I am as irritated/frustrated/gobsmacked as any rational person by people like pete from the seven stars link (lack of capitals a courtesy to him). I also find other posters tedious/irritating or quite simply irredeemably stupid but I do not feel the need to hurl abuse at them. In his post at 20 March 14 02.01 Steve Shaw claims not to complain even though that whole post reads like a complaint. I really want to respect Musket (I warm to what I perceive to be his views) but to this uninformed outsider his posts too often read like a hostage to fortune. I would love to read a forensic demolition of akenaton's and K of H's posts but it does not seem to have happened so far. I repeat, in the field addressed by this thread I am relatively uninformed ( However, in relation to pete the mere fact that my mind is open to rational argument makes me a great deal more informed than him).
I know that one prolific poster on this and other threads relating to science/evolution/atheism will be desperate to tell me to contribute to the debate or butt out (and anyway whatever I say he knows more and better than me. This will be implied rather than explicitly stated) who the hell am I to pontificate etc. etc. etc.
I am a learner, and an observer - and now a commentator. I used to contribute regularly to below the line posts before I tired of the abuse and pointless acrimony but having had a rest I can cope with a bit of abuse. (SrS please take note, most grown ups can handle foul mouthed -or even non foul mouthed - insults). My view, and that is all it is, is that as a courtesy to the OP contributors to a thread should address the topic of the thread and not use it to pursue their own agendas. Attack the stated views, not the person. If they are truly obnoxious demonstrate it by reference to their postings, convincingly. You live in the same world as them and the apparent desire of some posters to vomit hatred all over a thread - even if they then claim they are above such behaviour - contributes nothing to civilised debate.
I recall one of my first posts as a callow newbie receiving what I considered to be a vituperative response from JtS. In fact, he showed me not to look for courtesy on Mudcat. An irony I feel.
I have no axe to grind, I come to Mudcat to be informed, challenged, even outraged. But sadly the best stuff is now all above the line and intelligent debate below the line has given way to an awful lot of egoistic posturing and a desperate need to be seen to be right. Maybe it is time to close the BS section - float it off as a forum for hardline theorists and hobby-horse jockeys.
I trust I have said enough to mildly irritate almost everyone, now you know what it feels like.