Re: Steven Carr and "The UK's Leading Atheist Page"nodding_folkApril 6 2006, 11:30:43 UTC
You wrote a long letter to the guy who wrote a review of a book you "dared" me to read, a letter in which you, instead of discussing any of his actual arguments, go on to suggest he's a bum for having time to put into a website, call him a fool in a roundabout way, promote your website and call him a "self-promoter of the highest order". Then, instead a reply to my criticism of your site, you post this letter. That is just astonishing.
Also, I love how after writing a sentence like "which is more than can be said of your's" (It's "yours"!) you go on to make some ridiculous argument about a suposedly missing apostrophe. You know what, a page can be an atheist page, there's nothing grammatically wrong with the title "The UK's Leading Atheist Page", it's just as valid as the "The World's Greatest Christian Website" or any such similar title. There's no way to mistake those titles for a claim that the owner is the UK's leading atheist (that would be "The UK's Leading Atheist's Page") or the World's greatest Christian ("The World's Greatest Christian's Website").
I'm quoting your letter in its entirety to preserve this beautiful piece of illogic for posterity, in case want you to delete it.
"Dear Steven,
I have been directed by a correspondent to my online journal [http://geosus.livejournal.com/] to your critique of Frank Morison's book, "Who Moved the Stone" and, can I say, I am in awe of the amount of time and effort you have put into your website. How long has it taken you? Is this what you do for a living? Who pays your salary?
So as not to annoy my wife, or my employer, I am having to get up very early and come to the office 2 hours early just to "feed my recently-acquired habit" of visiting online discussion forums, etc. Therefore, much as I would love to enter into debate with you on all sorts of things, I am reluctant to do so because, a) (to quote David Negus) 'I do not know "what kind of fool I am dealing with' and, b) I clearly do not have as much time to spare as you.
However, since I have already invested the time in it, I would invite you and your readers to visit my "Geoscience and Jesus - The Case for Co-habitation" website (http://www.geosus.org.uk)... In this respect, please note that, although I have not included a feedback facility on my website, with regards to knowing who I am, that information is included on the website (which is more than can be said of your's (so far as I can tell)).
One final point, one of the more ridiculous things that [http://nodding-folk.livejournal.com/] and I have argued over was the absence of an apostrophe (deliberate or not) from the self-styled title of your website "The UK's Leading Atheist Page". That is to say, given that "a Page" cannot be an atheist, it can only be "for" or "by" an atheist, there are two possible interpretations; a) you claim to be the UK's leading atheist, or b) you claim to have constructed the UK's leading atheist page (or website).
Either way, you are clearly a self-promoter of the highest order, and I am very grateful to you for taking the time to read this and review my website (if that is not too presumptuous of me).
Also, I love how after writing a sentence like "which is more than can be said of your's" (It's "yours"!) you go on to make some ridiculous argument about a suposedly missing apostrophe. You know what, a page can be an atheist page, there's nothing grammatically wrong
with the title "The UK's Leading Atheist Page", it's just as valid as the "The World's Greatest Christian Website" or any such similar title. There's no way to mistake those titles
for a claim that the owner is the UK's leading atheist (that would be "The UK's Leading Atheist's Page") or the World's greatest Christian ("The World's Greatest Christian's Website").
I'm quoting your letter in its entirety to preserve this beautiful piece of illogic for posterity, in case want you to delete it.
"Dear Steven,
I have been directed by a correspondent to my online journal [http://geosus.livejournal.com/] to your critique of Frank Morison's book, "Who Moved the Stone" and, can I say, I am in awe of the amount of time and effort you have put into your website. How long has it taken you? Is this what you do for a living? Who pays your salary?
So as not to annoy my wife, or my employer, I am having to get up very early and come to the office 2 hours early just to "feed my recently-acquired habit" of visiting online discussion forums, etc. Therefore, much as I would love to enter into debate with you on all sorts of things, I am reluctant to do so because, a) (to quote David Negus) 'I do not know "what kind of fool I am dealing with' and, b) I clearly do not have as much time to spare as you.
However, since I have already invested the time in it, I would invite you and your readers to visit my "Geoscience and Jesus - The Case for Co-habitation" website (http://www.geosus.org.uk)... In this respect, please note that, although I have not included a feedback facility on my website, with regards to knowing who I am, that information is included on the website (which is more than can be said of your's (so far as I can tell)).
One final point, one of the more ridiculous things that [http://nodding-folk.livejournal.com/] and I have argued over was the absence of an apostrophe (deliberate or not) from the self-styled title of your website "The UK's Leading Atheist Page". That is to say, given that "a Page" cannot be an atheist, it can only be "for" or "by" an atheist, there are two possible interpretations; a) you claim to be the UK's leading atheist, or b) you claim to have constructed the UK's leading atheist page (or website).
Either way, you are clearly a self-promoter of the highest order, and I am very grateful to you for taking the time to read this and review my website (if that is not too presumptuous of me).
Regards,
Martin Lack."
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