Some here post excerpts of articles. Others post their own thinking

[MineralMan]

and ideas. Both approaches are valid. Articles written by others are the ideas of those authors. Original posts are the ideas of the poster. Neither should be ignored. Still, it helps if those who post bits and pieces of articles provide some insights into what they took from someone else's writings. That helps promote discussion. Posts that are the ideas of the poster start from an individual perspective, so we know what the individual thinks.

When it comes to religion, everything is really opinion, isn't it?

[guillaumeb]

1. What of Don Viejo's posts?

I do not remember ever reading any personal opinion posted by that poster.

[MineralMan]

2. Did I name any poster?

My post is directed at all who post here. Why do you ask about an individual poster in response to a general comment?

Why begin a "whatabout" line of discussion before addressing the original post?

[guillaumeb]

3. We all decide which approach to take.

Occasionally, I post a personal opinion, in religion as well as GD. I feel that either approach is fine.

[MineralMan]

5. Do you suppose I'm talking about you?

I'm not. My post did not address any individuals at all.

[guillaumeb]

6. Understood. eom

[sprinkleeninow]

16. Love you! 🤗

In XC.....

[guillaumeb]

17. I am simply an observer who is

looking for the welcome table.

[sprinkleeninow]

20. Here, let us have a refreshment in this gathering...🥂

And then, lettuce pray.

[guillaumeb]

25. That beets the other responses. eom

[sprinkleeninow]

26. Speaking of beets, I make beet wedges or slices with a good quality horseradish and sour cream

mixed in. Drain beets well. Adjust amt. of horseradish according to how much steam you want coming out yer ears! 😅

My other half loves these once a week. We're keeping the beet and horseradish farmers subsidized. Not schlumpy and his fake bailout. 😤

The Carpathian Slovaks love their beets. A Paschal/Easter traditional one is grated beets, splash of vinegar, some sugar, salt. A condiment, like picked beets. Purists cook fresh beets, not using commercial canned and grow their own horseradish. My Baba would make fresh horseradish sandwiches. A mild variety 'tho. Hoo-wee! 😂

Guillaume,

[guillaumeb]

27. I like beets any way that they are prepared. eom

[sprinkleeninow]

28. 😘

[trotsky]

7. For those who cannot support their position,

whataboutism is a perfect tool for just about any occasion.

[MineralMan]

8. Oddly enough, I said that both approaches to posting are fine.

I did add that it helps if the poster adds commentary to an excerpt. I'm not sure why my post was taken personally, nor why some other poster's name was brought up as a "whatabout."

I guess someone thought that I was making a personal criticism. I wasn't, clearly.

[trotsky]

9. I guess you "hit a nerve."

[MineralMan]

10. Well, I hit my "funny bone" nerve yesterday, too.

I wasn't that amused, though.

Anyhow, I didn't call anyone out in my OP, but someone else called out an unconnected individual poster in a reply. I find the irony of that very interesting. The essence of whataboutism, that seems to me.

[Lordquinton]

12. If the shoe fits...

as they say

[MineralMan]

4. I looked in the Religion Group thread list for that name.

I found one thread started by the poster you name. I did not participate in that thread, due to the reason I mentioned in the post that begins this thread. I'm interested in the thoughts of those who participate here. If they are not present, I'm not likely to get involved in that thread, generally.

It's a discussion area. I like discussions with people who have ideas.

[Voltaire2]

11. Waddaboudis?

[MineralMan]

13. Indeed, but a poor example.

I didn't even remember that post from August 10. Why not address what I actually said? Odd.

[guillaumeb]

14. No, simply pointing out the obvious inconsistency. eom

[Voltaire2]

15. Wuddaboudat?

[hunter]

18. The opinions I post here on DU are my own.

Why would I bother promoting the opinions of anyone else?

[MineralMan]

19. Yes. I post news stories sometimes, but

Otherwise, I post opinions. Some people say, " Well, that's just your opinion," but then they post someone else's opinion like that's something different. Odd.

[marylandblue]

22. It's a variant on the "some people say" dodge

The poster can use someone else's opinion in place of their own, but deny that it is fact their own, rather it's just an opinion of a random person on the internet.

[sprinkleeninow]

29. 'Some people' are habitual users of the 'some people' saying.

An not who you may think I yam making reference to.

[marylandblue]

30. Well it can also be an indirect way of commenting on behavior

without violating the TOS or ruffling feathers too much.

[sprinkleeninow]

31. My feathers get ruffled on occasion, sad to admit. But then they assume their order again.

You... Yes? 🤗

[marylandblue]

32. I'm human, I get an occasional ruffle

But thinking before posting has saved me many embarrassing moments.

[sprinkleeninow]

33. True dat. I've reconsidered some posts and said nah, don't.

Not necessarily in this group. I've almost posted some scathing and obscenely rude stuff about tЯumpf then had a second thought. Well yes, even I veer into bigly uncharitable ruminating.😇

[Permanut]

21. Thanks, MineralMan..

The structure of the threads here in Religion have been largely conducive to constructive discussion, and you have contributed greatly to that structure with your incisive and insightful posts.

[edhopper]

23. There are other catagories of course

News about Religion, or Religion and politics.
Then there are articles about things you either like and want to share, or think are not good and want to point out.

[MineralMan]

24. As I said, both approaches to posting are valid.

Generally, though, if someone posts a copy and paste excerpt from some other place, some comment on what was posted is always a good idea. Lacking that, and given the excerpt limits imposed by DU, it can be difficult to tell why someone posted what they posted. Adding a bit of one's own opinion adds to the post, I think.

Occasionally, too, someone posts parts of an article or story that don't really reflect the overall points made in the story at the link. While it would be nice if everyone clicked the link and read the entire story, that's an unrealistic expectation here. Often, people don't even bother to read an entire post before responding, so going to a link to read is uncommon.

Sometimes, what is excerpted doesn't even reflect or amplify the headline from the source. Selective copy and paste does not always align with the points made by the original author. It's an odd thing to click through and discover that an article actually says the opposite of the excerpt that was selected for posting. That's a frequent source of embarrassment for posters, who sometimes depend on readers not clicking to read the entire article. In such cases, I often wonder if the DUer even bothered to read the entire article before posting an excerpt.

[edhopper]

34. Good points.