Questions for readers and site updates

6 May 2007

I’d just like to say thanks to everybody that reads this blog, I do appreciate your interest in what I have to say, and the comments and emails you’ve taken the time to write.

However, I realise that I’ve not sought any opinions or feedback on this blog, so I’m asking now. But first, a little background:

Why I have this blog

This blog is primarily concerned with promulgating what I consider to be unwarranted intrusions from religious organisations and individuals into matters of state or personal life, mainly in the UK, and most certainly when it affects me directly. I’m interested in promoting activism from the humanist, secular and atheist communities to prevent theocratic ideas within the UK from advancing further than they already do, and reducing or eliminating them if at all possible.

I’m also partial to pointing out where religion gets it wrong, voicing my opinion when the religious make claims that are either completely false, or can’t be backed up by reality, especially when these claims pretend to be within the domains of science, morality or what I personally believe. And I like to point out religious stupidity where appropriate: Schadenfreude tickles my fancy now and then. I also like to make charts, graphs and pictures where I feel that they would help explain something where screeds of text might not.

I don’t generally make any personal information public, not for fear of being “outed” as an atheist (I’m quite vocal about this, as most people who know me can testify) but because I feel it’s pretty much irrelevant. I try to be friendly, but I won’t refrain from calling a spade a spade if a spade is a spade. Self-censorship is, in my opinion, an intellectually dishonest practice.

Questions for readers

So, my question to you is this: is there anything that you would like to see here that I don’t mention? Are you interested in finding out more about me as an individual? Do you think I should include posts about other, non-atheist/humanist/secularist topics that interest me? Would you like to see more posts about religion-related goings-on in my locality (Edinburgh/Scotland/UK)? Is there anything you like/dislike about this blog? Anything with the design or navigation that you’d like to change? Of course, I’m not going to publicise my full name, address or telephone numbers (I’ve had a cyber stalker once, it wasn’t pretty), but if there’s anything you’d like to see that I’d feel comfortable writing about or sharing, please let me know, either by leaving a comment, or sending me an email.

Site updates

You may also have noticed that I’ve also moved a number of pages within the site, most of which can now be found under the extras page (including a new CafePress shop for me to make and buy my own t-shirts, etc. :-)). I’ve set up redirects from any old URLs (i.e. if you have them bookmarked) but if you have problems locating anything, please let me know and I’ll fix it.

No other posts are likely to be like this.

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Comments

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2356 ResponsesQuestions+for+readers+and+site+updates2007-05-06+13%3A03%3A39nullifidian to “Questions for readers and site updates”

Stuart Coleman on May 6th, 2007 7:15 pm

One thing I have to say is don’t use CafePress. Their shirts are really low quality, like paper thin, and the prints don’t stay on very well. I know that they’re big and probably easy to use, but I think there are better options, but I haven’t investigated it.

As for the rest, I think you’re doing fine. The impetus for changing what you talk about should come from you deciding that you want to change what you talk about. So if you want to broaden your discussions to those other things, go for it.
nullifidian on May 6th, 2007 7:23 pm

One thing I have to say is donâ€™t use CafePress. Their shirts are really low quality, like paper thin, and the prints donâ€™t stay on very well. I know that theyâ€™re big and probably easy to use, but I think there are better options, but I havenâ€™t investigated it.

Ah, bugger. I did a bit of research beforehand, and there weren’t too many complaints about CP’s quality. Having just ordered a few bits and pieces, I’ll see how they turn out. It’s not like I’m short for t-shirts though…

As for the rest, I think youâ€™re doing fine. The impetus for changing what you talk about should come from you deciding that you want to change what you talk about. So if you want to broaden your discussions to those other things, go for it.

TBH I’m quite content to just blog along in this genre as I have done for the past wee while, but I thought I’d throw the question out there. There are political items that are of interest to me, but they’re not 100% in keeping with the primary ethos of this blog, so I may continue to exlude them. I’ll see how it goes, though. Thanks for the input. :-)
tobe38 on May 6th, 2007 9:28 pm

All I can really say is that I enjoy your blog, keep up the good work!

For obvious reasons, we UK bloggers are outnumbered in the atheist blogosphere so it’s good to have a comrade. Not that I’m being nationalistic – religious hatred is the world’s problem – but it’s important that we draw attention to the things that affect us on this ‘ere small island. :)
nullifidian on May 6th, 2007 9:33 pm

Cheers, tobe!

I know what you mean about the nationalistic thing, it’s good to have a shared viewpoint for “local” things, though, and some of the non-Brits may not get where we’re coming from. And besides, I prefer our spelling of “colour”! ;-)
T.O. Fife on May 9th, 2007 6:38 pm

Living in Bowling Green, Kentucky means that I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt here in the US. I can not imagine living in a place where religion is not an issue. When you meet a person in the Bible Belt, one of the first questions will invariably be . . . â€œwhere do you go to church?â€ So, I have found reading your blog (and others like it) fairly enlightening. And I would be interested in reading more entries dealing with your specific locality (I guess, so I can make comparisons and such). I never did get over to Scotland, but my ancestry is from there, so another reason I would be interested in specifics about the area . . . Especially pertaining to views on religion and evolution.
nullifidian on May 9th, 2007 10:35 pm

TO: Thanks for the feedback.

TBH I feel the same way, not having any idea how it is to live where religion permeates everything. I do consider myself rather lucky (in the sense of just happening to be born in the UK) in that regard.

I do try to include local issues when they come up, but at the moment a lot of the issues are being driven by events in Westminster, and the Scottish Parliament is such a shambles at the moment that I don’t think they could legislate their way out of a wet paper bag with a bread knife, night-vision goggles and an 80% approval rating. Most local issues at the moment are just woo related, but I do keep my eyes (and ears, and email) open.