop onto the thread telling them their faith is a load of rubbish. It would be like randomly posting on Litter Tray threads to say all pet cats should be banned - you're entitled to that view but, if you want to have that discussion, start your own thread.

A little louder for the people at the back:

The Cambridge dictionary defines "trolling" as:

the act of leaving an insulting message on the internet in order to annoy someone.

People are welcome to start threads and offer opinions and air their views in the appropriate place i.e their own thread or one appropriate to that discussion.

People are not welcome to troll.

@TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination I'd argue Christians are a minority. The majority of people in this country are not Christians. I know far, far more people who don't go to church than do.

A minority of people think it's ok to be offensive to Christians, perhaps because we're seen as part of the establishment.

I'd agree arguing off topic is not appropriate on this board. I'd also say deliberately being offensive is not appropriate on the other boards as well. Absolutely fine to disagree, and to state what you believe. Directly Insulting people, not fine.

I get that it's irritating, but I'm not sure any other board gets to have comments deleted or ban posters from threads just for being irritating or off-topic. So why should this board be able to?

They do. I have seen people get deleted for, e.g., repeatedly jumping in on threads asking for parenting advice with "And this is why I'm glad I don't have children!" stuff. Relationships gets more heavily moderated than AIBU.

but also... people don't do this particular thing so much on other boards. If Small Pets was regularly getting people dropping in to threads about sick hamsters with "ugggggh I don't know why you want to buy small squeaky things that die!" then maybe.

Sure they do. I've sometimes reported posts elsewhere for being goady and inflammatory - one of the Talk Guidelines is
No trolling, misleading or deliberately inflammatory behaviour

And of course anything which is a personal attack is definitely against the guidelines.

The philosophy and religion board certainly shouldn't be hidden - there are sometimes discussions which are of general interest.

I'd like to think it's just a handful of troublemakers hiding behind various usernames creating the problem. Still, a troll is a troll and they should be discouraged on all boards.

I think it's highly offensive to be honest and hate speech. However so is how some Christians talk about other religions. We need to keep it respectful at all times imho.

I agree somoslaluz, but some people feel that people of faith deserve no respect and behave accordingly.

Just wanted to say that I completely agree with OP.

@Antarcticant
That DOES happen in the litter tray & lots of other boards, people go onto the Christmas Threads IN The Christmas topic and say whatever anti Christmas stuff they like! Etc etc

As I said on my previous post, I'm not At All religious. I would never come into this topic & share my thoughts about religion.

However, on the main boards I'm just as entitled to my opinion as you are yours.

if people want a discussion about faith, they have their own whole section here to have those discussions (and 'sky fairy' type lists should be reported & deleted) but the main boards aren't the place for deep discussions about many things that have their own sections.

I'm not saying religion shouldn't be mentioned, but it's not the place to start a deep discussion about a particular faith.

however, that really wasn't what I was talking about.

what I was talking about was if someone starting posting on a childbirth thread (for instance) that you don't need pain relief, you just need to pray & 'diety of choice, will guide you through it'. I'm entitled to say, what a load of BS, take the drugs'

or someone should be able to say THEY don't believe in the Sky Fairy....

people are entitled to their beliefs, I'm entitled to my thoughts about that and shouldn't be forced into silence because I don't agree with their beliefs.

another way of putting it is people raving about their cats in the litter tray. Fine. If you don't like cars, bugger off, don't be nasty or rude.

but if someone posts in breastfeeding that their cat likes to sit on their lap when they're feeding. Another poster wouldn't be rude to say they don't think that's hygienic.

ZenNudist · Yesterday 17:33
This is so true. It seems that every other group and characteristic is protected on mumsnet (except maybe step mums and in law's!!!!).

m no, they're not, it just seems that way because it's your own personal thing you feel isn't protected.

try being overweight and/or vegetarian and lots of other things.

Of course, that goes without saying. I personally haven't come across any Christans being disrespectful about other faiths, or indeed the other way around. I know IRL it's the atheists who've had the biggest problem with my faith. It's one thing having a different opinion - what we're mostly objecting to is insulting, offensive posts that attack our core beliefs. Nobody is saying we can't have a healthy discussion.

Good example of this very thing happening, again, on the “Can God make mistakes?” thread on here just now.

It is as if some people aren’t capable of reading a whole sentence let alone a whole post, just ctrl-F for the word ‘God’ and then go piling right in to bosom-hoikingly tell people off for not being atheists.

Very true GoldenOmber😆Apologies for sticking my two penn'orth in, but I couldn't let that one slide.

I spent quite a bit of time on MN a few years back when I had a broken leg and good into some fairly long and challenging threads about faith. Sadly, since then, there are a couple of posters( or may be the same person namechanging) who seems to follow me round MN and say really horrible things like " well that's because you are a fundie" or " we all know you are a raging homophobe" type comments. Even when the topic is completely un related to faith/ belief. I don't know if they have a setting that tells them every time I post?! It actually makes me feel quite shaky, like I am being stalked. It has stopped me commenting on many topics as do not want to be verbally abused. Maybe I should report them each time.
On the topic of the thread, I find it incredibly frustrating when someone is asking advice from fellow Christians and gets oiled on by atheists pretty much mocking them. It is quite evangelical the need to convince people that their faith is wrong which in itself is quite interesting.

Maybe I should report them each time.

You should, it sounds like a sustained personal attack. Tell MNHQ there is a pattern of behaviour. They'll be able to see if it's one or more people doing this.