FARMS and the Invention of Evidence

[_Mister Scratch]

Drop a note to the Institute. The people in the office will route your inquiry to the appropriate person. If you're not satisfied with the person they choose, you can contact them again. Simple.

Why are you dodging my questions, Prof. P? Who is in charge of the content at the website? Why won't you answer that question?

Why is it so burningly important to you to have a specific name? So that you can drag him or her through the usual mud?

There is no one person responsible for content. But the person most obviously responsible is the person who wrote the paragraph to which you object. I don't know who that was. I've supplied a guess, but I can't guarantee that I'm right.

Wait a sec.... I'm not sure if I understand. It seems that you're telling me, in essence, that there is no real "oversight" or review or editing of the website's content. Is that correct? I.e., is there no failsafe in place to prevent junk assertions from turning up? I mean, you have spoken elsewhere about the very rigorous and thorough review that you guys apply to book reviews. Are you saying that that kind of rigor gets set aside when it comes to the website?

Really, I'm just interested in finding out how this works. To tell you the truth, I found it difficult to learn the names of *any* person involved with the website. In my experience, academic websites like this ordinarily put at least the name of the person in charge in an easy-to-find location. Is there some reason why FARMS doesn't do this? Plausible deniability, perhaps?

Contact them and ask.

In the meantime, you can pester me here with a couple of dozen idiotic posts. But the Maxwell Institute office won't open before 8 AM (Utah time) on Monday, no matter how many such things you write here.

Oh, okay. So you've now told me multiple times to contact an organization that won't be able to respond to me for a few days. I hate to admit it, Prof. P., but it sounds like you are trying to send me on a wild goose chase!

Come on now. I feel pretty certain that you know who is in charge of the content on the website. My questions are pretty simple.

1. Is there any kind of editorial oversight for the website? Y/N?
2. If 'Y', then who is in charge of it?

[_Ray A]

Really, I'm just interested in finding out how this works.

Really?

[_Tarski]

You can strut and preen here, or you can drop a note to the folks at the Maxwell Institute and see what those responsible for this particular item have to say. If you want to choose the latter path, go to "Contact Us," at

http://farms.BYU.edu/

and proceed from there.

One or two people affiliated with FARMS or the Maxwell Institute very rarely look in on MADB, and with the exception of myself, absolutely nobody affiliated with FARMS or the Maxwell Institute pays even the slightest attention to this board. So cavorting around here and boasting about their failure to answer you is really quite silly.

I did that and got no answer.

[_Tarski]

You know what? Perhaps I will contact them. Who wrote this entry, so I can reach the specific person?

I haven't the foggiest idea. Perhaps Matt Roper, but that's just a guess.

I'm not in charge of the website, and had nothing to do with this in any way. But that won't dissuade you from blathering on about collective guilt. What a card you are.

Will this be your new hobbyhorse, now that people seem plainly to be sick to death of your other crusade? Or does this merely represent the opening of a new front?

I would have though you would enjoy a change of hobby.

[_Tarski]

Contact them and ask.
.

Like I said. I did email them about this in a very polite and professional way. No accusatory tone or anything.

It seems I was ignored.

I have also asked about this online several times. You would think that those who wish the site to be accurate and wish to avoid all appearance of deception would be personally interested in seeing this removed or reworded or backed up with a scientific reference.

But this site has been so effective. My brother in law actually counter my claim that horses in the Book of Mormon was a problem by claim that new discoveries provided evidence supporting Book of Mormon horses. Turns out he got that information from the FARMS site.

It did it's job!

[_Mister Scratch]

You can strut and preen here, or you can drop a note to the folks at the Maxwell Institute and see what those responsible for this particular item have to say. If you want to choose the latter path, go to "Contact Us," at

http://farms.BYU.edu/

and proceed from there.

One or two people affiliated with FARMS or the Maxwell Institute very rarely look in on MADB, and with the exception of myself, absolutely nobody affiliated with FARMS or the Maxwell Institute pays even the slightest attention to this board. So cavorting around here and boasting about their failure to answer you is really quite silly.

I did that and got no answer.

Huh. That's interesting. Did you tell the Good Professor that this was what happened when you tried to contact them, Tarski? I had figured that it would be a waste of time for me to contact them, but it's good to have confirmation.

[_Daniel Peterson]

I hate to admit it, Prof. P., but it sounds like you are trying to send me on a wild goose chase!

You've more than earned such treatment, but, as it happens, I'm not.

Contact them on Monday. If they don't respond within a reasonable period of time (say, by the next day; it's summer, and people are often out of town), let me know here and I'll put the question to somebody myself. (You should, in that case, attempt to formulate an actual question. Accusations of moral depravity and dishonesty -- your preferred method -- don't always make people very eager to interact with you.)

If you're actually interested in the subject you claim you're interested in, that's a pretty obviously reasonable way to approach the matter. If, on the other hand, you're launching yet another idiotic crusade, you won't be satisfied with a reasonable approach.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Did you tell the Good Professor [sic] this was what happened when you tried to contact them, Tarski? I had figured that it would be a waste of time for me to contact them, but it's good to have confirmation.

So you're not going to make the attempt? Does that mean you simply intend to pointlessly preen, strut, and pose here? Please let me know, and I'll stop watching the thread.

[_moksha]

Unusual Horse Found
LaBrea, California - Thought to be Pre-Columbian due to wooden sub-structure.

[_Tarski]

Did you tell the Good Professor [sic] this was what happened when you tried to contact them, Tarski? I had figured that it would be a waste of time for me to contact them, but it's good to have confirmation.

So you're not going to make the attempt? Does that mean you simply intend to pointlessly preen, strut, and pose here? Please let me know, and I'll stop watching the thread.

I'll try again.