Robert163, with regards to the original thread in IMHO, that thread was supposed to be a list of arguments that nontheists find annoying, not a debate about the merits of any or all of those arguments. You wanted to debate the merits of the arguments, and turn the thread into a religious debate. You were hijacking the thread topic.
Idle Thoughts made a general comment in post 113 to get everyone to drop the debate in that thread and return to the original IMHO topic. He also called out a couple of specific posts for specific infractions. Yours was one, and another poster for insults.
You then continued the debate and arguing with the moderator with respect to the instructions you were given. That is also a rules violation. Idle Thoughts showed considerable leniency in that thread with multiple moderator instructions and no Warnings for failing to comply and continuing to argue the point in the thread.
Sometimes. I’ve found this part the oddest. I don’t know many people who sometimes use proper capitalization and punctuation, and sometimes completely ignore both. Maybe it’s a computer vs phone thing.
So the whole “snark vs insults” thing… You see, they don’t actually care if the users are complete dicks to each other, they just want them to keep it high brow. Calling someone stupid can earn you a warning, but if you can heavily imply it with a clever turn of phrase, you’re golden. And everyone gets to have a laugh at the targets expense. So it’s win-win. Well, win for everyone except that one guy. But who cares about him? He’s stupid.
Still, a little snark keeps the discussions lively. Name-calling is boring. Everyone can try rationalizing it, but that’s the real reason the rules are the way they are. Those who stick around and become regulars seem to like it that way, so they’re not going to change it for you. So I guess you can either learn to play along, or move along.
Most smartphones can automatically capitalize the first letter of words that begin sentences. They can also insert periods at the ends of sentences with an extra tap on the space bar. They can also automatically insert apostrophes into contractions such as “can’t” and “won’t.” I typed this on my iPhone and it took practically no effort to use proper capitalization and punctuation. It also corrects my spelling and auto completes lengthy words.
There was a time when I was appointed “Parliamentarian” of a teen youth group I was in. I was judge and keeper of the copy of Robert’s Rules of Order. The coolest rule I found was the one that said “A motion to adjourn is never out of order.”
