This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. And that’s a turtle, with butterflies. I think that makes it a Turtle+.
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In the wake of recent events, we realized that we’re big enough now that Freethoughtblogs needed some more formal rules, so we scribbled some up. I’ve put the tl;dr version below the fold, but here’s the shorter version.
We’re an atheism+social justice+science network…we were Atheism+ before there was an Atheism+. Get used to it.
Big picture management is by an executive committee. It’s not democratic, because its job is to just get stuff done.
There is a confidential backchannel to discuss management issues. And gossip.
No rules to regulate individual blogs.
You want to join FtB? Don’t call us, we’ll call you. Membership is largely decided democratically, with some mandated vetting procedures and final approval in the hands of the executive committee.
You want to get kicked off FtB? Act like a raging asshat and the executive committee will oblige you.
The current executive committee consists of Ed Brayton, me, Ophelia Benson, and Greta Christina. A fifth person is in the process of being elected. Don’t pester the executive committee about signing up your blog, because they’re just the janitors and they don’t get to bypass the rest of the network to let people in; the people you want to beg are those on the admissions committee, and we’re not telling you who they are.
Just so you know, I’m planning another podcast for next Sunday. Time is a little bit in flux, but we’ll work it out in the next day or two.
The topic: “Is there value in the sceptical/skeptical movement?”. I think we’ll probably also talk about the direction the atheist movement must take in the future.
I’ve lined up a couple of people to lead the discussion: Brownian and Louis.
If you’ve been on my invite list for a podcast before, you’ll get an invite to this one, too. If you’ve never joined in before, email me you google+ name and I’ll put you on the list.
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. The puppy would like a snuggle.
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This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. Baby panda says, “Hi!”
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This is Thunderdome, the unmoderated open thread on Pharyngula. Say what you want, how you want.
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This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. It is hedgehog day.
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This is another of those social, community threads. Introduce yourself, say what your interests are, what brings you here, whatever you feel like. No arguments, no wrangly discussions, no debate, no crankiness allowed. Consider this a chance for newbies to say something where they won’t get pounced on, and for the regulars to leave a calling card.
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Fuck Thunderf00t/Phil Mason. The accounts that Zinnia and Natalie and Ashley have revealed are true: for the past month, Thunderf00t took advantage of a security exploit to hack into our private mail server; when the hole was closed, he tried multiple time to use the same exploit to get back in. He knowingly and willfully violated a confidential email list. And worse, what he has since been doing (and this is how we discovered the security flaw in the first place) is disseminating some of this email to third parties.
Yeah, this is the guy who expressed such outrage at people ‘dropping docs’ on him, but he has absolutely no qualms about breaking legally binding confidentiality of an LLC, and thinks it’s just fine to hold hostage personal information on pseudonymous posters who, under the promise of privacy, had discussed personal matters and job-related issues. He is a colossal hypocrite.
Just to make matters even worse, I woke up this morning to find some reassuring email from some friends of his, who had basically staged an intervention, trying to get him to back off from his unethical behavior. I was told that he had listened and agreed, and piously assured everyone that he thought the goals of the freethought movement were most important, and that we should all step away from the petty divisiveness and concentrate on education, science, secularism, and politics. His friends wrote to me and they sounded quite convinced that he was sincere and high minded.
And then he turned around, no doubt chortling to himself, and posted another slimy, sneering, lying article about freethoughtblogs. It’s appalling. Not only has he stabbed FtB in the back, but he has no qualms about lying to and betraying the people he still regards as friends.
Yes, we want to make Thunderf00t/Phil Mason a pariah in the atheist movement, and for good reason: he’s a dishonest scumbag. The nice thing for us is that he’s making it easy: Phil Mason is destroying his own reputation with his sleazy behavior. Who in their right mind would ever trust that guy with any confidence at all?
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. Today we’re contemplating adorable little ratlets.
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