I'm glad you're OK with opinions Russ. I see what you are saying here but I respectfully disagree with some of it.

It has been very difficult to achieve discussions of any substance in the creation/evolution forum because of the many distractions that are happening. These include ignoring/dodging valid questions and ad hominem attacks which the perpetrators see as perfectly valid. None of these things facilitates a useful discussion. Bex, bless her, has actually posted a detailed response to a question I asked about creationism and I was surprised at how thankful I was, because others there were point-blank refusing to engage.

I've been called stupid, racist, a liar, a conspirer, a bad teacher, a hate-filled Christian-basher, and goodness knows what else. I try to ignore it but it gets tedious.

I belong to another forum where this sort of thing is not tolerated from anyone, no matter which "side" they are on, and I feel that makes it a safer place for everyone to be, where you don't have to worry about someone using character-assassination techniques on you to push their point. Some of the rules there include:

Avoid any form of misrepresentation.

Keep discussion civil and avoid inflammatory behavior that might distract attention from the topic. Argue the position, not the person.

Things can get heated at times and if a moderator felt I needed to be reminded of these kinds of rules, I'd accept that. It's also helpful when others are called to task as well.

You might have noticed that I said I missed your input at that forum because all that was occurring there was mudslinging. It's been very difficult to try to focus things.

By the way, I think the most inappropriate comment that Tracy cited was where she was attempting to give some support to Jinx, and SoSick entered the conversation with derrogatory remarks about Tracy's uncle, the vicar. Tracy and Jinx are very poorly and such a remark in such a situation was at the very least, rather unhelpful, do you not think? It's OK for her to carry on in that vein wherever and whenever she likes, is it, even when someone is ill and simply wanting some support?