h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Good conversation and substantive discussion on a range of topics continues, and you are welcome to join us. Please do not give donuts to the unau.

At the break point between threads, we have been considering different religions and their representation on h2g2, and whether one religous outlook does (or ought to) hold sway over content.

Of course, we may start talking about Christmas trees or obsolete light bulb forms or anything, next. That's what's nice about a salon.

Ah the old simulpost problem. Right at the change of a thread no less.
So here is what I said at the last, in reference to Loonytunes quick description on the Wicca religion:
"It actually sounds quite interesting, Looney. The 'An it Harm none, do what ye will' is a tennet worth remembering. I generally abide by this rule wherever possible, barring the occassional lapse."

*freshens Babel's tea*

I think their creed of conduct is admirable. It's an interesting choice they've made, though, to resurrect a belief system to which so many popular prejudices adhere.

Suppose there were a universe in which anti-Semitic prejudice and Diasporic events and progroms eventually succeeded over 10 or 12 centuries. God forbid any such thing should actually happen, I'm just drawing an analogy from a religion which has also suffered from extremely bad press in the course of its existence. Suppose anti-Semitism had succeeded so thoroughly that there was, for centuries, no more Judaism and nothing left but the lingering lies. And then suppose some group of people, earnestly searching for a truth, said, let us become Jews and recover those admirable Jewish practises of yore. And because there were no extant artifacts they would have to make their own yarmulkes and shawls and Talmudic scrolls, and not having synagogues any longer they would try to replicate services of worship in living rooms or on mountain tops after the manner of Abraham.

This is imaginable because we have the lessons of persecution immediately before us in respect of Judaism. We know about the slander of a religion. So we can empathise with the effort to restore an important world religion, if important isn't too weak a word. But in the world I've just described, the new Jews would face great misunderstanding. Just as so many Christians equate paganism with Satan, so Christians in this alternate world might do the same to the new Jews because all anybody remembered of Judaism was that hatchet job known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Wiccan is the resurrection of an ancient major world religion, and I think it has just that kind of PR battle on its hands yet. When Christianity "busted" the original Wiccans, Christianity went to great lengths to associate all the symbols of the old religion -- the cauldron, for example -- with Satan and devil worship.

Looney, how long ago did you return the entry about Wicca?

I think I need to look some more at this, but i can see what you mean Lil.

Time for bed, for me. Please stay on and chat -- I'll be interested to read any backlog tomorrow.

Sporky, please email me your IM contact address.

*carries Mindspring to cage, then makes sure Violet hasn't gone dry, before retiring to private apartments*

Night Lil. It would appear that all is quite here for now.
I think I shall read for a bit.
*makes self a fresh pot of tea and settles down on the couch. decides to look up Wicca on the laptop instead*

*looks up from laptop. grins*
This stuff is facinating, though most is related to researchers homepages saying "i'm into wicca,...." etc.
About 2 or 3 actually relate to Wicca directly, assuming one is the article Looney has subbed for.

[P]

Ooops... continuity violation. I posted that last bit into the wrong forum... please don't hurt me...

Colonel Sellers, who is busy cursing the Win2K upgrade at work, which has denied him the ability to install and use Netscape.

*emerges from private apartments and is greeted with melodious meeps from Mindspring*

Good morning everybody! I just heard on the news that they found the suitcase with the two missing hard drives, hidden behind a photocopier in an area they had already searched. I'm sure the fact that Affi suddenly had to leave for a week is pure coincidence.

*rustles up some spinach and broccoli for Springie* Ammmmmmpton! Go pick up some fresh donuts from Joanna's please.

OJ or tea anyone? Breakfast will be here shortly.

Colonel, would you mind reposting what you said into this forum. It's quite discussable.

Not at all... besides, you've appealed to my vanity, which is one of my more pronounced traits.

Looney: yeah, I approach the Aceforums the same way. Sometimes people tend to get overexuberant there, and I post into it when I think a voice of reason is required. I must say, I'm a bit disappointed in the way Peta wants to handle abuses for two reasons:

1) It is always better to settle matters at the lowest level of authority required. If a fellow researcher can let someone know that their behavior is questionable, fewer things will have to come to her attention. Besides, everyone slips up sometime, and I don't want to have to be scolded by her like some child every time I do it myself.

2) If things continue as they are (which is inevitable), she is going to turn herself into a full-time net nanny, and that kind of thing is going to be a souring experience for her, and for everyone she deals with... to the point where toleration disappears completely.

I do appreciate a bit of regulation, because it was a complete lack of such that ruined the Starship Titanic forums. But unless people are coming out and calling each other names or something, the PTB don't need to get involved. I can recall one researcher who stepped way over the line in one of our atheism debates, and I and a few others pointed out the error. There was a bit of ugliness, and then it settled down and everyone went back to normal. The situation was settled, and nobody at the towers had to get involved. That's how people handle real problems in real life... who here hasn't had the odd argument or two with a coworker, significant other, parent, sibling, etc.? Do you go running to Mommy or your boss every time, or do you settle it yourself?

But, as I said in the forums, it's her job, and she can do it the way she likes. Don't expect me to turn myself into a watchdog, though... I have better things to do with my time.

And now on the subject of Wicca: we've got a couple of articles on Wicca at the FFFF Library, which will in turn lead you to others. The one on Wiccan Holidays, for example, is really just an index page that'll take you to an article on each of the equinoctial and solstical (did I just make up a pair of words? ) holidays. The Wiccan Forum is just a place to discuss Wicca in general.

And for the subject of discussing other religions... that's exactly what we do at the FFFF. If you want to check out the library, it's here: http://www.h2g2.com/a254314 And as for the subdued atmosphere Ado has noted, I don't think people are saying anything different than they used to, it's just that things have been a bit quieter than usual. Not to worry, though, I'm sure something will come along to spark us all again.

Ado needs to come back here and explain himself.

What you say about settling things at the lowest levels of authority; this was part of the problem with the children on this site, and I wish I had seen it sooner. We have quite a bunch of subadults, and you never quite know when they are going to act like children and when they are going to act like adults. Our Mike brought several schoolchums onto the site, two of whom I have "met". One of them is a really nice sensible lad, not nearly as fluent as Mike but maybe a bit steadier. He's Ed Hunter (Slowhand), which latter name I gave him because it takes him so long to respond to posts. He takes the teasing in very good humour.

The other one just got himself permanently expelled for foul language. Urchin (he changed his name to h2g2=facist at the very end), on learning that one of the children had complained to the PTB about QMike's language in a snowball fight, Urchin jumped into the thread and said some really foul and ugly stuff. Urchin did the same thing in one of Greebo's party threads, and Greebo had to have the thread deleted. See, Urchin was posturing and only really thinking of himself when he did that -- it seriously hurt QMike's case.

I really don't have firm details about the complaints against QMike, but I beliee one of them was made y another subadult who is actually a rival of Mike's for the attentions of a researcher here named Jinx. That should definitely have been sorted out at a less-than-official level! I attempted to answer the matter when it came up, but the other boy was present in the thread under an alter identity with no details on the page, so I couldn't post anything there.

Yeah, I have some problems with that. First of all, the Urchin incident seems to implicate Mike through guilt-by-assosciation. Mike can't control his friends, so if Urchin is going to make an ass of himself, that should in no way reflect on Mike. I have a personal friend who has registered here (although he seems to have given this place up as a bad idea, or maybe he's just too busy lately... he lives in Georgia, so obviously we don't speak often), and he isn't exactly what you'd call a polished individual... he's a smart guy, but not noticeably eloquent, and he tends to be very direct, and sometimes offensive (of course, so am I), and he has a somewhat volatile temper. I could see him getting out of hand quite easily, and if Mike's case turns out to be typical, then I'd have the PTB watching over me just because my friend got into hot water.

I could also see myself getting into a row with the PTB over some messages we might send to each other. IRL, it has long been our custom to address each other with the most insulting of names, and to get into insult exchanges that would shock everyone. We're laughing the whole time this is going on, though, so if we're not offended, who should be? But I'm sure I'd get all kinds of nastygrams over something like that.

That's the problem with censorship... there are no hard and fast rules, because somewhere, everything is offensive to someone else. I like what the terms & conditions have to say... nothing bigoted or racist, and don't do personal attacks. Aside from that, I think, anything goes. But it looks like the policy of the T&C may be expanding, and that's what worries me.

What Mike was doing in that snowball thread reminded me a lot of those Eskimo song contests, where rivals make up insult songs about each other and the whole village gets into it.

I don't see anything wrong with that at all. It's fairly typical of what teens get up to, and again, as long as the participants aren't offended, there's no reason for anyone else to. Would I be off the mark if I guessed that the person who complained about that particular activity was an outsider looking in?

Phew, finaklly caught up with you guys. Hello, how are ya?

Are your ears on fire?

Speak of the devil (so to speak ). I left a message for you on your homepage, Mike.