First reaction by Richard Dawkins.

[Mr.Samsa]

That's precisely it Harmless Eccentric - if the deleted thread was so terrible and caused the forum to be prematurely shut down (as Josh stated) then surely Richard should have used posts from that thread to demonstrate how we are petulant children.

In reality, the members of that thread were mostly confused, upset, and a little angry at us mods initially. Josh took umbrage when some mods pointed out that we were in the dark with regards to the decision to delete the forum and change the structure entirely, and that mod was deleted along with the thread where this was pointed out.

However, by deleting the entire thread and deleting his tracks, he can make up whatever excuse he likes. I imagine he won't be too happy to learn the thread still exists in a saved format on the internet though to demonstrate the claim he made of members becoming overly angry was clearly a lie.

[natselrox]

However, by deleting the entire thread and deleting his tracks, he can make up whatever excuse he likes. I imagine he won't be too happy to learn the thread still exists in a saved format on the internet though to demonstrate the claim he made of members becoming overly angry was clearly a lie.

And that's why he is a coward.

[Robert_S]

Well, it seems fairly obvious why the forum was locked down. Because the shitstorm that landed here would have been held over there, perhaps without a full moderation team or a mod team that weren't on side.

Interestingly, if it had been over there Richard would not have had those quotes, because anything against a member would have been deleted. It would have been a tough job to manage that anger and censorship though, I can see why it was easier just to cut everyone off.

Not necessarily. If the Mod team were let in on the decision process, then many of us could have adjusted and, after venting our dissatisfaction, finished up our threads and started looking forward to whatever it is that's on its way.

I mean, a little respect goes a long way.

I mean the events that did happen, not the event that could have happened. There were multiple ways this could have been tackled to not end on such bad terms. As it was, I can see why the forum closed.

Yeah, there was a point of no return and I was blissfully unaware of it being crossed... and then a SMACK right in the face. Now I keep getting stuck in if-only-land. Well, I like it here, maybe later I'll find some place to chew on an occasional fundie, but it just won't be the same.

[Coito ergo sum]

--- deleted to rewrite -

[Ilovelucy]

However, by deleting the entire thread and deleting his tracks, he can make up whatever excuse he likes. I imagine he won't be too happy to learn the thread still exists in a saved format on the internet though to demonstrate the claim he made of members becoming overly angry was clearly a lie.

And that's why he is a coward.

Call him a coward for unfriending people, but don't assume that all the deletions were his work, as I've pointed out elsewhere, it looks like the more boisterous elements of the bad reaction were down to Andrew Chalkey.

[Lozzer]

Josh Timomen is a lion, and I want that big cat in my pants.

I hope Richard reads this, least then he'd understand that not all atheists are raging lunatics.

[Spearthrower]

I'm a "celebrity" now? Heh. I'm a guy with a blog, with absolutely zero influence over Josh, and no obligations in return.

Although I am a little miffed. I've seen the traffic numbers on RD.net from Google Analytics, and it gets about 1/2 to 2/3 of the traffic of Pharyngula (and sorry to inform you of the diminution of your status further still, but the forums only got about 1/4 of the traffic of the whole site). And you guys keep talking about how RD.net is the biggest.

And yeah, I know how important these kinds of sites can be to people -- they often represent the only outlet for atheists in a sea of superstitious fools to reach out and express themselves. When I say that they are not that important, I mean that the particular instantiation of a mode of communication, whether it's RD.net or Rationalia or Pharyngula or RaptureReady, isn't the big deal. The fact that you're communicating is what matters. And that hasn't changed.

Pzmeyers

Can you make a statement on your opinion of the imminent deletion of 10 GB of posts collected over years on wide and diverse topics?

It seems both you and Richard have overlooked this. It may well be all his content legally, but that does not mean it is morally acceptable simply to burn it.

He's already stated that he's emailed Judas and Richard telling them he thinks they should keep it available.

Thanks muchly for passing that on 95Theses... I only had a few minutes this morning before work to see updates, and just saw PZmyers post with no mention of the content.

Thanks to PZmyers too for helping to protect that knowledge base. And apologies for spelling your name wrong earlier.... it was pre-coffee, 'tis my only excuse!

[Mr.Samsa]

However, by deleting the entire thread and deleting his tracks, he can make up whatever excuse he likes. I imagine he won't be too happy to learn the thread still exists in a saved format on the internet though to demonstrate the claim he made of members becoming overly angry was clearly a lie.

And that's why he is a coward.

Call him a coward for unfriending people, but don't assume that all the deletions were his work, as I've pointed out elsewhere, it looks like the more boisterous elements of the bad reaction were down to Andrew Chalkey.

Yes that's true. I've just kind of morphed them into one person for now because I have no way of telling who did what. But since I was under the impression that Chalky was working for Josh, I sort of hold Josh accountable for his actions.

[klr]

Josh Timomen is a lion, and I want that big cat in my pants.

I hope Richard reads this, least then he'd understand that not all atheists are raging lunatics.

Or have his suspicions confirmed ...

[Crocodile Gandhi]

I don't really see how Dawkins' post is any different to the apologists who say that 'The New Atheists' are just screaming insults without actually looking at what is really being said, why it is being said, and what they did to cause it to be said.

[klr]

I don't really see how Dawkins' post is any different to the apologists who say that 'The New Atheists' are just screaming insults without actually looking at what is really being said, why it is being said, and what they did to cause it to be said.

It's no different IMHO. Even assuming he's been led by the nose in saying what he did, you'd think he'd have taken the time out to do some independent research before going out on a limb like that. It always helps to have independent verification/a second opinion.

[ozewiezeloose]

/snip

Hey, you forgot about Androol!

[debunk]

listen to yourself. How do you know that wget (the most common method of mirroring a site) didn't pick up on a form posted link to an astley video? is it because it "fits" with your irrational take on events?

Because all 3 instances of wget I was running at the time, and HTTrack instances other people were running, all got a 302 redir to yougotrickrolled.com at the exact same time while indexing different sections of the forum maybe?

[Harmless Eccentric]

The sad thing is, it seemed like they had good plans.

The plan to discuss the transition with the mods, keeping them informed of what decisions were being made and what their part would be likely to be? That was a good plan. They should have done that. It would have prevented the startled mods from having to unexpectedly defend themselves from accusations from a confused membership.

The plan to keep the forum active for a month, to give people a chance to adjust to the coming change and to archive the most valuable content? That was a good plan, too. They should have done that. It would have prevented angry rdnet members from spreading all over the internet to publicize their anger to a broader audience.

I'm not sure how the same brains that developed plans that would have worked reasonably well then decided to go with the plan that keeps everyone in the dark while shutting off all their means of communication.

[Mr.Samsa]

I don't really see how Dawkins' post is any different to the apologists who say that 'The New Atheists' are just screaming insults without actually looking at what is really being said, why it is being said, and what they did to cause it to be said.

Richard's attempt at an explanation is a joke. The sheer ignorance of the situation leaves me wondering whether he even knew anything was going down, as his post seems to be a retelling of Josh's side of the story. And although I don't want to insult P.Z.Myers, because I appreciate the fact that he has at least attempted to understand the situation, his blog post was no better.

For some reason, people who weren't there when it happened seem to think that people became angry when Josh announced the forum was going to change structure. Obviously, anyone who'd get angry over that is a little loopy - upset and critical, is understandable, but not angry.

Anyway, the level of ignorance would be laughable if it wasn't so depressing. They can't be blamed I guess, Josh and Chalky did a good job of deleting most of the events there so from the outside it would look like people became angry over a change of website design. Fucking depressing.

/snip

Hey, you forgot about Androol!

I treat the two as one. They were both pretty arrogant and refused to listen to advice.