SMPT in Claremont in Less Than Two Weeks

[_Jersey Girl]

Of course he enjoys it. The next thing you'll see is a characterization about how, in a trembling and fearful panic, you flailed about desperately trying to defend youself.

Good grief, I can write it myself by now.

LOL. So can I. It's pretty formulaic.

It would be nice, though, to see Gadianton's response to LOAP's simple, non-invasive questions.

Perhaps he'll receive an evasive response to his non-invasive?

Admit it, you're trembling this very moment. I know you are. We all know you are. Why not just admit it, liar, deniar, pants on fire?

[_LifeOnaPlate]

I swear I am not crying right now over this.






I'm getting a pretty high reading here...

[_Jersey Girl]

Daniel,

Tell us about this SMPT gig. Is this event open to public attendance or does it require membership in the society? Is there a Q&A period after the presentations? I can see that not all speakers are LDS, is it largely attended by LDS? What's the day like?

[_Jersey Girl]

I swear I am not crying right now over this.






I'm getting a pretty high reading here...

Stop denying your obvious fear, LoaP. We all know what you're doing. We can see through the screen and read your mind all at the same time.

[_Doctor Scratch]

No, LoaP. You have to bear in mind the context, which is that you have a history of pestering people, moderator edit by harmony: rule #3 Sorry, but this is a result of your own actions. It's like this: a playful shove from most people would probably be seen as just that--playful. But, a "playful" shove from the 6' 7" 300-lb. convicted-of-multiple-aggravated-assaults ex-con is probably not going to be seen as "playful."

You mischaracterize me, and quite decisively so. With you it seems "context" refers to your own rather distorted opinion on things.

I don't think so, LoaP. Many, many people (e.g., just off the top of my head, Joey, Skippy the Dead, etc.) have characterized you as "pesky," "annoying," overheated, "excitable," etc. How many of us have a "rather distorted opinion", LoaP? I don't see how you can deny anything I said.

I've never been perfect in online interactions,

That's putting it mildly.

but your description is so wide of the mark it is as though you are referring to someone else entirely.

I don't think so. Who posts as much as you do, and as (frequently) aggressively as you? Zakuska has a lot of posts, but most people dismiss Zak as being pretty much substance-free. You, on the other hand, are far more derisive and attack-oriented. (Hence why you're apologizing here.) You've established yourself as a manically obsessed "jerk" (your own word, by the way), hence the "context" of your PM assault.

Granted when I began posting at this board I wasn't averse to making fun or acting like a jerk at times. For that I honestly apologize.

I bet! You would kind of need to in order to lend a smidgen of credibility to you accusations here re: lying. I.e., why would the "jerk" have any right to show up---after a very long absence---in order to make an accusation like this?

Over time my view of online interactions have changed a lot, I have learned a lot from these various boards, which are generally now becoming less and less interesting to me. Not that I am "better" than the people that still enjoy posting there, but that I am becoming more interested in other types and subjects of discussion.

We all change, LoaP.

[_Doctor Scratch]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't LOAP pester Gadianton with an unbelievable barrage moderator edit by harmony: rule #3

Well, once you invite him to join the Skinny List, then he can help the half dozen or so of you send barrages of 5,000+ word emails to critics you're trying to stomp out. Practice makes perfect, right?

[_Daniel Peterson]

Tell us about this SMPT gig. Is this event open to public attendance or does it require membership in the society? Is there a Q&A period after the presentations? I can see that not all speakers are LDS, is it largely attended by LDS? What's the day like?

It's open to the public. Membership isn't required. (It's over for this year, you know. This year's meetings were on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.)

There is a Q&A period after each of the presentations.

Probably most of those in attendance were LDS (active or not), though we had a number of non-LDS grad students drop by throughout the three days, and although several of the presenters were non-LDS.

The days were probably a bit too long this year. We began at 9 AM and continued through to 9 PM, with breaks for lunch and dinner and one shorter break for a drink and a snack. Of course, nobody was required to be in attendance at any given time; people could come and go. Some of the sessions were plenary, with only one speaker at a time; at other times we broke into two concurrent sessions.

Next year's meeting will be held at Utah Valley University, at roughly this same time of year. We're considering a couple of places on the east coast for 2011.

Incidentally, I'm trembling so badly I can hardly type. I'm in a panic, simply terrified. Or something. Whatever. Do I hear scratchy background static? It seems pretty constant around these parts, but it's increasingly easy to ignore.


.

[_Doctor Scratch]

Thanks for that description, Dan. Actually, I heard one observer describe it as being like an "intellectual testimony meeting," so I guess it makes sense that virtually 100% of the attendees were LDS. Can't wait to read the transcript of your smear piece, by the way.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Thanks for that description, Dan. Actually, I heard one observer describe it as being like an "intellectual testimony meeting," so I guess it makes sense that virtually 100% of the attendees were LDS.

That's a silly characterization of the conference, and strikingly inaccurate.

The contents of our journal, Element, illustrate reasonably well the kinds of papers that are delivered at our conferences. A few of the older articles are accessible on line for free:

http://www.smpt.org/element.html

Anybody who looks through them will, I'm confident, recognize your alleged observer's description for the vacuous absurdity that it is.

Some other papers are listed here:

http://www.smpt.org/publications_books.html

Can't wait to read the transcript of your smear piece, by the way.

That you already pronounce it a "smear piece" -- and you were already describing it as a "smear piece" before I'd even written it -- renders your reading of it redundant, and demonstrates why attempting serious conversation with you is an exercise in futility. As I've pointed out before, you're not intellectually serious.

[_Doctor Scratch]

Thanks for that description, Dan. Actually, I heard one observer describe it as being like an "intellectual testimony meeting," so I guess it makes sense that virtually 100% of the attendees were LDS.

That's a silly characterization of the conference, and strikingly inaccurate.

Would you say that the conference bore a resemblance to the now-infamous Yale Conference?

Can't wait to read the transcript of your smear piece, by the way.

That you already pronounce it a "smear piece" -- and you were already describing it as a "smear piece" before I'd even written it -- renders your reading of it redundant, and demonstrates why attempting serious conversation with you is an exercise in futility.

Hey, like I said: I'm interested in reading it. Maybe it's not a "smear piece"; I always enjoy being surprised. Then again, you've been on a multi-decade crusade to destroy the reputations and credibility of Church critics---including interfaith Church critics---so I think I've got plenty of "intellectually serious" history on my side, assumption-wise.


In any event---the conference(s) which I've lately been most curious about were the short-lived SHIELDS conferences. It seems like you never attended them, Prof. P. How come?