Why do I feel threatened?

I think that’s a ‘get out of jail free’ answer. 

In one way you might say that as a response to every question that we discuss here imo.

Well, I don't really mind, I'm very relaxed about this. It wasn't something I felt strongly about.

How might you describe such people’s traits?

Woolly ?

Woolly ?

Ah, there you are. I’ve missed you. 

It is a tricky thing to assess. I remember feeling comfortable with some of the people at Skeptiko for a time in the early days but then it became clear that they were starting to push other points of view which were diametrically opposed to mine on those subjects. I found it disturbing that someone who professed to be so spiritual could support a kind of political agenda which, to my mind, amounted to extremism (particularly a right-wing, pro-Trump kind of rhetoric).

Those people did seem exceedingly credible until their political leanings became obvious and then, for me, their credibility went out of the window. Not only that but I was faced with some pretty abusive (therefore threatening) responses when I openly disagreed with them. So the term "proponent" is only applicable in context, as is "Skeptic" which, only too often proves to mean "sceptical of those things I already don't believe in". Both Skeptiko and this forum have a user-base who are fairly solid in their convictions.

That's interesting, Dave. Politics is something that interested me (not now so much), but I never knew Alex was on the right of the field. Maybe I wasn't paying attention anyway. I respect him for a lot of what he achieved and his willingness to challenge sceptics face to face. Somebody needed to, although I realise there's some people on here that won't like statements like that, but some of these so called sceptics (not all of course) are/were pieces of work. 

As regards the present, that forum is a strange place. On the rare occasions that I look in to get some old information, the threads are just so bizarre, I don't read them anymore.

Ah, there you are. I’ve missed you. 

I've been sitting in Glen Campbell's train yard, sipping soup from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron, Stan. Thought it was time to get back to my role as "the defender of science".

I've been sitting in Glen Campbell's train yard, sipping soup from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron, Stan. Thought it was time to get back to my role as "the defender of science".

And not a minute too soon. Science is battling without you! 

And not a minute too soon. Science is battling without you! 

Also been over on Ben's blog repeating myself (nothing else to do). We're all waiting for something to get our teeth into from Parnia but all we've got is chicken feed.

We're all waiting for something to get our teeth into from Parnia but all we've got is chicken feed.

Is Parnia about due to put info out? I like him a lot, as I think he’s about as scientific as one can get. He appears to deal in data alone.

Is Parnia about due to put info out? I like him a lot, as I think he’s about as scientific as one can get. He appears to deal in data alone.

It was due out in 2020, Stan but because of low numbers of recruitment into the study and then the catastrophic pandemic (which must have shut his study down) it's been delayed. Now it's anyone's guess, 2023 ? More time for Paul and Malf, I would have thought.

That's interesting, Dave. Politics is something that interested me (not now so much), but I never knew Alex was on the right of the field. Maybe I wasn't paying attention anyway. I respect him for a lot of what he achieved and his willingness to challenge sceptics face to face. Somebody needed to, although I realise there's some people on here that won't like statements like that, but some of these so called sceptics (not all of course) are/were pieces of work. 

As regards the present, that forum is a strange place. On the rare occasions that I look in to get some old information, the threads are just so bizarre, I don't read them anymore.

I'm not sure which way Alex leans politically and I wasn't really referring to him when I mentioned Trump-like rhetoric. That was more to do with others who were, for example, NRA supporters or Climate Change deniers. Even then, the real reason I left Skeptiko was not politically motivated but because of the developing obsession with Conspiracy Theories. Show me good evidence for a CT and I'll take it seriously enough to have a look myself. Just repeating something you saw on Facebook is not good evidence and far too many CTs spread that way - quite often motivated by unsavoury obsessions such as anti-Semitism or racial bigotry. 

The problem with mixing those subjects in with the general conversation on a forum like Skeptiko or this one is that pretty soon it becomes easy to dismiss all the discussions as fringe or whacky. And that is indeed what usually happens - we've all seen how discussion of the paranormal is dismissed in that manner. Therefore I wanted to get away from that hodgepodge that developed at Skeptiko - and was largely driven by Alex himself along with a couple of his moderators - so I joined the other founders and this forum was born. Since then I have resisted attempts to include CTs as a prominent part of our discourse but I am a lone voice and the majority will determine the direction. If it starts to look like another Skeptiko, I will not hang around.

Also, I would like to add to what my old pal, David Haith, said above about our Meetup Group in Bournemouth before I left for NZ. Oddly that group was starting to mimic the digression that happened at Skeptiko. The membership started to shift so that original members were gradually being replaced by others who saw an opportunity to push CTs. The fact that some of the existing members were also that way inclined made it easier and I started to become disillusioned with the way the discussions were going. One particular new member clearly thought that the group was one he could identify with and he started sending me emails and Facebook messages full of neo-nazi and holocaust denial material. I was horrified!