Dr. Shoeb Amin wrote:
I have said this before and I’ll say it again.
I am convinced that even if I ever started a debate on the TF on random topics like:
- Is Britney Spears’ claim to fame her vocal cords or some other physical asset/s? Or
- What is the better material for a deck – wood or a composite?
That these discussions will somehow end up in discussions about God or no God, about how evil religion is – or is not; about what Einstein or Bertrand Russell said or didn’t say and the participants will start quoting Quranic verses.
Just look at the latest discussion on the Foreign Affairs article about Islamic and Western values. I ask the current participants in this debate to please read the original article. And just because someone mention God or Jainism or Einstein does not mean that the whole focus of discussion should change to any one of them.
I have also said this before and will say it again. The TF is not a forum to proselytize believers into atheists or vice versa; nor is it a place to insult other people’s belief; nor is it a place to fight till death.
It is just a forum to express different opinions about a specific topic in a polite and civil manner. If your insights can change somebody else’s opinion, fine but if not, to each his own.
I suggest that the editors look at the comments and on basis of its relevance to the original topic decide whether it should be posted or not and that each participant can have only a limited number of responses to a particular topic. Beyond 3-4 responses the comments have turned personal and have gone off track anyway and have ceased to add any significant contribution to the discussion.
Shoeb