As an example, statements like those bolded above will not be allowed going forward.
I'm trying to let you guys know where the boundaries are. Going forward something like that will generate a temporary suspension. If someone persists after being warned the suspension will become lengthy up to and including becoming permanent.
So please let's everyone try to exercise a little self control.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Can we make critical comments about the statements people make without it being considered ad hominem?
For example, instead of saying "you win the Quack of Year award for that one", is it acceptable to say "the statement that the COVID vaccines have killed 217,000 Americans and seriously injured 33 million is utter quackery"? That targets the statement, not the person.
Or for example, is it acceptable to say "the idea that Cannabis is the universal panacea for all diseases is demented and deranged"? Again, that targets the statement, not the person.
And if someone posts a nutty conspiracy theory, is it acceptable to say that "conspiracy theories like that are often the product of people with the mental health problem of schizotypy". That is a factual piece of information, and targets the conspiracy theory, not the person posting it.
My emotional responses on these threads are just a result of shock and exasperation when such scientific falsehood, misinformation, propaganda, conspiracy theory, pseudoscience, quackery and misrepresentation are continually posted on these Longecity threads.
People are posting absurd nonsense here, yet it usually goes unchallenged.
Mind for example has claimed that the mRNA vaccines are gene therapy, which is total nonsense, but this misinformation often goes unchallenged by others here. And he has claimed that the COVID vaccines are not actually vaccines at all, which again is ludicrous misinformation, and shows a complete lack of knowledge regarding antigen presentation, but it goes unchallenged.
Now William7 has joined this festival of absurdity, claiming that Cannabis can treat all diseases, and that the scientific method is totally wrong, and people should just get stoned out of their heads, rather than do mechanistic medical research. He says such laughable stuff, but nobody challenges him.
You have to let people who are clueless about science know that they are clueless. If you let them keep posting nonsense, the discussion goes downhill, as it has done on these COVID threads.
It's not possible to keep providing long explanations as to why the stuff posted here is nonsense and quackery, because of the deluge of misinformation posted daily. It only takes a second to post some misinformation, but it takes a lot of work to politely and scientifically explain why the misinformation is wrong.
It is too easy to post nonsense, but it takes a lot of work to counter that nonsense.
In the end, exasperation sets in.