“T E L – where did post 69 say it was you?”

At the top of his post, where he said “@47 T.E.L.”.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/01/26/fsm-protect-us/comment-page-2/#comment-242395 T.E.L. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:30:30 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/?p=10387#comment-242395 Mike Wagner, Where did I ever try to tell Phil what to write about? Nowhere. That's where. There's a terrible, infantile tradition on the internet: slapping the label "Troll" onto people. It's dangerously close to classifying outsiders as <i>infidels</i>. I've seen way too many people dismissed as trolls who had real, true, authentic, honest-to-goodness points of view. I think that's the case here and now. And what's good for the Goose... If the so-called Troll doesn't need to whine, then Phil doesn't need to whine endlessly about politics and religion. But what's that? Someone says Phil can write what he wants? Well, so can the Troll. If Phil doesn't want criticism, then he oughtn't speak in public. That's the nature of a free society. Mike Wagner,

Where did I ever try to tell Phil what to write about? Nowhere. That’s where.

There’s a terrible, infantile tradition on the internet: slapping the label “Troll” onto people. It’s dangerously close to classifying outsiders as infidels. I’ve seen way too many people dismissed as trolls who had real, true, authentic, honest-to-goodness points of view. I think that’s the case here and now.

And what’s good for the Goose…

If the so-called Troll doesn’t need to whine, then Phil doesn’t need to whine endlessly about politics and religion. But what’s that? Someone says Phil can write what he wants? Well, so can the Troll. If Phil doesn’t want criticism, then he oughtn’t speak in public. That’s the nature of a free society.

When someone shows up to a blog that has a long history of debunking BS of all kinds, but simply has a name dedicated to the primary interest and topic, and then claims that it’s bad faith for the writer of said blog to pick on any other subject BUT astronomy it’s trolling.

This isn’t “Phil’s Blog About Astronomy And No Other Topics”. He can post about the moon landing in one post. The colors of the underwear he chooses to wear tomorrow in the next. And finally say that teaching intelligent design to children is destructive to wrap up the day. For someone to dictate to him that he is overstepping his bounds by discussing any topic which interests him on his own blog smacks of trollery.

If someone wants to present a dissenting argument, why not do that instead of saying “Stop posting this crap and stick to astronomy!”

If they want ONLY astronomy, they can read just the astronomy posts or read another blog that only posts astronomy stories.

Case closed and they don’t need to whine about it.

We used to have a big shipyard on the North Shore (as we call it), which among other things built Liberty Ships during the war and in its heyday covered a huge chunk of waterfront. If you came down St. Georges street towards the harbour you could see part of it right in front of you: a very tall grey sheet-metal building with a very prominent sign reading Erection Shop.

It never failed to raise a giggle from the kids in the car, and a smile from the adults, and we often wondered how long it would stay there before some bluestocking complained loud enough to get it taken down. Well, decades, as it turned out, during eras much more straitlaced than ours, since it wasn’t until somewhere in the Eighties that the sign was altered to read Assembly Shop.

Another (tiny, stupid, but ultimately dangerous) win for the self-appointed Morality Police.

Added: And why would the above sentence require moderation? What’s the doubleminus ungood word? Pink?

(Darn, TechyDad [58] beat me to it.)

According to the video, that’s the smoke pattern you get when the jet releases flares to evade enemy missiles. So, in essence, they are calling upon the FSM to protect themselves from harm! (Either that, or they’re calling on a lesbian brides to protect them.)

I see a really stoned Santa Clause wearing Elton John spectacles.

Phil you made my day with this one!

It be a good day to be a pastafarian!