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Well, it's the end of the year. Time to take account of everything that went on, time to count your blessings, make amends, and look forward to turning over a new leaf. Therefore, without further ado, I hereby submit my choices for the Top Ten Happenings in Mopologetics, 2006

10. Professor Peterson Wienies out of a Bob McCue debate.
Despite his frequent complaints that he isn't allowed to respond on RfM, when he was presented with the opportunity to take on one of RfM's star posters---the Canadian lawyer Bob McCue---DCP chickened out. And why? Virtually everyone on the ironically named FAIRboard seemed interested and excited at the prospect of seeing these two go at it. But, it was not to be.

9. The Dude v. David Stewart

Early on, this debate, between DNA researcher The Dude and surgeon-cum-apologist David Stewart took place on the actual FAIRmessageboard. But, after Stewart go antsy, it was quickly squirreled away to the hard-to-view Pundits Forum. Needless to say, this did not cast a bright light on Stewart's abilities as either a scholar or a debater. Still, the discussion went on for quite a few pages, delving into arcane subject matter that was doubtless was over the heads of most readers.


8. Will Schryver's Sock Puppet Gets Exposed
This is supposed to be one of the worst offenses one can commit on FAIR. Still, somehow, Schryver---aka Provis, a.k.a. Chozah---managed to totally escape punishment of any kind. One can only speculate as to why.

7. Kevin Graham is Finally Banned

The larger question if, of course, how he managed to stay on board all that time while on the queue. After tying every noteworthy FAIR apologist in knots, he was finally and summarily booted off after an all-too-typical FAIR smear campaign wherein the mods attempted to accuse him of calling someone a liar. For the objective observer, however, it is clear that KG was in the clear, and that, at best, the argument is one of petty semantics.

6. The Sins of juliann

This cannot be an all-inclusive list, but, for starters, she:
---Called for the shutting down of FAIR
---Called for temple sessions to be truncated, due to there being "too much traffic" on the freeways
---Blatantly and horribly mangled scholarly citations in a way that cannot be described as anything other than an egregious violation of scholarly integrity.
---Called for the "lynching" of ex-BYU professor Jeffrey Nielson
---Etc., etc., etc.

5. Calmoriah Drifts Towards Apostasy

It was a real sight to see---FAIR regular and devout TBM Calmoriah actually complaining about her station as an LDS woman! Actually calling for female-only wards! Outrageous! Even more astonishing was her complete and utter recanting of her heartfelt feelings. A sad event indeed.

4. Professor Peterson Insults the Jews

This one barely makes it in, just in the nick of time. While the severity of Prof. Peterson's insensitive remarks was salted somewhat by the antics of several of his RfM-born critics, he nonetheless shot himself in the foot when he said that Jews, "have few friends in the world."

3. FAIRmods Read "Private" Messages

We already knew that there was a good deal of string-pulling going on behind the scenes, but this was the last nail in the coffin. After all the re-directs, bannings, queueings, unFAIR moderating, etc., etc., we learn that FAIR conducts surveillance on its own posters. Naughty, naughty!

2. Prof. Peterson Spreads Rumors About Mike Quinn

This, of course, was the infamous even, back in April, which led to the banning of our own beloved Rollo Tomasi. Unfortunately for the Good Prof., he let it slip that he and his pals---including an SP---had been gossiping about renowned Mormon Historian D. Michael Quinn's sexuality, which is, let's be honest, a pretty significant breach of ecclesiastical privilege. It's also a bad example for one of LDS Apologetics' big guns to be setting.

And (drumrolll), the most significant Mopologetic Event of 2006 is.....

1. The Demise of the FAIR messageboard

I, for one, was awfully sad to see it go. Sure, you could argue that the new, fittingly named MADboard is just the same, but.... It's not! It lacks the same gravitas, the same weightiness, the same, je nais se quoi....

In any case, it was one heck of a year!

In any case, it was one heck of a year!

Events that didn't make your Top Ten (in no particular order):

1. FAIR banning several posters all on the same day, Nov 5, reminicent of the infamous excommunications of the Sept Six, for no other reason than that they participated on other boards. In other words, FAIR was trying to control the thoughts and posts of posters far removed from their own site.

2. The openings of Mormon Discussions and Mormon Think Tank boards.

3. Professor Peterson's much-anticipated explanation of FROB's peer review process, such as it is.

I'm sure others can think of some more additions.

Holy Cow! I guess I'd forgotten just how much can happen in a single year!

A most excellent list, Mister Scratch. Plenty there that needs to be commented on. More later.

harmony wrote:

In any case, it was one heck of a year!

Events that didn't make your Top Ten (in no particular order):

1. FAIR banning several posters all on the same day, Nov 5, reminicent of the infamous excommunications of the Sept Six, for no other reason than that they participated on other boards. In other words, FAIR was trying to control the thoughts and posts of posters far removed from their own site.

2. The openings of Mormon Discussions and Mormon Think Tank boards.

3. Professor Peterson's much-anticipated explanation of FROB's peer review process, such as it is.

I'm sure others can think of some more additions.

Ah, yes! Some great additions. Of course, it's impossible to cover everything in a mere top ten list. One that I neglected to include was the Hauglid v. Metcalfe debate. Perhaps, if we all work together, we can cobble together a "Top 100"? Now that's a scary thought... ; )

Mister Scratch wrote:Therefore, without further ado, I hereby submit my choices for the Top Ten Happenings in Mopologetics, 2006

As has been mentioned, I, too, was positive that the Metcalfe/Hauglid debates would be WAY up there, perhaps #1 or #2. But still an excellent list, of course, much better than I could've come up with.

8. Will Schryver's Sock Puppet Gets Exposed
This is supposed to be one of the worst offenses one can commit on FAIR. Still, somehow, Schryver---aka Provis, a.k.a. Chozah---managed to totally escape punishment of any kind. One can only speculate as to why.

Oh, I think we all know why. Will is on the "correct" side of the fence, of course. :-)

6. The Sins of juliann

This cannot be an all-inclusive list, but, for starters, she:
---Called for the shutting down of FAIR

She DID? How on earth did I miss that? Would you (or anyone else) be kind enough to give me a summary? I just can't imagine something like this, since FAIR is her baby.

---Called for temple sessions to be truncated, due to there being "too much traffic" on the freeways

WTF?? With shorter sessions, that means MORE sessions, which equates to MORE people on the freeways, since attending sessions will be MORE convenient. . . right?

But when push comes to shove, I highly doubt there are enough attendees to make a difference to the traffic situation as it is. I mean, when a new temple opens, do you think the highway patrol sits around saying, "Oh no, our job just got so much tougher?"

---Blatantly and horribly mangled scholarly citations in a way that cannot be described as anything other than an egregious violation of scholarly integrity.
---Called for the "lynching" of ex-BYU professor Jeffrey Nielson

That sounds vaguely familiar. Does anyone remember the reason why she called for his lynching? You know, what with her constant "wide umbrella of belief" mantra and all.

5. Calmoriah Drifts Towards Apostasy

I don't know which was more amazing: The very suggestion she made, or the inhuman speed with which she retracted it. Thanks for documenting it for us.

4. Professor Peterson Insults the Jews

You know, I have a very, very different take on that whole episode. It's rather politically incorrect, I think, so I've been quite timid about posting it for the past few days or so. But what the Hell, here are my thoughts:

The, uh, Jewish community has one of the most powerful voices in Washington. They have the clout to get U.S. Senators to dialogue on their behalf, for heck's sake! When they initially made their displeasure about necrobaptisms known, the LDS Church--multibillion dollar tax-exempt corporation that it is--fell all over itself to please them and make amends.

But then you have Daniel C. Peterson--lone wolf--essentially flaunting the dictates of his own religious community and standing up, like the guy in Tiananmen Square in front of the tanks, to a second religous lobby, more or less staring them in the face and telling them to "lighten up" and "get over it!"

What fortitude! What guts! What backbone! WHAT BALLS!!!

Say what you want about this issue, say what you want about necrobaptisms, say what you want about Daniel Peterson, but regardless of whatever side of whatever fence someone's on, I for one just can't help but admire a guy who stands fast and stands alone against the powers-that-be and remains true to his convictions like, again, that guy in Tiananmen Square standing alone against the tanks. F***in' A!

In any case, it was one heck of a year!

There's no doubt whatsoever about that!

Dr. Shades wrote:

Mister Scratch wrote:Therefore, without further ado, I hereby submit my choices for the Top Ten Happenings in Mopologetics, 2006

As has been mentioned, I, too, was positive that the Metcalfe/Hauglid debates would be WAY up there, perhaps #1 or #2. But still an excellent list, of course, much better than I could've come up with.

Hmmm. I def. rank both the closing of the ironically named FAIRboard and Peterson's gossipmongering abover Metcalfe/Hauglid, but would be willing to place it at No. 3.

8. Will Schryver's Sock Puppet Gets Exposed
This is supposed to be one of the worst offenses one can commit on FAIR. Still, somehow, Schryver---aka Provis, a.k.a. Chozah---managed to totally escape punishment of any kind. One can only speculate as to why.

Oh, I think we all know why. Will is on the "correct" side of the fence, of course. :-)

6. The Sins of juliann

This cannot be an all-inclusive list, but, for starters, she:
---Called for the shutting down of FAIR

She DID? How on earth did I miss that? Would you (or anyone else) be kind enough to give me a summary? I just can't imagine something like this, since FAIR is her baby.

I believe it is archived over at Infymus's blog. She may have been joking, but still.

---Called for temple sessions to be truncated, due to there being "too much traffic" on the freeways

WTF?? With shorter sessions, that means MORE sessions, which equates to MORE people on the freeways, since attending sessions will be MORE convenient. . . right?

But when push comes to shove, I highly doubt there are enough attendees to make a difference to the traffic situation as it is. I mean, when a new temple opens, do you think the highway patrol sits around saying, "Oh no, our job just got so much tougher?"

---Blatantly and horribly mangled scholarly citations in a way that cannot be described as anything other than an egregious violation of scholarly integrity.
---Called for the "lynching" of ex-BYU professor Jeffrey Nielson

That sounds vaguely familiar. Does anyone remember the reason why she called for his lynching? You know, what with her constant "wide umbrella of belief" mantra and all.

She said this in response to my prediction that Prof. Neilson would be forced to endure the requisite TBM shunning.

5. Calmoriah Drifts Towards Apostasy

I don't know which was more amazing: The very suggestion she made, or the inhuman speed with which she retracted it. Thanks for documenting it for us.

4. Professor Peterson Insults the Jews

You know, I have a very, very different take on that whole episode. It's rather politically incorrect, I think, so I've been quite timid about posting it for the past few days or so. But what the Hell, here are my thoughts:

The, uh, Jewish community has one of the most powerful voices in Washington. They have the clout to get U.S. Senators to dialogue on their behalf, for heck's sake! When they initially made their displeasure about necrobaptisms known, the LDS Church--multibillion dollar tax-exempt corporation that it is--fell all over itself to please them and make amends.

But then you have Daniel C. Peterson--lone wolf--essentially flaunting the dictates of his own religious community and standing up, like the guy in Tiananmen Square in front of the tanks, to a second religous lobby, more or less staring them in the face and telling them to "lighten up" and "get over it!"

What fortitude! What guts! What backbone! WHAT BALLS!!!

Say what you want about this issue, say what you want about necrobaptisms, say what you want about Daniel Peterson, but regardless of whatever side of whatever fence someone's on, I for one just can't help but admire a guy who stands fast and stands alone against the powers-that-be and remains true to his convictions like, again, that guy in Tiananmen Square standing alone against the tanks. F***in' A!

Huh. An interesting take. Granted, he did have the assistance of his young protege, David Bokovoy, helping him out, but I suppose you are right: diving into a hot-button topic such as that did require a certain amount of gumption. It was quite a sight to behold.

In any case, it was one heck of a year!

There's no doubt whatsoever about that!

Heh. Perhaps next we should offer prognostications for the year to come. I predict that the fittingly named MAD board will undergo some kind of significant alteration. Either it will A) hemorrhage beaucoup members, or B) completely privatize. We will have to wait and see.