Even a respectful satanist would probably not cause a whole lot of upset here at LQ. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if there were one or a few self-proclaimed satanists here already. Of itself, that is not the problem.

But there are always those people eager to adopt some stance they know will be maximally offensive to others, then present it in a way that is difficult for others to avoid or ignore.

And, there are always those who think that such things can be fixed by rule-making, which is not only stupid and cannot work, but creates layer upon layer of whole different sets of problems from which you can never recover.

Maintaining an equillibrium between these two dynamics is simply not possible.

The problem is not lack of a "rule" to cover it, the problem, as always, is ordinary lack of respect for others among those who engage in the intentional giving of offence, and those who are determined to be offended.

As such, it must be resolved first by showing respect for others by not forcing things that offend them into their space, and by making known the things that actually offend yourself when they cannot be easily avoided or ignored.

Equillibrium can only exist between mutually respectful individuals.

Give it. Expect it. Demand it when you think it necessary. But it comes from within the individuals involved, not from any externally imposed rule set.

3 members found this post helpful.

I try to avoid such threads, because participating in them is a lose-lose proposition, though I must admit that I have been unable to restrain myself on a couple of occasions. I would not like to see such discussions banned, so long as they remain in the appropriate forum.

I think the LQ mods do a pretty good job of keeping the discussion in bounds--sometimes intense, but still within the bounds of civility. (Heck, the reason we have rules of civility is to make intense discussions possible. It's comparable to court procedures--the procedures are rigid because the emotions can be high.)

The main reason religion is so widespread is due to mass indoctrination of kids.

Hi Jeremy.

I take it back and was wrong to suggest that religion should be banned outright on the forums -- since there's other non-tech sections where it can exist. However I do not like to see religion being advertised in sigs in non-religion threads.

Please clarify when you said "which can be disabled and do not show to guests/search engines." You mean I can make a setting to not see a certain members sig or not see anyone sig?

But the LQ Rules says advertising is not allowed -- it never mentions the sig being an exception. Does this mean all types of advertising (even commercial) is allowed in sigs?

Regards.

1 members found this post helpful.

You can turn off signatures entirely. To my knowledge (which admittedly isn't that great) it isn't possible to turn off a single users sig so that you never see it. If it is, I'd very much like to know that too, as I have sigs turned off due to a small selection of users sigs that are quite annoying (to me).

Hi Tim.

It'd be a handy feature to be able to click on a particular members sig and ignore it permanently (but not ignore their posts). I would not like to ignore everyones sigs as most of them are fine and many are useful.

1 members found this post helpful.

The same can be said of pretty much every wide spread socal organizing principle or moral. That itself does not make it good or bad, right or wrong, or even popular or unpopular - only widely received.

In that sense all the currently acceptable social and political precepts taught by public education today (a more effective mass indoctrination method), are just seeds of the de facto "religions" of future generations.

Fear for the future.

Hi...

There are signatures that I have found distasteful, yet I have not asked that they be removed. Why does Jesus offend you so much?

Regards...

By definition, one man's religion is another man's blasphemy.

1 members found this post helpful.

Hi...

But out of them all, there can be only one Truth.

Regards...

Yes, the truth that Christianity is possibly the most hypocritical religion ever, that's responsible for more wars and death than all other religions put together, and is utterly distasteful to anyone with a sense of honor.

4 members found this post helpful.

....according to YOU. Amazingly, any other religion ALSO says that theirs is the 'truth' too....lather, rinse, repeat.

Which is why such things are best kept TO YOURSELF, unless someone asks.

And honestly, I think the only reason you post your welcomes to so many folks, and why you ignore the LQ rules about posting when you have nothing to offer on a topic (such as "I have no idea about your issue, but you may want to change your user name"), is to get your signature seen.

2 members found this post helpful.

[removed] off, you pompous buffoon.

I just realized we have no way to give "negative" reputation.... Very Facebooky...

Hi...

Your mistaken in part, the username issue I do as a service and I don't do it very often compared to the posts where I'm attempting to resolve issues. As far as the greetings go, yes, absolutely! Although it's not the only reason, I do want to spread/share the Good News about Jesus Christ and I have nothing to apologize for or to be ashamed of. I do like to greet people and make them feel welcome, too, so I get to do both.

Regards...