Times Online- Richard Dawkins unleashes tirade against fans

[Babel]

I actually like it here.

[Svartalf]

Well, it has the advantage of feeling alive already, whereas ratioalskeptic still has to be kick started

[Calilasseia]

Seems as if more comments on The Times have been posted by ignorant twonks. Moochie being the latest.

Response:

In response to Moochie above, I simply have this to say:

As one of the people responsible for providing 2 million words of substantive content, including numerous expositions of peer reviewed scientific papers, constructed in order to make those papers accessible to those without specialist knowledge, I think you might be well advised to check your sources, before posting manifestly ignorant comments such as your above eructation.

Indeed, one of the reasons that the membership is so irate is because, as I stated in my earlier comment, valuable material of this sort was amongst the material trashed by Timonen, despite the destruction of said material being in flagrant violation of his boss' publicly stated mission. For example, one of the contributors whose work was destroyed directed me to research in the journal Nature on speciation in Heliconius butterflies, and the empirical verification of relevant hypotheses about that speciation event. His exposition of a relevant scientific paper was part of the material lost during Timonen's purge. Now if you want to characterise this material as "dunes of dross", feel free to do so, but you'll be using a definition of "dross" that I haven't seen in any dictionary.

Nice to see the press checking its facts with its usual customary rigour, isn't it? But then, when Rupert Murdoch bought The Times, the general sentiment expressed was "there goes the neighbourhood".

[kiki5711]

JackRawlinson: But he also seems like a socially maladjusted geekboy who has become just a little too impressed with his own association with the Prof, and has therefore started to believe that he can piss on 85,000 scummy nobodies like us and get no fallout. Timonen needs the major reality check here. RD needs to take a second look at both his unquestioning trust of Timonen and his (let's be fair) very occasional tendency to jump to conclusions.

I think it's pretty obvious RD wrote it. Sadly it bears all the hallmarks of one of his "I'm annoyed, so I'll toss off a haughty, insufficiently-considered rant" posts.

My thoughts exactly JR!

One the other hand I wonder how much he gets paid? He seems to spend more time with Richard than Richard spends with his wife. I wonder what she does anyway. I know it's just gossip but has no one even thought about that?

[Matthew Shute]

I notice the more (in my opinion) intelligent and valuable contributors to rd.net are remaining tight lipped or supporting richard in all of this.

If you didn't regard, per example, Calilasseia as one of the "more intelligent and valuable contributors" to the forum, this speaks volumes about what a [sarcasm]clear-thinker[/sarcasm] you are.

[The Curious Squid]

JackRawlinson: But he also seems like a socially maladjusted geekboy who has become just a little too impressed with his own association with the Prof, and has therefore started to believe that he can piss on 85,000 scummy nobodies like us and get no fallout. Timonen needs the major reality check here. RD needs to take a second look at both his unquestioning trust of Timonen and his (let's be fair) very occasional tendency to jump to conclusions.

I think it's pretty obvious RD wrote it. Sadly it bears all the hallmarks of one of his "I'm annoyed, so I'll toss off a haughty, insufficiently-considered rant" posts.

My thoughts exactly JR!

One the other hand I wonder how much he gets paid? He seems to spend more time with Richard than Richard spends with his wife. I wonder what she does anyway. I know it's just gossip but has no one even thought about that?

She fancies herself as somewhat of an artist if the thread I just read in Talk Rat

[The Curious Squid]

is anything to go by.

[Tigger]

I saw what you did there.

[Blondie]

He goes on to .. [conclude] that "there is something rotten in internet culture"

There's something rotten in the state of Dawkins. Methinks 'tis like a weasel.

Hah. Suck on that Richard.

[Blondie]

JackRawlinson: But he also seems like a socially maladjusted geekboy who has become just a little too impressed with his own association with the Prof, and has therefore started to believe that he can piss on 85,000 scummy nobodies like us and get no fallout. Timonen needs the major reality check here. RD needs to take a second look at both his unquestioning trust of Timonen and his (let's be fair) very occasional tendency to jump to conclusions.

I think it's pretty obvious RD wrote it. Sadly it bears all the hallmarks of one of his "I'm annoyed, so I'll toss off a haughty, insufficiently-considered rant" posts.

My thoughts exactly JR!

One the other hand I wonder how much he gets paid? He seems to spend more time with Richard than Richard spends with his wife. I wonder what she does anyway. I know it's just gossip but has no one even thought about that?

She used to be an actress.. she was in the BBC's Hamlet.. am I the only one who's seen that? She played Ophelia to Derek Jacobi's (he was brilliant) Hamlet.

[Bella Fortuna]

I just watched Lalla in Dr. Who last night.

[Thinking Aloud]

JackRawlinson: But he also seems like a socially maladjusted geekboy who has become just a little too impressed with his own association with the Prof, and has therefore started to believe that he can piss on 85,000 scummy nobodies like us and get no fallout. Timonen needs the major reality check here. RD needs to take a second look at both his unquestioning trust of Timonen and his (let's be fair) very occasional tendency to jump to conclusions.

I think it's pretty obvious RD wrote it. Sadly it bears all the hallmarks of one of his "I'm annoyed, so I'll toss off a haughty, insufficiently-considered rant" posts.

My thoughts exactly JR!

One the other hand I wonder how much he gets paid? He seems to spend more time with Richard than Richard spends with his wife. I wonder what she does anyway. I know it's just gossip but has no one even thought about that?

She used to be an actress.. she was in the BBC's Hamlet.. am I the only one who's seen that? She played Ophelia to Derek Jacobi's (he was brilliant) Hamlet.

She's the one on the left.

[maiforpeace]

JackRawlinson: But he also seems like a socially maladjusted geekboy who has become just a little too impressed with his own association with the Prof, and has therefore started to believe that he can piss on 85,000 scummy nobodies like us and get no fallout. Timonen needs the major reality check here. RD needs to take a second look at both his unquestioning trust of Timonen and his (let's be fair) very occasional tendency to jump to conclusions.

I think it's pretty obvious RD wrote it. Sadly it bears all the hallmarks of one of his "I'm annoyed, so I'll toss off a haughty, insufficiently-considered rant" posts.

My thoughts exactly JR!

One the other hand I wonder how much he gets paid? He seems to spend more time with Richard than Richard spends with his wife. I wonder what she does anyway. I know it's just gossip but has no one even thought about that?

She used to be an actress.. she was in the BBC's Hamlet.. am I the only one who's seen that? She played Ophelia to Derek Jacobi's (he was brilliant) Hamlet.

She's the one on the left.

[Blondie]

I don't think we get that show in Canada.. at least I don't with my awesome rabbit ears TV set :S

[Bella Fortuna]

I don't think we get that show in Canada.. at least I don't with my awesome rabbit ears TV set :S

Nor do we... the magic of DVDs is indeed considerable...