Steve Benson's bizarre behavior on the RfM board

[_Jersey Girl]

I used to like Steve, but something happened to him during his leave of absense from the RfM board. He has returned as a complete asshole. THe RfM board has really gone downhill the past few months to the point where I lurk for a few minutes and have no desire to post anything. It used to be the most addictive board on the net, now it's garbage. His behavior toward Dan Vogel yesterday was bizarre. He has become the Daniel C. Peterson of RfM, including the lapdogs that agree with everything he says and chase off anyone who dares question King Benson.

I had the same reaction. I can't understand why Benson is attacking Vogel with such vehemence. What did Vogel do to piss him off so badly?

Counter his blather with facts and rational thinking?

My best guess.

Jersey Girl

[_Jersey Girl]

I've read all the comments here. The OP called Benson an asshole, guy describes him as a prick. I therefore see no reason to carefully couch my own impression of Steve Benson.

I was involved in the threads in question.

I have no experience in discussion with either Dan Vogel or Steve Benson. I know that Dan wrote a book and the title of that book. I know that Steve Benson is from generations of LDS and I think, (don't quote me) that he's the grandson of Ezra T. Benson. Correct me if I'm wrong about either person.

So anyway, I decided to go a few rounds with Benson on those threads. I simply asked him to be specific in his words. My initial complaint was that the information he quoted that (I think) was provided by Deconstructor constituted "evidence" and not "proof". He apparently didn't appreciate the correction.

I challenged his statement that Joseph Smith had sex with underage girls. On the thread in question, Steve used that specific phrase and others were running it up the flagpole as "statutory rape".

So I asked Steve to post the legal age of consent in that time period, I later asked him to supply the criteria for statutory rape.

He couldn't do either. Who did?

Dan Vogel.

Throughout my exchanges with Benson, instead of answering on point, he was reduced to throwing out juvenile one-liners. I about died when I saw a poster use the phrase "I know you are but what am I" in a thread title to describe Benson's lack of rejoinder because just seconds before that I started to write the same thing and didn't post the comment. I thought my post actually posted!

Later, Steve characterized me as stubborn and demanding. The uninsightful clod also referred to me as "he". That's not the first time I've been taken for a male poster. In a later post, Benson attempted to do damage control and posted a two part definition from Webster's Dictionary of "underage", claiming that he was thinking all the time of a definition that focused on "maturity", in an effort to remove himself from his own statements. Nonsense.

I wanted so badly to counter with a definition from an online Urban Dictionary of

"attention slut."

That's how he came off to me. Someone cravenly seeking attention no matter how pathetically embarrassing his actions/words were. "Look at me! Look at me!"

That's my impression of Steve Benson.

In my experience on line in debate/discussion forum's, when certain posters are backed into a corner and cannot hold their own...they simply create more threads as if to gain a sympathy following. I've seen it repeatedly. Someone like Benson relies on people who are generally too lazy to locate and read the thread of origin and so they buy whatever the poster is saying in their new thread or buy in to the thread title. Benson, when backed into a corner, simply misdirects the topic by creating multiple threads and banks on the fog to do his bidding. Like a child playing hide and seek from his own words.

The schtick about Dan posting on FAIR was hilarious. This was some sort of attempt to malign Dan's character. I've seen it over and over and over and over again on the LDS boards and was surprised to see some RFM'ers post in support of Benson's claims as if Dan's posting on FAIR about his experience on RFM...means something.

If anyone would like to invite Benson to this board, I'd love to debate him here. Well, maybe not.

Fish in a barrel...

Jersey Girl

[_The Dude]

Before I became a FAIR regular, I posted on RfM for a couple of months under the name Lolo. One time Steve Benson said something really strange: that BYU was a superior biomedical research school than the U of U, and (if I remember correctly) that BYU had just been awarded a huge federal grant... but only Steve knew about this because of his contacts at BYU.

Well, grants funded by the federal government can be searched on a website at the National Institute of Health. So I did that. And I listed the names of all the professors at the U of U vs. BYU who had NIH-funded grants. It was more that 10:1 for the U of U, which should be no surprise since the University of Utah has the only medical school in the state. BYU has a department of Biology and Agriculture. BYU was closer to Utah State... maybe below it... I can't remember now.

Steve could not take being proved wrong. He went on a hunt for me and started a thread or two aimed at intimidating me. Several people told him he was being childish, but there was no stopping him. This was right after he was feeling all high and mighty for snooping out the real identity of John Llynch, so it seemed nothing could stop his bullying attitude, and I got the same kind of treatment so many others have recieved.

And why the hell was he saying such crazy things in favor of BYU? Who knows. Maybe he's an apologist himself.

Anyways, right about then I fell in love with my avatar at FAIR and that was the end of RfM for me. The worst thing about that place is how they delete threads and posts they don't like (instead of locking them or just letting some debate occur (heaven forbid!)). Talk about censorship.

[QuestionEverything]

If anyone would like to invite Benson to this board, I'd love to debate him here.
Jersey Girl

Don't know if we want to do that. The global shift caused by his fans rushing over here to kiss up to him may throw the planet of its axis.

[Guest]

Hmmm....Interesting.

I haven't really followed RfM drama for quite a while. LOL

Well, welcome to the board! :)

I think that Shade's board is much more addicting than RfM. There are lots of great threads here.

Enjoy!

I love your sign-in name. You have a great sense of humor. You'll fit right in!

:)

Thanks for the welcome. I used to post here a few months ago, I think I used Harry Cox as my username. I know, totally immature. Anyway, when I tried logging in it wouldn't take my account because it was inactive so I had to create a new one. I took a vacation from Mormon forums for a few months and it was nice, but I started lurking again and it looks like I'm back for a while. I like this board better than RfM even though it moves slower. Dare I say even the new FAIR board is more tolerable to me than RfM *gasp*. Maybe I've actually recovered.

[_harmony]

Before I became a FAIR regular, I posted on RfM for a couple of months under the name Lolo. One time Steve Benson said something really strange: that BYU was a superior biomedical research school than the U of U, and (if I remember correctly) that BYU had just been awarded a huge federal grant... but only Steve knew about this because of his contacts at BYU.

You mean Steven actually tried to use DCP's "I know ________(fill in blank with latest outlandish claim), because I know people in high places, but just trust me" nonsense? And he thought he'd get away with it? Maybe RfM has finally entered the 21st century, where people actually expect extraordinary claims to be backed with something resembling evidence? Or maybe not. I haven't been there in years.

The poster I miss the most is Play Elder.

Oh, and BYU's Ag dept is a joke, a disgrace, a black eye. USU is miles ahead.

[_Mercury]

Benson is the next Ed Decker. IE, hes the jackass that Mormons look to for defining the lowest common denominator. This LCD is then interpreted by Mormons as the highest quality behavior out of exmormons.

Steve benson can suck it.

[_Bond...James Bond]

Hey Satan,

Congratulations. You're opening post has made it's way into Doc Peterson's signature on MAaD.

[_Dr. Shades]

Oh my gosh! In the equivalent thread at MA&D, I just saw the ultimate "Pot. . . meet Kettle" post, compliments of "Confidential Informant." Writing to Dan Vogel, he says:

As to Steve Benson's criticisms, I find you much more agreeable for the simple fact that you are willing to bring your arguments to a hostile forum. Benson has NEVER even attempted to this and, quite frankly, strikes me as being frightened to leave the safe little coccon of his cloistered website with all of his fans to pat him on the back and tell him what a great job he's doing.

Now what more can I possibly add to that??

But back to the topic, I respect Dan Vogel as a researcher but I have no choice but to categorically reject his "pious fraud" theory. I am persuaded that the Spalding/Rigdon theory of Book of Mormon origins is by far the likeliest one. That being the case, Sidney Rigdon is the most likely candidate for pious fraud, but Joseph Smith is all but precluded from being so.

[_gramps]

I've been watching over there, too.

I've been watching that board, nearly daily, for a long time. I got on in 95 or so. Maybe 96? I was there when Benson came on and started posting for the first time. I've followed his stuff ever since then. Except for a two-year break.

This has happened a few times. I don't remember lolo, but he has had some weird ones. Does anyone remember the one with Tal? That was very strange. It came out of nowhere. I think they finally worked through it.

Preston Bissell went at him a few times after he attacked. And I think Bona Dea has, as well.

Sometimes, I have to agree with Dan Peterson and call it a compound. It is at times.

That being said, there have been a few good posts recently. I liked Mujun's recent post on MBA's and Mormons. That was nice. And Rationalis is back and had some good stuff. There really can be some golden threads, but you sure do have to wade through some mud to find them these days. It really goes in cycles over there.