# xtisme, come on down, you muppet! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 7, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300 "2010-06-07T17:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/341 "2010-06-09T13:33:58Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Fortunately, they’ll all be dead at some point. As will you. Fortunately. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/342 "2010-06-09T13:36:01Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > They’re weasely non-answers. Says you. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > 17th century art depicting something like a crop circle? This is your concrete answer to my totally straightforward question? No, you’re answering a question with a question to evade. I am illustrating that they were occuring before Doug and Dave were born. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Give me your sequence of events with crop circles and how the hoaxes played into it. No. My opinions are not really the topic at hand. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > And before the hoaxers came public, did you believe that their crop circles were the works of aliens? No. I thought they were an interesting phenomenon that was worthy of keeping an eye on. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/343 "2010-06-09T13:37:14Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > As will you. Fortunately. You’ve got my love and best wishes,too. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/344 "2010-06-09T13:40:31Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > @ **xtisme** > > Why should I accept anything you have to say on the subject of **ufo’s** , and what makes you more of an authority than Mr Dolan, for example? Hey, you loopy halfwit: the use of an apostrophe and an “s” after a noun _conveys possession_. You _should_ be typing “U.F.O.s”. Get it straight. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/345 "2010-06-09T13:41:46Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I am illustrating that they were occuring before Doug and Dave were born. Can you give me a link to whatever it is you’re talking about? > [@](#): > > No. My opinions are not really the topic at hand. No? What do you think this thread is? I mean, mocking you, obviously. But we need fuel to keep it running. > [@](#): > > No. I thought they were an interesting phenomenon that was worthy of keeping an eye on. So you don’t think they were, or are, caused by aliens then? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/346 "2010-06-09T13:43:04Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > Hey, you loopy halfwit: the use of an apostrophe and an “s” after a noun _conveys possession_. You _should_ be typing “U.F.O.s”. > > Get it straight. I suppose if I can be a Spelling Nazi, you have every right to be a Grammar one. Well spotted, young Jedi. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/347 "2010-06-09T13:46:24Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I’m sure it would be helpful to him if I just took his word as gospel on this matter, but if he intends to make me look foolish, his efforts so far are very disappointing. You’re doing a fine job of that all by yourself. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/348 "2010-06-09T13:49:22Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Can you give me a link to whatever it is you’re talking about? No, do a bit of googling, you lazy twat. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > No? What do you think this thread is? > > I mean, mocking you, obviously. But we need fuel to keep it running. And if I was half the fool you estimate me to be, I’d give it to you. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > So you don’t think they were, or are, caused by aliens then? Well, maybe not the one’s that Doug and Dave did. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/349 "2010-06-09T13:51:37Z")
I wonder if a kind mod could change this thread title to “ivan and his dancing monkeys thread”? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/350 "2010-06-09T13:54:19Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > No, do a bit of googling, you lazy twat. I have no idea wtf it is you’re talking about, so if you were interested in trying to educate me or substantiate your point it would be more practical for you to do. > [@](#): > > And if I was half the fool you estimate me to be, I’d give it to you. You are at least 74% of the fool I estimate you to be. I know you’re not like, actual retard-level though, so you can see one step ahead where your views are going to be contradictory or easily disprovable so instead you give an evasive answer. > [@](#): > > Well, maybe not the one’s that Doug and Dave did. Speaking of evasive answers… You’re implying here that you think the ones besides the ones they did were done by aliens. But not stating it, since then I could pin you down to a more concrete belief. But you were also implying that you didn’t believe they were an alien phoenomina, but rather just something interesting to keep an eye on. So you give vague implications when it suits you, but leave yourself enough room to weasel out of an honest answer. Come on, let’s be real here - you think crop circles are done by aliens. You thought the crop circles that Doug and Dave did were from aliens. When they revealed that they did them, and how they did them, you said “ok, so those particular ones weren’t done by aliens, but the rest were!” So I’m just trying to make you live up to the logical implications of that view. Which you weasel out of, but not in a way that’s convincing to anyone with half a brain. > [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I wonder if a kind mod could change this thread title to “ivan and his dancing monkeys thread”? How about “Ivan is the only one who thinks he’s clever”? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/351 "2010-06-09T14:01:24Z")
Not quite as catchy. You can start that thread if you want to though, and maybe you could establish some kind of test to convince everyone? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/352 "2010-06-09T14:07:00Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Let me try and explain this the best I can, and put an end to your nonsense. > > IF - and it still an IF at this time - MR Dolan had admitted somewhere that all he had done was copied bits from other books and cobbled them together merely to make some money, I would be far less appreciative of his work than if he had done it with noble intent, and the money was just a bonus. It’s as simple as that. Now what? You would be “less appreciative”. OK, fine. My question, and the main point of this particular chunk of nonsense we’re batting about, is this: would you still _believe_ that the stuff he put in his book was real in this hypothetical situation? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/353 "2010-06-09T14:11:10Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You would be “less appreciative”. OK, fine. My question, and the main point of this particular chunk of nonsense we’re batting about, is this: would you still _believe_ that the stuff he put in his book was real in this hypothetical situation? Why not? He is not claiming he personally faked it. A historian can have many reasons for writing a book, but that shouldn’t neccessarily affect the contents, only their interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/354 "2010-06-09T14:15:01Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I know you’re not like, actual retard-level though Damned by faint praise! If I was a sig type person, that would be a contender. ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/355 "2010-06-09T14:57:54Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I think I nailed it in post #218 - this thread was started seriously, he was seriously advocating his views, but after universal ridicule he decided to play up the OH LOL I WAS JUST TROLLING angle to try to save a little face. But I don’t doubt the general attitude he’s displayed in this thread is sincere. EXACTLY right. **Ivan** tried to stake out a claim, got slammed down by people FAR more rhetorically sophisticated than he, then tried to cop out with the _I-was-just-yankin-yer-chain_ defense. I thought this even before El Señor Carne de Res said it. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/356 "2010-06-09T15:04:29Z")
Take your blinkers off, get your tongue from **SB’s** arse, and read the OP again. The purpose of the thread was to give **xtisme** a chance to show me what he knew about ufo’s, and to mock him when he became too condescending. How this thread eventually turned out is mostly the responsibility of the respondees. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/357 "2010-06-09T15:07:42Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Why not? He is not claiming he personally faked it. > > A historian can have many reasons for writing a book, but that shouldn’t neccessarily affect the contents, only their interpretation. You wouldn’t feel the tiniest shred of doubt that maybe, just perhaps, an admitted fraudster who was trying to sell as many books as possible (since he’s only in it for the money) might have exaggerated some of his more extraordinary claims just by a trifle to sell more copies? Not at all? That’s the kind of critical thinking that launched this thread. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/358 "2010-06-09T15:22:10Z")
Where is this bit about him being “an admitted fraudster”? Just because he is doing it for monetary reasons, it doesn’t automatically negate the validity of his book’s contents, does it? Or shall I just go and dismiss every publication by James Randi, Phillip Klass and their ilk because they’ve made a career out of it? ---
**Author:** ![Cyningablod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Cyningablod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyningablod)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/359 "2010-06-09T15:38:06Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Take your blinkers off, get your tongue from **SB’s** arse, and read the OP again. But he told me he _LOVED_ me! 😃 Seriously, **Ivan** , you are one wacky kook! When I said that I was bookmarking this page for others to enjoy your poor logic and true believerism, I meant it. I’ve already shared it with a few folks. The general reaction has been a sad shaking of the head. At you. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300/360 "2010-06-09T15:39:34Z")
But they’ve all read it? In its entirety? Got lives, much? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xtisme-come-on-down-you-muppet/542300.md?page=19)