I’ll stop short short of saying that Valteron is always a troll, but I just can’t see how this thread: Christmas is a Christian fraud!, is anything more than obvious trolling.
It’s in G.D. He doesn’t pose a question. He doesn’t ask for a debate. It’s a thinly veiled attack that never asks for a discussion. It’s a self important, egotistical masturbatory diatribe just before Christmas meant to do one thing - stir some shit up.
That’s trolling, no?
so why not just report it to mod with the report bad post link?
Actually, like John Mace wryly noted in the thread, it’s looks a lot more akin to “witnessing” to me ( or “anti-witnessing” if you like, depending on how strict you want to define things ). Which has always been permitted in GD.
Revtim, Tomndebb is already in the thread. I just think that the average dopers have more actual power to stop this crap than the mods. Peer pressure, so to speak. A mod already knows, and is dealing with it as best he knows how, but I wanted the Pit to know too.
Tamerlane, there is witnessing (which is discouraged, I might add) and then there is being an asshole. We all know damn well he’s an atheist, I don’t give a shit about that. I may not like the French, but I don’t go picking fights with 'em just because it’s two days before Bastille day. That’s what he’s doing. The timing is not a coincidence. He’s trolling for a reaction.
And the sad part is: You’re giving it to him.
DNFTT.
So easy to say, so hard to live up to.
We’ll just have to make a special rule for him.
Peer pressure a troll? That just makes them…trollier…or something.
Your just angy because your afraid that Christianity will fall apart as soon as Valteron gets the word out that there may not have actually been farm animals present at the birth of Jesus.
Yeah. I know. But he doesn’t always troll. I’m hoping peer pressure will shout him down and make him stop being a dick.
It’s almost impossible for the mods to enforce the “don’t be a jerk” rule; it’s usually up to the community at large. As I said in the OP, Valteron isn’t always a troll. That’s why the mods hands are tied. But fuck me if he’s not trolling here. He needs to know that the average members of this board don’t like that shit.
His OP was not offered in good faith, and I’m calling him on it.
Witnessing is perfectly acceptable in GD. That’s where it goes. Of course the timing isn’t coincidence. It’s meant to be topical. Should he make a post about the historical roots of Christ’s birth in July? You may not like the way he said it but it’s all arguably true. I don’t think he’s trolling at all.
It’s not trolling. It’s just really fucking stupid. Kinda like the cross in the urinal thread. :rolleyes:
I would say “tolerated”. He’s still a dick and he’s only witnessing to provoke a reaction. That means trolling. Thankfully, he’s not getting much traction in that thread (even atheists are mocking him), but I still think he’s trolling. I can’t accuse him of that in GD, hence this thread.
I don’t buy the “topical” argument because he didn’t ask for a debate. Even if it is just witnessing, he’s still a troll.
On preview, I think Gorsnack has a point. The guy’s an idiot. I’m going to stop wasting my thought on him. I’ve said my piece for now.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but my faith in Christmas Carol Inerrancy has been shattered forever.
I’m sure that thread is destined for the Pit, and should have started there. Then we wouldn’t have had to waste another thread on it.
My problem with reading the OP in GD is that now I have the riffs from The Little Drummer Boy in my brain, and I shall never get to sleep tonight.
Perhaps…
WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE…
Ah, that’s better…
Monkey, you are well aware that people of other faiths get quite fed up with the over the top displays of Christmas. I celebrate Christmas with my family and damned if I know what any of the usual trappings have to do with the birth of Christ.
And for pity’s sake, Christmas is a government holiday in the US. There aren’t any nationwide holidays for the holy days of any other religions. Valteron is expressing the viewpoint of many, many people who are either mystified as to how the birth of Christ could have anything to do with Santa, reindeer, trees, bright shiny decorations, presents, and oh, yeah, why an entire country shuts down to celebrate the faith not shared by everyone.
Do you cry troll at those who complained that public school prayer excluded their children? Do you cry troll at those who have fought for separation of church and state?
If the answer is yes, then my next question is: Are you so insulated that you feel that your personal belief system is shared by every inhabitant on this planet, and that everyone should treat Christmas with reverence whether December the 25th holds spiritual significance for them or not? If so, get over yourself. Christians have been forewarned that faith will be tested, and many Christians agree that those tests can serve to make it stronger, which should make your Christmas even merrier.
And where did you get the idea for this original OP?
Maybe from here?
Looks like things are already being handled by those in authority.
Heck, I’d cheer for him being banned just to spare us more of those pointless post titles.
Jesus Christ, Beaucarnea, I know The Wixard of OZ is traditional in the holiday season, but you gotta lay off the scarecrows. You are burying me in straw men.
I don’t even know where to begin. I’ll try to take your complaints in order with out parsing your posts. Let’s see if I can do this in order.
OK, I hate Christmas displays, too. Even ranted about it here. I don’t like the government. My libertarian politics run more along the lines of “live, let live, and don’t be a dick to you’re fellow hairless apes”. Valteron is expressing his viewpoint in the manner of a nutcase standing outside a mosque screaming about how Allah is the Moon God. I don’t begrudge any religions their holidays. I’m a staunch proponent of the separation of Church and State. Rudolph and Santa have nothing to do with my faith, and I wish people would realize that those symbols are secular, not religious. Did I miss anything?
Oh yeah, I didn’t get the idea for this thing from Tomndebb, either. I just know trolling when I see it.
And Valteron is trolling.
For some reason, I don’t think he’s going to post in this thread. That idiot is not going to defend himself in the pit, because he can’t. Truly, I would not be surprised if this guy really doesn’t have much of a bone to pick with Christianity, and is instead posting about how the holes in a urinal are shaped like a cross and the little drummer boy proves that Christians are pagans in order to amuse himself.
That’s a troll. i.e. posting bullshit to see what reaction it will get. It’s juvenile, and I’m calling him on it.
Beaucarnea, look. I have now bone to pick with you, but you have to realize something. That guy saw your Are verifiable facts artifacts mentioned in the Bible taken as proof of divinity? thread and he tried to fish the board with those themes. Thankfully, nobody bought bit, but defend him. You asked an interesting question. Valteron is trying to fuck with people.
That’s trolling.
Wait a minute…Voltron is trolling? But…but…he’s the Defender of the Universe!
This is a reasonable point to consider:
Maybe the information that Valteron posted was new to him, but I doubt that it was new info for anyone that he was directing his post to.
Should we believe that because some one was unnecessarily specific in a Christmas carol, all of Christianity is rubbish? Oh well.
He was even using the kind of argument which makes the least sense: Predicting what Christians will do wrong in the future and blaming them for that.
He’s bellyaching about Christmas, but at least he has family coming and I’ll bet someone cooks dinner for him.