User talk:Bob M

This is where I keep some stuff and play about.

'''Hello and welcome to my talk page. Not being a smart chap I'll reply on this page to any comments on this page.--Bob_M (talk) 01:59, 28 May 2007 (CDT)'''

Ryulong and Exiled Encyclopedist
Go here. 16:01, 28 December 2014 (UTC)

Religion vs Evolution
Feel free to delete this message once you get it. I just wanted to let you know that I added a section on the talk page for the evolution article, to address the "disclaimer" that I noticed you tried to improve and then decided to just get rid of. Do we need it? I don;t know.... probably not, but there may be some value to be found in the overall concept. Here's a link straight to the talk page... Talk:Evolution ...just to make it easier. :) DonaldKronos (talk) 22:47, 2 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that, good of you to let me know. (Incidentally, you may not be aware but deleting talk material is not permitted on this wiki.)--Bob"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." 07:39, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

Nomination to Board of trustees
It's occured. 05:37, 23 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Reminder: You only have until 26 January to accept your nomination. 05:37, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

email
Cheers, Bob. Not sure I want it, actually. Scream!! (talk) 17:40, 7 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Then you are like the speaker in the house of commons. :-)--Bob"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." 18:11, 7 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Now that's just plain nasty! :-) Scream!! (talk) 18:20, 7 February 2015 (UTC)
 * ¨Ho ho". No problems. [[Image:Russian1.gif]]--Bob"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." 18:42, 7 February 2015 (UTC)

Obvious error is obvious (post facto...) - The James Ossuary thing
Hi Bob,

Sorry about not using the talk page, but I actually thought the BoN's reference to the Open Journal article on the James Ossuary was posted on the talk page - hence the nature of my response. I've copy/pasted both the BoN's post and my response to it at the talk page for future reference (if I'm allowed a wee bit of bitching, undoing rather than moving it seemed a bit harsh/lazy, but of course not out of bounds). ScepticWombat (talk) 20:03, 17 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Errrr - What? When? Who? .... Checks history.... Thinks ... When the hell did I do this? Response - after quite a few drinks. Conclusion - It would have been much better to cut and paste to the talk page. Further conclusion - I must have strong words with my less sober editing personality and suggest that he should be a bit less of a jerk. Thanks for bringing it up. :-) --Bob"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." 19:32, 19 April 2015 (UTC)
 * No worries - and cheers! ;-) ScepticWombat (talk) 20:27, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

For some reason...
My signature isn't working properly. It's supposed to transclude my signature template but it either substitutes or just displays plain text. Some help please? Llama Pastor 31  User talk:LlamaPastor31 23:27, 8 June 2015 (UTC)
 * worked here Herr FüzzyCätPötätö (talk/stalk) 23:32, 8 June 2015 (UTC)
 * No it didn't, that's another template. Not my signature template. Llama Pastor 31  User talk:LlamaPastor31 23:44, 8 June 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid that I have no idea. You might try the Saloon Bar or  here. Good luck.--Bob"I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." 05:36, 10 June 2015 (UTC)

Nomination for RationalMedia board election
18:55, 26 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks for thinking of me but - I'm really not around here that much now and I also don't like a lot of what happens these days or the direction the site seems to be taking. I guess I should be be active and, if I want something different, fight for that. But, frankly, I lack the energy. :-( Thanks again though.--Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 10:42, 27 June 2016 (UTC)
 * NP. If I might ask, why do you dislike the site direction? 10:46, 27 June 2016 (UTC)
 * I mean, we could just step up the Percy if that's what you need to regain your vigor? :3 All the best buddy, Reverend Black Percy (talk) 11:55, 27 June 2016 (UTC)
 * To be honest, I would prefer to keep my own council on that as I have no great desire to get involved in a debate about it. Sorry.--Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 06:08, 28 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Honestly, that is quite disappointing since Old Guard™ tends to be respected but I understand your refusal.--Owlman (talk) (mail) 06:36, 28 June 2016 (UTC) 06:36, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

Jeez its been ahwile
Remember that summer holiday we all took on your education wiki when RW went down in '08/09? Ah memories. Acei9 21:02, 3 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Hi Ace. Yes, time passes. But, like you, I'm not around here very much these days. I still open the door a few times a month though to see what is going on.--Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 15:33, 4 August 2016 (UTC)

I'd hate to bother you here, but I have no other way (TEFLpedia is broken)
See this topic here. I was going to "e-mail this user" over there, but apparently there's no button to do so on your talkpage (and your userpage is broken). Again, sorry to bother you here, but I had no other ideas. Blurb (talk) 01:20, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
 * . Ok. thanks.--Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:08, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
 * So the problem is that the site is 303 for you when you try to edit?--Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:19, 13 September 2016 (UTC)
 * It particularly seems to affect userpages. If, for example, you click on your own (Bob M) user page, you will see a 403 error. Blurb (talk) 08:53, 13 September 2016 (UTC)

Amusing editor eh?
You recently mentioned on my page that you consider me amusing... If so, please, join me on my newest essay talk page... http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Essay_talk:Asking_for_it  --Kingdamian1 (talk) 23:56, 19 June 2017 (UTC)
 * It's not your funniest work.--Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 12:55, 20 June 2017 (UTC)

Rollback edit
I'm sorry for that rollback, I like clicking on things and I accidentally hit the "rollback" button and I attempted to stop the page from loading but it was too late. 21:55, 30 December 2017 (UTC)
 * It's OK. Happy New Year. :-) --Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:19, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

You're still around
It is good to see you still stop by on occasion. I barely recognise a username around here anymore. 14:00, 18 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi. Yes, there are very few of us from the old days. Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 19:58, 18 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Well I am hoping to do a little lurking here again. I see TEFLpedia is still keeping on, that brings back memories. 14:35, 19 August 2018 (UTC)

I've Withdrawn My Candidacy
I also posted a request for users who would have voted for me in a first or second slot to vote for you or LeftyGreenMario instead. Best of luck, RoninMacbeth (talk) 18:02, 26 August 2018 (UTC)
 * OK. Thanks for keeping me posted.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 14:03, 27 August 2018 (UTC)

Thoughts in New Atheism and Secularism
Hi, so this may seem out of the blue or really upfront, and you do not have to answer if you do not want to. I have seen you a lot on the talk pages, so I was wondering what you thought on certain things. Basically I am just trying to get a feel for this website. The articles on the New Atheists have A LOT of criticisms in it. Especially for people like Sam Harris. What is the general view among authors and editors. I know from your user page that you are against all religions. Another controversial question I see is the role of Islam in terrorism. Do you think that Islam as a religion has (at the very least partial) responsibility for terrorism along with many political factors? Would you know the general attitude of of this question on this site?

Again, I get that this is very upfront so you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. SupremeBeing (talk) 08:51, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi. Welcome to the wiki! I can only speak for myself. I cannot speak for the site and I certainly cannot speak for all atheists. If you want to know what "the site" thinks about something you would be better off at the saloon Bar.
 * To be more specific though. While I have an interest in atheism in general I have never (I think) edited the Sam Harris page and I have never read any of his books. So I'm probably not the best person to ask about him. If you want the site view on atheism in general then you would be better off reading our article.
 * I (currently) tend to think that atheism is a bit overrated. It's intellectually no more complicated than not believing in homeopathy, witchcraft or ear candling. We have no specific word for not believing in these things - yet not believing in the various gods which humanity has created over the centuries needs a special word. I understand the historically reasons why - but logically it just seems a bit weird to give a special status to this particular non-belief.
 * I don't know if Islam per se is necessarily more likely to cause people to carry out violent acts than Christianity is. Historically people with a fundamentalist understanding of Christianity had no problem with killing different kinds of Christians, Muslims, witches or whatever.
 * However, in the present day, it seems that the people most likely to be involved in carrying out terrorist actions in the name of religion are muslim groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. (The only Christian one that comes to mind is the Lord's Resistance Army.)
 * The question then becomes: are these groups terrorists because the Muslim (or Christian) religion teaches this; or do they simply use the religion as a excuse for their activities?
 * The answer will probably be different for each individual. For some it may be a simple political vehicule - for others they will be carrying out the will of their god.
 * But if you really want to know the opinion of "the wiki" then you would be better off reading the articles I have linked to (which will really be the collective expression of the wiki) and then asking on the talk page or the Saloon Bar.
 * I hope that helps. Could you tell me why you ask?Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 13:41, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much for the quick response. I was asking because some articles express views in defense of New Atheism. Like the article on New Atheism says the term is a conservative snarl word, yet at the same time, the page on Sam Harris is very critical of him. So it’s hard for me to say what the views of this page are.
 * As for Islam being a cause, I ask because this page doesn’t seem to be so clear on their views in this, so I felt like I needed to ask someone directly. I hope that makes sense. SupremeBeing (talk) 20:10, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
 * Actually I see that I didn't really respond to your New Atheism question. I have no problem with it it at all. Its proponents express their views clearly, directly and have no problems talking about the obvious shortcomings of religion. I suspect that Sam Harris himself may be less popular with some people than the concept of New Atheism. If you feel there are factual errors on the Sam Harris page you might want to take them up on the article talk page.  (But as you are new, you might want to start on something uncontroversial on some other article rather than getting straight into a battle!)Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:35, 31 August 2018 (UTC)

You won the Board
Congratulations to you and the other two new members, David Gerard and LeftyGreenMario. —Kazitor 21:38, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Hooray! Bob M! I don't know who you are, but I'll be looking forward to having some fun discussions about the money and stuff. 21:41, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Welcome back to the Board! I hope that my UTC+8 time zone won't mean that our meetings will require you to get up too early or go to bed too late.Spud (talk) 01:34, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Excellent. And, sorry - I've been off the grid for a while. Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 20:38, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Contacting you
Hi, I'd like to add you to the RationalMedia Foundation Board Google Group. Could you provide a personal email? (My email link is on my userpage.) Thanks! 18:50, 13 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi Bob, pinging you again with the same request. 05:18, 15 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Sorry. I've replied via the RW email function.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 20:37, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Hoppity hop
17:31, 8 July 2019 (UTC)

Good to see you
Another old face, been awhile. Acei9 19:09, 23 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Hi Ace. Thanks. I had to take a bit of a break for a while. Not so many old names about now.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:37, 24 October 2019 (UTC)

"Allah" vs "God"
You wrote that the debate between whether the god character in the bible and the god character in the Quran is a matter for believers. I'm curious though, whether it would be a matter for linguists, anthropologists, historians and sociologists in your view. If not, why not? Asking out of personal curiosity. 13:25, 16 January 2020 (UTC)
 * Whether the "god character in the Bible and the god character in the Quran" are what, exactly? — Oxyaena Harass  16:42, 16 January 2020 (UTC)
 * The same character. 16:43, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure it would be a matter for some kind of scientific debate. Given that neither entity actually exists (as far as can be demonstrated) how would one go about demonstrating that one was the "the same" as another or not? One could certainly find the historical origins of the beliefs - but that's not the same question.

A question that could be investigated would be whether (and to what extent) believers in either cult believed that the mythical entities were the same entity. But in any event, at the end of any proposed linguistic, anthropological, historical and sociological investigation, the "sameness" of the gods would still be a question for - in this case - the Christians and the Muslims.

Could the investigators really tell the believers that they needed to believe in a somewhat different god?Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 17:47, 16 January 2020 (UTC)

Saloon Bar
Why did you revert my topic in the saloon bar St.~Emi (talk) 13:43, 31 March 2020 (UTC)St.~Emi
 * Don't think I did. Looking at it, you reverted it yourself to the last version - which happened to be an edit by me. :-)Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 14:04, 31 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Ah shit... didn't evemn realize I did that I have gotta get better at the editing schematics of a wiki, thanks. St.~Emi (talk) 14:08, 31 March 2020 (UTC)St.~Emi
 * It's OK. I`ve made far bigger mistakes.  Have fun editing! :-) Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 14:25, 31 March 2020 (UTC)

Grdjniflop
Thanks Bob. Off to bed; nighty night!Scream!! (talk) 21:46, 22 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Cheers mate.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 16:02, 23 April 2020 (UTC)

email
. AceModerator 12:02, 13 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Sorry. Email not up to date. Want to try again?Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 16:01, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

Nomination
—cosmikdebris talk stalk 14:48, 6 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks. But I have intermittent health issues which make this impossible.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 12:29, 7 July 2020 (UTC)

May I have links from Wikiislam?
Bob, if you have time, can you please go to the article called "Scientific Mistakes in the Quran" and give me the references from where their brought? Also, can you give me a link where I can have debate on specific chat forums which they mentioned? And can you please give the me references to their article called Islamic Golden Age and the references from where they brought it? Because I want to verify them and I cannot go there as I find it hateful and it makes me angry when I get into that fake Islamic wiki which doesn't represent us at all. And can you please present me their arguments brought against Islam on these articles I mentioned? So I can respond back to their criticism. Because on Islam Wikipedia I want to refute Wikipedia of Islam I would be extremely grateful if you could do this for me. I would even give you millions of euros as a form of thanx. Also can you give me the references from their article called misinterpretated peaceful verses and their arguments?

I mean, what I want is as following: arguments and references.

Thank you


 * Hi.
 * Firstly - This is the second time I have told you this, and I been obliged to sign various of your comments for you.
 * Secondly, I am certainly not going to do all that work for you. I would suggest that you use use the well-known search engine called Google. If you have a concern with a particular article of ours then you should raise that concern on the article talk page.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 17:58, 19 October 2020 (UTC)

Mod nomination
I nominated you for moderator. Bongolian (talk) 20:44, 2 November 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks, but it would be best if I declined.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:58, 3 November 2020 (UTC)

What
What did you mean with Marco sincerio wiki?--HedvigsenSkreonk here 10:00, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

This was pretty racist
I'm not agreeing with Ken, and I apologize in advance for sounding like a concern troll, but I am of Asian heritage and take offense to this statement I interpret as every country outside of secular white people land (North America and Western Europe) being uncivilized. This being a wiki that stands for social justice, I think you should retract that statement. 71.208.x.x (talk) 02:47, 19 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Why do you think it's racist?Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 05:47, 19 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I guess you mean this: "In another twenty years Christianity in the US will join the rest of the civilized world." When do I mention race? When do I mention Asia?  It's a criticism of the state of fundamentalist Christianity in the US.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 05:50, 19 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I hate to be blunt, but the reason you don't understand is because you are a spoiled European living in England who is probably white. There are many nations outside of secular white people land that are more religious than the United States, some of them Christian (my home country is predominantly Catholic and my father is Catholic, for example), some of them Muslim, some of them other religions. Catholicism and Islam are still very prevalent throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The statement that "the US will join the rest of the civilized world" insinuates all of these countries where secularism is not the majority are uncivilized, even if unintentionally. I'm not trying to jump down your throat, I just hope this bit of constructive criticism opens your eyes to how many people a statement like that can offend (including people who are secular but hail from places that are not secular). 71.208.x.x (talk) 18:03, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * still havent explained where the racism is. you forgot the constructive part of your dog shit criticism. AMassiveGay (talk) 18:19, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Claiming racism while simultaneously bleating about "spoiled white Europeans", great. Bob's phrasing probably could be better, but this isn't a great way to make your case, BoNUser. PanGalacticGargleBlaster (talk) 18:22, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * nothing wrong with bob's phrasing. its clear what was meant. AMassiveGay (talk) 18:24, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * pretty sure bob doesnt live in the uk either. AMassiveGay (talk) 18:29, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm nominating this for the inaugural RW GORB* Award for Most Spurious Accusation of Wrongthink. *(Good Ol' Racist Bob) I may yet devise additional categories for the GORBies, depending on how silly this thread gets. Helena Bonham Carter (talk) 18:49, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

First off I don't even believe that that "human races" exist. Religions and cultures do and some of them can be criticized. I see in the first dictionary I check that "accomplished, couth, cultivated, cultured, genteel, polished, refined" are synonyms for "civilized". I'm pretty sure that nobody would be rushing to use these words to describe the kind of fundamentalist Christianity espoused by Ken and his ilk.

It also seems likely, given the trends in the Gallup poll we were talking about, that there was some hope of things improving, perhaps within 20 years. If our IP user wants to be offend by some imagined slur to his Asian heritage - well good luck to him. But it exists in his head and not in my words.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 19:34, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * For the record, I'm of Chinese/Taiwanese descent. I don't know what bonbon is talking about. Fundamentalism is backward and should play civilization catch up to everyone else that isn't a fundamentalist.  19:41, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Maybe bonbon is one of those hard green folks who think the concept of civilisation itself is racist and Eurocentric and [insert other mean buzzword here]? Gangster Computer God (talk) 20:40, 20 April 2021 (UTC)
 * As a black man, I do not find this statement racist. Imagine for a moment, if you will, the sheer absurdity of taking a single person's opinion on what is or is not racist and treating it as gospel. Racism is not merely an opinion, it is a set of social norms, stereotypes, and shared shorthand. Also Bob wasn't being racist, because in the context of the conversation it's pretty clear who he was referring to (American fundies). 20:51, 20 April 2021 (UTC)

Nomination
06:05, 7 July 2021 (UTC)
 * And again. 20:25, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

You deserved it
14:28, 3 December 2021 (UTC)

Special Request
Would you please explain to GrammarCommie that Im not a troll? GrammarCommie reverts everything I do and its getting annoying. Thank you for your time.12.23.183.186 (talk) 15:58, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
 * And perhaps Rockford the Roe too please? This is absolutely insane! How is anyone supposed to contribute if everything is reverted and silenced while incorrectly being labeled troll?12.23.183.186 (talk) 16:24, 28 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I have no idea who you are or how I would be expected to know your motivation. Furthermore, I am not a mod and I am not involved in dispute resolution.
 * The place for such complaints would be here.  However, it occurs to me that if you were to create an account and contribute meaningfully to the site that would make your previous contributions (whatever they were) "invisible" and would also demonstrate your commitment to improving the site in general.Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 17:48, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

Email
Hey dude, I have sent you an email. Acei9 18:29, 10 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes, atheist goat smurf-porn is hard to find, but what I sent should work. Wait, that was the bit you said NOT to mention!Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 06:50, 11 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Cool - I'll get to it when I can. I'm quite swamped at work currently but appreciate your help in advance. Acei9 19:20, 11 October 2022 (UTC)

Mod nomination
You've been nominated in the upcoming moderator elections. See the nomination at RationalWiki:Moderator elections/Nominations. Arcadium Trancefer (talk) 10:28, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Hello there
Thanks for letting me know about indenting and signing. I got it wrong the first time because I'm used to wikipedia's style of messaging. In fact, most of my editing style and finicky choice of titles is because I'm more accustomed to wikipedia. But anyways, thank you for helping me.Rational Dude (talk) 03:13, 25 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Fine. It's really not a problem.  As I said before - we were all newbies once.  I hope you find a home here. :-)Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 21:01, 27 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you! And of course! I already feel at home here. :)Rational Dude (talk) 06:09, 29 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Cool - and great indenting and signing!Bob"Life is short and (insert adjective)" 07:52, 29 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Once I made a statue out of cat food and chicken wire, put it in a small fridge I found in the overgrown backyard (which I hauled out) and left it outside a neighbour’s house with a large question mark painted on the front. It was a fun prank. Particularly when I went to the shop early in the morning to buy cigarettes to discover said neighbour staring in incomprehensible confusion at my offering. So yeah. Glad you figured out indenting. Acei9 17:31, 29 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I see. But again, thank you! Rational Dude (talk) 04:57, 30 December 2022 (UTC)