When you resort to these tactics you've already lost the debate.
I humored you for a bit, answered your questions, hoping it would lead to something more rational. Instead you edited out parts of my answers and continued the attack.
The question is not a matter of whether "troll" is an allowable insult. It's a question of using insults in place of rational debate.
I am not the issue. The facts are the issue. I no more need to justify my existence on these threads than you do. In fact, if anyone is a "troll", your recent conduct tags you.
I'm not going to humor you any longer. I will engage in reasoned, rational debate about this issue on the threads where it is a topic. You are free to do the same. When you and your friends sling insults instead, I will point out that is an admission that you can't argue the subject on its merits.
Then I gather you don’t want to have a debate duel.
Calling us tinfoil hat conspiracists is sticking to the facts but calling you a troll is “using an insult in place of rational debate.”
The lurkers will note that I have conducted very rational debate and would stand by it. mlo, on the other hand, has used classical fallacies. If he wants to show point-by-point how his reply was edited and that did not reflect his original meaning, I’m all ears and will respond to his original meaning. But I have no confidence that mlo will do that because what he says is a twisting of the truth. If he really wanted to stop being called a troll, he would take me up on my offer. I really do want the certifigate threads to stop being denigrated as tinfoil hat conspiracy garbage. Until we get some honorable way to compel the others to stop acting that way, we are stuck fighting fire with fire. I and others have asked JimRob for relief against the trolls. In one instance I got the troll “searchin” exposed for keyword abuse, but when the abuse started up again, whoever the admin mod was on duty was not so inclined. Nor was JimRob. The sad state of argumentation is due to the lack of consistent moderating.
One further thing. Free Republic needs a definition of troll, both for the obvious newbie DU troll or an issue-specific troll. The admin mods can decide for themselves if a person who’s been brought to their attention meets that definition, which would be out in the open.
For the various CertifiGate ping lists... to consider my idea of establishing an FR definition of troll. If this issue is too heated to get a start on it, we can all go ahead and start on it on January 21.
MHGinTN; little jeremniah; LucyT; pissant; Calpernia; Polarik; phil dragoo; ernest_at_the_beach; starwise; FARS; sunken civ