Appropriate Jokes

Durham_Devil · Tue, 03 Apr 2001 13:35:19 -0700

Okay, so it *was* an April Fools' joke. But
understand that there are certain topics which are and
aren't appropriate for it.

For example, I posted
(mere hours before you) an actual April Fools' joke.
There was no way anyone could've taken it seriously,
and I'm a few people got a chuckle out of it. If
anyone was offended, well... they didn't say
so.

On the other hand, while you planned and researched
your end of the prank, you failed to realize everyone
else's end. Particularly the fact that the quizbowl
world is full of arrogant, self-righteous, haughty,
contentious know-it-alls -- myself among them sometimes.
Furthermore, a subject I myself brought up on this (look for a
thread labelled "Re: ligion" if you wish to know)
produced the same type of flamewar.

Now, as for
those who post, I say: lighten the heck up. Is anyone
here ever going to gain anything from debate? People
such as Matt and Doug are unflinching in their
atheistic faith (belief, faith, it's all semantics anyway),
whereas people like Jeremy and Hayden are strong in their
religious faith. I will not say whether one is better than
the other (you're free to ask me my personal beliefs
elsewhere), but what I will say is that everyone's simply
coming off as a jerk. People, can't we just agree to
disagree and find out the answer when we die?

Now,
as for whether this is relevant to question writing,
which I presume was the whole point of the debate
(right? RIGHT?), I say why not. As far as I'm concerned,
there's very little that is inappropriate for question
material (crime-of-the-week perpetrators and tabloid
figures excluded), so if you can find a philosopher of
creationism, by all means write. Heck, should we stop with
William Jennings Bryan simply because he attacked John T.
Scopes, to take this to its logical extreme? No! EXPAND
the canon, dad gummit!

And oh yeah, write more
on stuff I know. :)

Andy Goss
who is in an
understandably good mood and therefore felt now was the time to
end hostilites -- you can't fight when you're happy