Yes, there are. They’re sorted according to their style and sometimes their content. Debates about religion tend to get sharp, so I think GD is the right place. And GD is the place for arguments that aren’t going to get resolved, which is definitely the case for religion.
Well Tom has neatly labeled those who find the threads wrong for GD as long time Lib haters. “So Mr. Fenris when did you stop beating your wife?”
Marley, witnessing of course has gone in GD for the longest time, but since when were posters not allowed to debate points in GD?
In fact, here’s what happens in every other witnessing thread that doesn’t get special mod protection.
The op is chewed a new ass, called a liar (via proxy) and the thread is allowed to devolve until it gets shut down rather than allowing the OP to post without criticism.
This isn’t right, that everyone who thinks those threads do indicate favoritism for ** Liberal ** suddenly become **Liberal ** haters. It also isn’t right that they are compared to threads in MPSIMS, or IMHO, where lots of people post and the conversation is free and easy. Most people wouldn’t even get into ** Liberal’s ** threads, he’s defined them so narrowly.
I am not a Liberal ** hater and I am here to say those threads do show clear favoritism for Liberal . Lobsang has been scolded many times to take it to a blog, as has Inigo Montoya , and iampunha ** when he was here, and others.
I am not here complaining, to be honest. I don’t get into GD much, though I do read it a lot. But I don’t like this mischaracterization of people as “** Liberal** -haters”.
Hey, your board, your rules. My original point still stands. Why is Lib allowed to use the SDMB as a personal blog?
I suppose that, rather than have Tom associate me with the rest of you long time Lib haters, I should state that I don’t hate Lib any more than I hate every other poster on this board. That is to say, not at all.
In a couple of cases here it’s completely accurate.
Who prevented the thread from devolving? Liberal, by saying “please don’t argue point [y] [z]”? If so, more people should try that trick. A lot of people start threads in GD by saying ‘Let us assume the following.’ The assumption always gets challenged.
See tomndebb’s earlier post. Calling it a blog over and over does not make it more blog like than it initially was. Liberal makes some presumptions as far as the terms used in the thread, but he’s not blogging, he’s discussing a topic with other posters. It may be a topic of limited interests and the posts are very long, but we don’t have rules against that.
How about a Liberal forum then? 
I thought we already had a couple. 
As I have said before people just get caught up in the title of the forum. Just as you smell no meat cooking while posting in the Pit, most of the stuff in Great Debates is far from great and only rarely a proper debate.
Just treat it as MPSIMS for wankers and forget about what is posted there.
Really? Name names. Or do you have a secret list?
Couldn’t be me. My first negative post about Lib was about 6 months ago, give or take, over in this thread as far as I know.
I don’t recall Xploder ever having much interaction with Lib. Ditto Seven.
What Exit? was characterized by Lib as a “great facilitator and peacemaker”
Anaamika? Dropzone? Again, if they’ve interacted with Liberal, it’s news to me.
So…really. Name names. Who’s the secret cabal of Liberal-Hunters? Yeah, LIB has always had an insane paranoid streak (remember when he decided EddyTeddyFreddy was part of a evil Lib-hunting organization?) but I hadn’t recognized that his psychosis had infected the mods here.
LOL…but then, you’d still see a shitload of page views based on the fact that people would look just to point and laugh. Plus, every thread would turn into something pit-worthy and train-wrecky. GO FOR IT!!!
sheesh…this was in response to Marley’s last comment. Fast bastards.
Heh–ok. That was funny. 
Damn quote button isn’t working…grumble.
But then we couldn’t all PALATR.
From Liberal himself in the series of threads in question and from the fact that no moderator stepped in to tell him that was against the rules.
But I’ve no axe to grind here and as you’ve clearly stated that Liberal had no right to set the terms for the thread then that’s quite satisfactory.
This is the most unintentionally hilarious thing I have ever read on this board. I don’t have a dog in this fight, and I am not part of any secret cabal to hunt down Liberal and tear out his spine (or whatever the Lib haters are up to in their cabal) but what you have just described is a blog, sir. The largest blogs generate hundreds to thousands of comments, and the blogger is usually in the thick of it, responding to comments, interacting, and shaping the discussion.
I must echo Seven and ask if you ever read or post anywhere beyond this place.
Yes, of course we do. It’s Liberal’s board, we just pull the strings for him. Curses, foiled again.
(Seriously, do you see yourself, leander, Seven as co-presidents of the Liberal fanclub? I’m not interested in stepping into the middle of people’s idiotic grudges, some of which predate my time on this board. But let’s not bullshit here: Liberal does a lot of crap to draw flack from other posters, and on the other side of things, there are people who jump his shit with any provocation. He’s been pitted four times already this year that I can find, one of those by Stink Fish Pot, who’s also posted in this thread.)
It’s a blog. It’s a blog! It fits the exact requirements of a blog. And you know I’d feel a whole lot better if y’all would just admit your favoritism for Liberal and not call us all Liberal haters. If you just said, “He brings in readers” or something I’d be OK with it. The fact that you just deny…
I notice Marley has not responded to Fenris’ comments about who the Liberal haters are. Who? I know I have even defended Liberal in the past.
ETA: Ok…so you have responded, but only to say something about leander and Seven.
It’s not against the rules to say “I politely request that no one particapate in this thread who does not accept the stated axiom” or “I would respectuflly request that anyone incapable of accepting these definitions, if only for the sake of argument, please refrain from participation in this thread.” People do that a lot in Great Debates, and it’s almost always ignored.
Tom however apparently enforced that request this time. I think that is the issue people have with Liberal’s threads this time. That whole special exception rules.