The Non-Existent Freethought Blogs Mission Statement

What binds us together, it seems to me, is that we are all proponents of reason and science and we all want a more rational and just world to live in. Each individual person has their own priorities, where they choose to focus their attention. And yes, we have disagreements on many subjects, though I have a difficult time imagining why anyone would think this is a problem. Smart, rational people of good will can and do disagree on many things. It’s a bit odd that someone would find that the least bit unusual.

And I’m a bit baffled by this idea that those disagreements result in us “drown(ing) each other out.” Hell, I don’t even know what that phrase means. When Taslima Nasrin wrote that pornography and prostitution were inherently anti-feminist and Greta Christina, Jen McCreight and Richard Carrier disagreed with her, which of them was “drowned out”? And since Loftus is suggesting that we only have people at FTB who agree with one another, it seems to me that having a set of positions that one must agree with and removing anyone who doesn’t agree with them from the network is the very definition of drowning out their voices.

Perhaps I should explain something very important about the network. I decided to leave Science Blogs and launch this site after National Geographic took it over because they said they were going to impose “standards and practices” restrictions on us. They were very concerned about their public image, which is understandable for a very old and venerable (and non-profit) institution, and they were promising to enforce some rules on what we could say and how we could say it. But under Seed for more than 5 years, we had been left almost entirely alone. Indeed, when I was first asked to join Science Blogs, I was promised complete autonomy and that is exactly what they gave me. Not once was I told I couldn’t write something or that I had to delete something I’d written. I liked it that way and I decided that I wasn’t going to accept it any other way.

At that point, I approached PZ and asked him if he would like to join me, since I figured he wasn’t too keen on such restrictions either (let’s face it, he’s even more “in your face” than I am). We got on the phone and talked about it and we immediately agreed on a couple of important things. First, that there would be no restrictions on content (after all, that was the whole purpose of the idea). Second, that we should try to find diverse voices, not just a bunch of middle-aged white guys like us.

Loftus seems particularly focused on the idea of a “bigger voice,” whatever that means.

So Greg (and JT since you liked what Greg wrote), you want a bigger voice than you would otherwise have had even though when it comes to your own specific agendas as atheists (or unique views) they usually get drowned out by others there?

And there again is this idea that our own views get “drowned out” at FTB. What on earth could that even mean? Does someone else disagreeing with us and saying so “drown out” our “voice”? I don’t see how or why it would. We disagree, we talk about it, we write in public about it and it offers a chance to air our positions and have a dialogue about it. What exactly is being “drowned out”?

As for the fixation on a “bigger voice,” I’m sure some people jumped at the chance to join FTB at least in part because, by joining a larger group that included many prominent and well-established bloggers, they would get more attention and boost their blog views. Indeed, that is one of the advantages that I have often pitched to prospective bloggers and it works quite well. Over time, everyone has seen their hits and pageviews go up. And this is a good thing.

But there are lots of possible motivations besides that one. The reaction I have gotten most often when I’ve invited new people to join the network is one of excitement to be invited to join a group with so many people they already read and admire. Many have been shocked and thrilled that we wanted them, reacting with some variation of “You like me, you really like me! Squee!” But we invited them, invariably, because we think they are smart and interesting and have something to add to the conversation (that goes for Loftus when we invited him too). He doesn’t seem to get that:

You are excluding some atheist voices and you know it. What are the criteria for atheists to be included at FtB? That could be a place to start.

Page 2 of 4 | Previous page | Next page