FSTDT Forums

Community => FQA Projects => Topic started by: Sigmaleph on August 11, 2013, 05:58:21 pm

Title: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on August 11, 2013, 05:58:21 pm
So, to roughly restate what I said in that other thread (http://fqa.digibase.ca/index.php?topic=4769.0), the way it will work is more or less as follows:

Anyone who wishes to submit an article, does so in this subforum first. It is proofread, checked that it will fit the theme of the site, and etc. and if found appropriate, uploaded to the blog. Users who have enough approved articles get direct access to the blog to post directly (though if you want to post here first for comments/proofreading, you are welcome to do so). When we have enough direct access bloggers, I step down and let them manage most of the matter themselves.

The subjects should initially be things related to religion, philosophy, science, scepticism and such. Whether we later expand to a more general culture thing can be decided, well, later.

There was some discussion on platforms, namely Tumblr vs. Wordpress. While there's no reason we can't have both, I side with those that think that the Wordpress format is a better fit.

Please continue further discussions on the matter here.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist on August 11, 2013, 06:42:22 pm
As someone else suggested, Tumblr would be better as a mirror than the primary blog. Posting an excerpt (or screencap/video clip) followed by the link seems to be a pretty effective way of gaining exposure. A lot of other sites, notably Cracked (http://cracked.tumblr.com/), The Onion (http://theonion.tumblr.com/) and TYT (http://theyoungturks.tumblr.com/), use it that way.

As a main blog, however, Tumblr probably wouldn't suffice.

Edit: I registered http://frequentlyquestionedanswers.tumblr.com in case we decide to use it, to prevent anyone else from taking the name. I'll pass control of the blog along to whoever is chosen to run it (again, if a mirror is needed) or one of the mods, just figured it was best to grab the name while it was available.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Radiation on August 11, 2013, 07:07:18 pm
Having a Tumblr is a good idea, but like Sigma I think Wordpress is probably better for a mainpage. Considering that most sites now have a number of links to various social media, would there also be a chance of having a Facebook link? I am not sure about Twitter as I don't see how it would be useful as of yet but perhaps down the road it can be added.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: dpareja on August 11, 2013, 07:15:23 pm
Having a Tumblr is a good idea, but like Sigma I think Wordpress is probably better for a mainpage. Considering that most sites now have a number of links to various social media, would there also be a chance of having a Facebook link? I am not sure about Twitter as I don't see how it would be useful as of yet but perhaps down the road it can be added.

Nonetheless accounts on Twitter, Facebook and the like should be created as soon as possible, if only to prevent other people from taking them first.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: JohnE on August 11, 2013, 07:41:41 pm
Who's going to be doing the vetting & proofreading, to start?
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Radiation on August 11, 2013, 08:10:05 pm
Who's going to be doing the vetting & proofreading, to start?

I don't know but since you volunteered, I would recruit you. As for me, I'd like to do some articles about conspiracy theories as part of the skepticism category. I'm not sure how the research would go on that but would appreciate some help with that. I'm thinking about writing my first about The Vigilant Citizen type stuff.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Igor on August 11, 2013, 08:14:48 pm
Like I said before, proofreading is kind of my thing (despite all of the mistakes in my posts - I'm much better at editing other people's stuff than my own) so I'd volunteer if I wasn't so burned out right now. If I can get my shit together sometime in the near future though, I'll go for it if it's still open. Just give me a stylesheet and some time and I'm sure I can proof the odd article here and there.

(edit - too many commas)
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Radiation on August 11, 2013, 08:30:44 pm
This isn't going to be something that is immediate so don't worry about it now Randomwolf.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Leafy on August 11, 2013, 08:37:54 pm
I have a lot of free time so I'd love to help out with anything needed. I'd consider writing too...if I can think of a good topic.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Valerius on August 11, 2013, 08:51:05 pm
I want to contribute somehow, but I have no experience with podcasts or video making/editing. But for my major, I'm focusing heavily on evolutionary biology, so I'd be willing to edit and/or contribute to any articles about evolution, or even just biology in general. I suck at writing though, so I don't know if I'd do so well writing an article on my own.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: JohnE on August 11, 2013, 10:01:05 pm
I want to contribute somehow, but I have no experience with podcasts or video making/editing. But for my major, I'm focusing heavily on evolutionary biology, so I'd be willing to edit and/or contribute to any articles about evolution, or even just biology in general. I suck at writing though, so I don't know if I'd do so well writing an article on my own.
It'd be great to have some biology/evolution articles. And I'm sure the rest of us can help with cleaning and sprucing up the writing, if you need it.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on August 11, 2013, 10:21:25 pm
If you'd rather not write on your own, you are always welcome to fact-check, or, if you can find someone up to it, co-author.

Similar offer is open to anyone with a deep knowledge of any field who doesn't fell like writing a post.



I've gone ahead and grabbed @fqanswers on Twitter and fqanswers.wordpress.com.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Random Gal on August 11, 2013, 10:21:34 pm
As far as articles are concerned, I'm a paleontology student with access to reports on the latest discoveries and such things. I've found no shortage of pop culture misconceptions on evolution and prehistory. The next time some armchair hack tries to play Scientific Expert and writes some bizarre piece on how evolution is wrong or dinosaurs were really aliens or something, I'd be glad to offer my opinion on the blog.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Kradorex Xeron on August 11, 2013, 10:22:55 pm
It is very possible to create an extension to the forum software to facilitate a blog integrated for commenting and such. The blog platform would avoid having people having to maintain separate usernames/passwords and be as easy as posting a new thread in a specially set up forum and authors could just be added into a special usergroup. Comments would be handled by the forums as normal.

Potentially push the forums from http://fqa.digibase.ca/ to http://fqa.digibase.ca/forums/ and have the blog/site at http://fqa.digibase.ca unless a domain name is in the works at some point.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Valerius on August 11, 2013, 10:30:30 pm
If you'd rather not write on your own, you are always welcome to fact-check, or, if you can find someone up to it, co-author.

Similar offer is open to anyone with a deep knowledge of any field who doesn't fell like writing a post.



I've gone ahead and grabbed @fqanswers on Twitter and fqanswers.wordpress.com.

If I could find someone to co-author articles with me, then I'd definitely give it a shot. Another reason I'd prefer not to do it on my own is that with a full course load, I'll be pretty busy once classes start again.

Another thing regarding science articles: I have access to a shitload of scientific journals and databases through my university, so if anyone needs scientific articles to cite for their blog posts or whatever, hit me up and I'll see what I can do.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Her3tiK on August 11, 2013, 11:56:31 pm
I'm down to do some editing on my spare time. As I said in the other blog, I'll be learning Dreamweaver, Flash, Pro Tools, and Photoshop this year, so I'll be able to tackle related projects down the road. I'm also somewhat familiar with HTML, though I'd need to do a bit of refreshing if that's a code we'd be using for something (haven't really used it since high school).

As for topics, it probably goes without saying that music's my thing; should we decide to have an entertainment section somewhere, I would love to contribute to it.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Stormwarden on August 12, 2013, 01:05:22 am
I might have some contributions of my own whenever you guys want to see them.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on August 12, 2013, 06:35:54 pm
It is very possible to create an extension to the forum software to facilitate a blog integrated for commenting and such. The blog platform would avoid having people having to maintain separate usernames/passwords and be as easy as posting a new thread in a specially set up forum and authors could just be added into a special usergroup. Comments would be handled by the forums as normal.

Potentially push the forums from http://fqa.digibase.ca/ to http://fqa.digibase.ca/forums/ and have the blog/site at http://fqa.digibase.ca unless a domain name is in the works at some point.

Keeping everything unified would be an advantage, but a blogging-specific platform might be better suited.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: MadCatTLX on August 12, 2013, 09:26:13 pm
I just checked out of curiosity and neither frequentlyquestionedanswers.com or FQA.net are taken. I couldn't connect to whatever FQA.com is, so I don't know about it. The former is wordy as all hell for a web address.

I'm guess the kind of setup Krad is talking about is one like that shown here (http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/) at one of my old Lego fan haunts by the name of Eurobricks. Funnily enough I think the majority of their members aren't European, as prices were usually shown in US dollars, not Euros or Pounds.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Stormwarden on August 12, 2013, 10:48:45 pm
I've been thinking about writing up a couple of things. One might be about the true role of Lucifer and Satan in Xian mythos. Thing is, most churches would consider it heresy at best. After all, Satan and Lucifer are 1) Separate entities, and 2) Never left God's side. At ANY point.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: JohnE on August 12, 2013, 11:25:01 pm
I've been thinking about writing up a couple of things. One might be about the true role of Lucifer and Satan in Xian mythos. Thing is, most churches would consider it heresy at best. After all, Satan and Lucifer are 1) Separate entities, and 2) Never left God's side. At ANY point.
I'd read that!
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Stormwarden on August 13, 2013, 12:09:51 am
I'll need some info from the old Judaic sources. I wanna go back to the beginnings that so many churches, and even some synagogues conveniently ignore. Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass?
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Hades on August 13, 2013, 12:26:24 am
I'd really like to read that, Storm.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sleepy on August 13, 2013, 08:42:37 am
That's the kind of stuff the blog should have.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Stormwarden on August 13, 2013, 11:15:23 pm
On a serious note, how much of FSTDT happens because people failed reading comprehension. I propose we bring in proper context to their favorite bible quotes. Maybe even post some of the gospels that aren't commonly seen in scripture. At the same time, we should give anything politicians say the same scrutiny. Let's live up to the title of the board.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: mellenORL on August 13, 2013, 11:32:42 pm
Council of Nicea tossed out reams of books from the bible. lots of interesting non-canon stuff in those.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: JohnE on August 13, 2013, 11:58:49 pm
I was also thinking that book reviews would be a good thing to have. I have a number of books on religion, mythology, and the bible that I could re-read and review.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: OmniLiquid on August 14, 2013, 03:19:52 am
Although I'm a lurker (I may come out of my shell more, though), I could possibly write some articles on philosophy or mathematics (in a way connected to skepticism, of course). I recall having thought of some interesting arguments I haven't often seen elsewhere, though I don't recall them at the moment (sleep might help that).

I do recall 1 topic I would definitely want to write about (rather, I'd edit the paper I wrote for my philosophy writing class into something more suitable for a blog post), though it's more social justice than skeptical: an argument for keeping assisted suicide illegal (it was a good enough argument to convince me, at least).

Also, wanna say Storm's idea sounds very interesting, I'd love to read more on those topics.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: anti-nonsense on August 14, 2013, 04:36:46 am
Although I'm a lurker (I may come out of my shell more, though), I could possibly write some articles on philosophy or mathematics (in a way connected to skepticism, of course). I recall having thought of some interesting arguments I haven't often seen elsewhere, though I don't recall them at the moment (sleep might help that).

I do recall 1 topic I would definitely want to write about (rather, I'd edit the paper I wrote for my philosophy writing class into something more suitable for a blog post), though it's more social justice than skeptical: an argument for keeping assisted suicide illegal (it was a good enough argument to convince me, at least).

Also, wanna say Storm's idea sounds very interesting, I'd love to read more on those topics.

if you want to write about math in a way that's relevant to skepticism you should write about statistics, which a lot of people completely misunderstand.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: OmniLiquid on August 14, 2013, 01:14:02 pm
Although I'm a lurker (I may come out of my shell more, though), I could possibly write some articles on philosophy or mathematics (in a way connected to skepticism, of course). I recall having thought of some interesting arguments I haven't often seen elsewhere, though I don't recall them at the moment (sleep might help that).

I do recall 1 topic I would definitely want to write about (rather, I'd edit the paper I wrote for my philosophy writing class into something more suitable for a blog post), though it's more social justice than skeptical: an argument for keeping assisted suicide illegal (it was a good enough argument to convince me, at least).

Also, wanna say Storm's idea sounds very interesting, I'd love to read more on those topics.

if you want to write about math in a way that's relevant to skepticism you should write about statistics, which a lot of people completely misunderstand.

That is a good idea. I could write about Baye's Theorem and why the prior probability for God is unknown and probably unknowable, the difference between correlation and causation (though I think that's been done to death already), and/or how a sample can be biased (or just how statistics can be done badly in general).

If you have other ideas, I'm open to them, but be aware that although I'm familiar with basic statistics principles and techniques I may not be the best suited for advanced stats topics.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: anti-nonsense on August 14, 2013, 04:46:12 pm
that's OK, I was thinking of really basic things people get wrong, like thinking that if you've flipped a coin and got heads 10 times the next time is more likely to be tails and stuff like that. I'm not actually sure how useful/necessary advanced stats are for interpreting poll or experiment results and that kind of thing.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: SimSim on August 14, 2013, 06:31:51 pm
It is very possible to create an extension to the forum software to facilitate a blog integrated for commenting and such. The blog platform would avoid having people having to maintain separate usernames/passwords and be as easy as posting a new thread in a specially set up forum and authors could just be added into a special usergroup. Comments would be handled by the forums as normal.

Potentially push the forums from http://fqa.digibase.ca/ to http://fqa.digibase.ca/forums/ and have the blog/site at http://fqa.digibase.ca unless a domain name is in the works at some point.

Keeping everything unified would be an advantage, but a blogging-specific platform might be better suited.
You can still do some of what Kradorex suggested and use a blogging-specific platform, assuming you self-host the blog, by bridging. Lots of information about it here. http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=33.0 (http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=33.0).

I can't remember if it was in this thread or another, but JohnE mentioned having headers to link to author pages in a blog. That really isn't needed, most blog platforms include author pages by default. Typically when you see an author's name that's also a link to their author page that lists their posts/articles/whatever.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on August 14, 2013, 08:19:51 pm
That is a good idea. I could write about Baye's Theorem and why the prior probability for God is unknown and probably unknowable, the difference between correlation and causation (though I think that's been done to death already), and/or how a sample can be biased (or just how statistics can be done badly in general).

My knowledge on the matter is pretty basic, but that seems like it can't be right.

It is very possible to create an extension to the forum software to facilitate a blog integrated for commenting and such. The blog platform would avoid having people having to maintain separate usernames/passwords and be as easy as posting a new thread in a specially set up forum and authors could just be added into a special usergroup. Comments would be handled by the forums as normal.

Potentially push the forums from http://fqa.digibase.ca/ to http://fqa.digibase.ca/forums/ and have the blog/site at http://fqa.digibase.ca unless a domain name is in the works at some point.

Keeping everything unified would be an advantage, but a blogging-specific platform might be better suited.
You can still do some of what Kradorex suggested and use a blogging-specific platform, assuming you self-host the blog, by bridging. Lots of information about it here. http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=33.0 (http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?board=33.0).

Interesting. I'll have to consult with Kradorex.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Stormwarden on August 14, 2013, 09:26:45 pm
I'm gonna need some sources. My PC is having some serious issues right now. Another theory is that Jesus died not for our sins, but to save us from his Father. But I have a lot of research to confirm some of these things, or at the very least to make them plausible. My explanations for certain things are not what a lot of believers want to hear.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on September 07, 2013, 01:27:03 am
Kicking this a bit.

I have a couple posts I'm working on (it was originally just one, realised I'd have to split it into at least two, might end up as more...). I'll be posting them here when I've finished a first draft, because I'm constantly worrying about "Wait, didn't get enough detail here, it won't make sense!" vs "Wait, this is too long-winded, remove some detail!" and I could use some feedback.

Anyone else that might have any not-fully-baked ideas is invited to make a post or start a thread, to ask for criticism or help, or whatever else. Fully baked ideas are also welcome, of course.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Shane for Wax on September 07, 2013, 01:58:02 am
I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Her3tiK on September 07, 2013, 10:04:39 am
I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,
Given the forum's general take on religion, are the former topics going in a religion category, or a mythology category?

And just for a general update; do we have a site for this, yet?
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on September 07, 2013, 10:20:51 am
I grabbed http://fqanswers.wordpress.com/ a while back, seems our best option.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: JohnE on September 07, 2013, 12:01:41 pm
I'm doing research for an article (or possibly pa series of short articles) about vikings, specifically about how they weren't as dirty and barbaric as they're usually portrayed, and in many ways they were more civilized and progressive than other Europeans at the time.

It's a little off topic, I know, but I think it still fits the general theme of debunking misconceptions.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Her3tiK on September 07, 2013, 02:16:01 pm
Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: PosthumanHeresy on September 07, 2013, 03:24:19 pm
Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.
I was actually thinking about that myself, and I figured that it would be more reasonable to not say anything is not in the range of it. I mean, there could easily be articles about music, like "Secularism In Music", "Music and Progressivism" (like, analysing how music tends to be ahead of the curve in some places but behind it in others) or "Music and Cultural Change" (about how music has been a part of bringing cultural change). The same goes for anything else, too.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Her3tiK on September 07, 2013, 05:30:11 pm
Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.
I was actually thinking about that myself, and I figured that it would be more reasonable to not say anything is not in the range of it. I mean, there could easily be articles about music, like "Secularism In Music", "Music and Progressivism" (like, analysing how music tends to be ahead of the curve in some places but behind it in others) or "Music and Cultural Change" (about how music has been a part of bringing cultural change). The same goes for anything else, too.
This is true, though I don't know that there are any bands at the forefront of social stage in this day and age. At least, if there are, they are somehow off of my radar.

Sticking to the original topic, what categories should we consider? Science and Religion, obviously, as well as politics. I argue that 'Religion' and 'Mythology' should be the same thing, cultural sensitivity be damned, but that may alienate otherwise prospective readers. And regarding politics: we should do our best to admit to our personal biases. I'd much prefer to know where one stands on an issue, or issues in general, in order to assess any weak points in their logic, as both sides are prone to flaws that they are not always aware of.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: PosthumanHeresy on September 07, 2013, 05:36:27 pm
Perhaps, before we start uploading these seemingly disconnected topics, we should vote on what we're actually going to discuss. We've clearly got a broad range of topics, but 'Frequently Questioned Answers' lends itself to a certain range of subjects. Pop culture and music, for example, probably don't fall within said range, and we may want to make a distinction between history and religion/mythology when posting corrections to preconceived notions. It'd be better to have a defined set of categories, and subcategories if Wordpress allows, so we at least have things organized by subject.
I was actually thinking about that myself, and I figured that it would be more reasonable to not say anything is not in the range of it. I mean, there could easily be articles about music, like "Secularism In Music", "Music and Progressivism" (like, analysing how music tends to be ahead of the curve in some places but behind it in others) or "Music and Cultural Change" (about how music has been a part of bringing cultural change). The same goes for anything else, too.
This is true, though I don't know that there are any bands at the forefront of social stage in this day and age. At least, if there are, they are somehow off of my radar.

Sticking to the original topic, what categories should we consider? Science and Religion, obviously, as well as politics. I argue that 'Religion' and 'Mythology' should be the same thing, cultural sensitivity be damned, but that may alienate otherwise prospective readers. And regarding politics: we should do our best to admit to our personal biases. I'd much prefer to know where one stands on an issue, or issues in general, in order to assess any weak points in their logic, as both sides are prone to flaws that they are not always aware of.
I'd say it depends. With the ability to house yourself in your favorite subculture these days, it's harder for anyone to be at the forefront of anything, which is why generic pop music gets so much attention, but I'd say that within the more progressive spheres, musicians like Otep (lesbian metal singer) are more ahead of the curve. Bringing more exposure to musicians in various genres with a more political and social change ideology (again with using Otep, as well as Device, David Draiman's new band that continues in the vein of Disturbed, but with a more industrial metal sound, as an example) would be a good idea.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Shane for Wax on September 07, 2013, 08:09:33 pm
I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,
Given the forum's general take on religion, are the former topics going in a religion category, or a mythology category?

And just for a general update; do we have a site for this, yet?

Considering what was said before, there's no reason to go completely agnostic, is there? Though it really depends. It could be either one. To get peoples' facts straight. Since people tend to go for stereotypes and such no matter the religion.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: anti-nonsense on September 07, 2013, 08:15:19 pm
I think it would be easiest just to combine religion and mythology into one category. Mythology is just religion that isn't popular anymore.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Her3tiK on September 07, 2013, 08:39:53 pm
I'm considering doing a basic intro to Celtic Paganism, as it were. Nothing in-depth, just a way of separating Celtic Paganism from other things such as Wicca. People tend to mix and match with them both but I wouldn't say it's wrong to. Just that you need to figure out which thing is a part of what religion.

I was also hoping to write an article about animal totems. The problem is there's a lot of stuff to sift through to find the true stuff and what is people making assumptions. I would like to have someone help me with fact checking but we have to be able to get along and they have to be able to give me the time of day for more than a few minutes.

And to do something non-religious, I want to do something with anthropology. Explaining Out of Africa theory, etc.,
Given the forum's general take on religion, are the former topics going in a religion category, or a mythology category?

And just for a general update; do we have a site for this, yet?

Considering what was said before, there's no reason to go completely agnostic, is there? Though it really depends. It could be either one. To get peoples' facts straight. Since people tend to go for stereotypes and such no matter the religion.
Considering that all religions have the same amount of evidence backing them up, I'd say we have a good reason to approach them all as agnostics. It's all well and good to explain the differences between Celts and Wiccans, but we'd be doing our skeptic stance a disservice by treating any such beliefs as true by default.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Shane for Wax on September 07, 2013, 09:33:49 pm
That isn't what I meant. Like, at all. I was talking about staying completely away from religion. Which, as we talked about, isn't something that we should do.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Sigmaleph on September 07, 2013, 10:56:32 pm
We could have a single "religion" category, that includes religions not actually practised. Seems the best solution.


Remember that thing I said I was writing? I wrote it: http://fqa.digibase.ca/index.php?topic=4951.msg193742#msg193742

Now tell me if/how I can write it better.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Shane for Wax on September 07, 2013, 11:32:45 pm
It does. I'd be fine with that, tbh.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Her3tiK on September 08, 2013, 12:45:53 pm
That isn't what I meant. Like, at all. I was talking about staying completely away from religion. Which, as we talked about, isn't something that we should do.
Ah. Sorry for misunderstanding.
Title: Re: The FQA Blog
Post by: Neith on September 08, 2013, 10:38:13 pm
We could have a single "religion" category, that includes religions not actually practised. Seems the best solution.

I agree. Many people would be turned off by having their beliefs categorized as mythology, but I think almost any believer who isn't a fundy can at least acknowledge myths as other people's religions.

Wordpress can do subcategories, and one post can be put into several categories at once. You might, for example, categorize Hinduism as "Ancient religion," "Currently practiced religion," and "Polytheism," all at the same time.