Posted on 02/28/2010 1:33:49 PM PST by nickcarraway
Richard Dawkins has something of a reputation for provoking the religious community, but it seems he may have underestimated the atheistic fervour of his own fanbase. Amidst a tsunami of vulgar and vitriolic comments, the 85,000-strong forum on his official website RichardDawkins.net had to be shut down this week.
The implosion appears to have been provoked by an announcement on the website that discussion threads and responses would in future be tightly moderated to help curb irrelevant discussions, frivolous gossip and abuse.
However, the announcement itself created such an explosion of ire that the planned 30-day switch-over period had to be scrapped and the discussion forum locked down immediately. Some members are complaining that their profiles have been wiped out and others have lost access to files and messages that they uploaded onto the website. Not willing to be silenced, many of the former Dawkins fans are continuing to vent their feelings on atheist forums elsewhere on the net.
Chris Wilkins, who has blogged about the row, told me yesterday that one of his acquaintances described the closing of the forum as "feeling like a friend had died".
Dawkins himself is less than sympathetic. In a personal message posted today entitled Outrage, he lets rip at the members of his website:
Imagine that you, as a greatly liked and respected person, found yourself overnight subjected to personal vilification on an unprecedented scale, from anonymous commenters on a website. Suppose [...] that somebody on website expressed a “sudden urge to ram a fistful of nails” down your throat. Also to “trip you up and kick you in the guts.” And imagine seeing your face described, again by an anonymous poster, as “a slack jawed turd in the mouth mug if ever I saw one.
(You will also have to imagine the uncensored version of this extract)
It’s a sad state of affairs when 85, much less 85,000, pay any attention to this self-obscessed man.
>snort<
Athiests are so ‘civil’.
Gee...Atheists eating their own. Who would have thought it?
Sounds like comments made by atheists about Christians every day of the week.
I actually feel sorry for this man. To bad he doesn’t know Jesus.
Those atheists that are upset that the forum died should relax, Im sure it will reincarnate and be back in another form.
I assume that cursing is inherently limited to only what can happen in this life.
In his view, we’re all just chance collections of atoms. In that respect, there isn’t any difference between us and a roach.
slack jawed turd serious business lolmemetics bump
The survey SAYS.... Dawkins is a moron.
Anyone know what was being said? I would suspect Dawkins was embarrassed by exactly what those who hold his beliefs say about those who do not. Nothing compares to the venom of atheists.
If everyone could just be atheist, there would be peace on earth because religous people (espeically Christians) cause all war, suffering and hate on earth... At least that is what the mentally superior atheists tell us. You see, China is utopia. Soviet Union was Utopia, too.
Dawkins put out the demon flag himself.
The only reason he is alive and has thrived in his life is because of the Western values and ethics that insisted upon it for him. The atheists would have killed him for his useless and suffering life.
Amen and yes He can, His mercy is greater than His judgements :)
Your absolutely correct. They have about as much compassion as a viper.
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