Too many cranks and idiots are given free reign to spew their BS over the forum.
I get that the mods are asked to treat these people with leniency to encourage participation in the forum, but perhaps that attitude is exactly why there is less participation than the site owner would like - because this forum is becoming a haven for crackpots and religious nutjobs, discouraging people who could actually contribute to scientitic discourse rather than rant about their pet delusions.
What Daecon says makes some sense.
I have raised this issue before; Why do we not give our alternative hypothesis/Supernatural/UFO of alien origin/general nonsense pushers a month to put their cases.
If they are unable to show within that month sufficient evidence to support their nonsensical claims, or fail to answer probing pertinent questions, then their threads be cesspooled.
It works.
On another issue, Science forums like other forums, generally have a fixed interest by members, and from observation, they mostly exist on a few posters per day.
We are a haven for nutbags in general, due to the wide ranging subject matter in this forum, and that sees us open to the nutbags in general and religious fanatics.
What daily contributions that are lost if these nutbags were curtailed somewhat [perhaps my previous suggestion] would possibly see the return of some more interested in real sciences, like the Grumpy's and Aid's and even Professor Link Bennett who was obvious turned away by the refusal to accept common cosmological data by one particular contributor.
I believe he otherwise may still be contributing much needed knowledge.
What Daecon suggests with regards to the amount of nutbags on this forum of late and their refusal to accept legitimate logical scientific explanations, may be driving those truly interested in scientific discussion away.
We have the previous banned theorist constant and his persistent nonsense, the present fanatical religious preacher now trying to make his mark, the river's and MR's claiming the supernatural and bizarre.
While a few of us may prefer to linger and refute these nuts and their claims for what they are, some also like the ones I have mentioned, are driven away by such absurd nonsensical claims.
Are we after contributors that contribute in numbers daily irrespective of the quality of those contributions, or are we more concerned with contributions that stick to mainstream accepted science?
My argument as I have presented many times, is simple....We are not going to get any alternative hypothesis with any substance, by anyone on this or any other science forum.
That's just not going to happen.
The genuine discoverers and those with new brilliant ideas, will near certainly do it via the proper methodology...publishing a scientific paper with a reputable publisher and undergoing competent peer review.
We are not going to discover an Einstein here, nor any of the four who over the time I have been here, claim to have a TOE.
What's more important? Losing genuine people interested in science?Or losing a few anti science, gullible ghost believing anal probed ratbags?
