• Re: In anticipation of Normans' next whinge

    From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 17:55:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was
    theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest this was >>>>>> a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not confessing >>>>> to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they
    are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to
    a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact,
    it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking
    for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it
    wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly
    consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it
    when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    Any argument that it's theft necessarily requires that it be dishonest.
    It's part of the definition of theft.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the
    legal system theft is necessarily dishonest,

    You've got that completely backwards.

    On this, maybe uniquely, you are right.

    It must be dishonest to be theft,
    not the other way around. A judge doesn't sit there in court going "well
    I have decided that what you did was theft, therefore I am forced to the inevitable conclusion that you were dishonest".

    You seem to be implying by this that there are two types of theft,
    dishonest theft and, presumably, honest theft. There aren't.

    What you have to be clear about what it is that has to be dishonest to
    fall within the Act, and that is the appropriation of property belonging
    to another. It means essentially not taking anything that you know
    belongs to someone else to which you are not entitled.

    And you know you are not entitled to anything commercially supplied
    unless you pay for it or have some agreement to the contrary. If you do
    so deliberately, it's appropriation of it that is dishonest in anyone's
    eyes, and the foundation of the criminal offence of theft.

    even when there is no deception, i.e. the legal definition of
    dishonest diverges from common English usage of the word.

    FWIW, I suspect I agree with Roland behaviour 100%. It was the
    responsibility of a massive corporation to have reliable billing
    systems. However, if the gas (or similar) had been supplied by a poor
    little old lady down the road, I would classify behaviour like Roland's
    as theft.

    So if everything about it was completely different, it would be
    different? You'll have to give me a minute to process this revelation.

    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    Then so too are facts, the law, and logic.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 17:57:30 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 17:40, Martin Harran wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells >>> wrote:

    [snipped]

    If you want to continue to be a total cunt Norman then be my guest.

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    It's probably the only intelligence they ever encounter.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Roger Hayter@roger@hayter.org to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 17:26:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30 Jun 2026 at 17:10:40 BST, "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote:

    On 30/06/2026 16:26, Roger Hayter wrote:
    On 30 Jun 2026 at 14:24:09 BST, "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote:

    Tell me again why he would choose to switch at all. That's what I'm not >>> getting.

    According to you he is not entitled to use gas at all. So if the developer has
    installed a gas boiler, gas cooker and gas fires then, again according to you,
    in the absence of anyone willing to take responsibility for his gas supply he
    must stop using them; and, presumably, switch to another power source. Or
    starve and freeze and have no hot water to wash in.

    Or did you temporarily forget what you were talking about?

    No, I think rather that you're confused and disorientated in your own fog.

    Continued use of the gas without payment or any agreement to the
    contrary was illegal and immoral. He should have ceased use of it temporarily until he resolved the issue which should have been
    relatively quick and certainly not a matter of years.

    It was a resolvable issue even if he didn't know at the time how to go
    about it. He could and should have taken advice, then acted.

    This is truly laughable. Your solution to Roland's dilemma is simply that it shouldn't have happened. To the chagrin of the hundreds of people in Roland's position every year, who fail to engage a gas supplier despite every effort over months or years, your reply is that they are not doing it properly.* You have a secret solution which may not exist except in your mind but would have avoided the problem altogether. Noting that according to your logic even ten minutes of gas use *before* making an agreement with a supplier is theft, so everyone who buys a new house has to stop using gas or electricity until they get agreement from a supplier, just in case it may prove difficult to do so.
    Or is it only theft after a Norman number of days of effort to engage a supplier? Or will you personally adjudicate in each case as to how long the
    gas use can continue without becoming theft if supplier agreement is delayed?


    *Actually I believe there is a better system in use since the time of Roland's problem, but I'm by no means certain the new system always works!
    --

    Roger Hayter
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Kerr-Mudd, John@admin@127.0.0.1 to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 18:57:58 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells >> wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []
    --
    Bah, and indeed Humbug.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 19:23:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 18:26, Roger Hayter wrote:
    On 30 Jun 2026 at 17:10:40 BST, "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote:

    On 30/06/2026 16:26, Roger Hayter wrote:
    On 30 Jun 2026 at 14:24:09 BST, "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote: >>>>
    Tell me again why he would choose to switch at all. That's what I'm not >>>> getting.

    According to you he is not entitled to use gas at all. So if the developer has
    installed a gas boiler, gas cooker and gas fires then, again according to you,
    in the absence of anyone willing to take responsibility for his gas supply he
    must stop using them; and, presumably, switch to another power source. Or >>> starve and freeze and have no hot water to wash in.

    Or did you temporarily forget what you were talking about?

    No, I think rather that you're confused and disorientated in your own fog. >>
    Continued use of the gas without payment or any agreement to the
    contrary was illegal and immoral. He should have ceased use of it
    temporarily until he resolved the issue which should have been
    relatively quick and certainly not a matter of years.

    It was a resolvable issue even if he didn't know at the time how to go
    about it. He could and should have taken advice, then acted.

    This is truly laughable. Your solution to Roland's dilemma is simply that it shouldn't have happened.

    Where on earth do you get that from?

    It's certainly a problem that should not have arisen, but that's no
    solution to it, let alone mine.

    To the chagrin of the hundreds of people in Roland's
    position every year, who fail to engage a gas supplier despite every effort over months or years, your reply is that they are not doing it properly.* You have a secret solution which may not exist except in your mind but would have avoided the problem altogether.

    Not so. The problem existed and he needed to sort it out. He needed to
    do so with the property developers in whose direction he should have
    been pointed if going to them didn't occur to him naturally. The gas
    company did nothing wrong and had no ability to solve it on its own, as
    he was rightly told.

    Noting that according to your logic even ten
    minutes of gas use *before* making an agreement with a supplier is theft, so everyone who buys a new house has to stop using gas or electricity until they get agreement from a supplier, just in case it may prove difficult to do so.

    Apart from de minimis usage, yes. You can't justify two years usage on
    the basis though.

    Or is it only theft after a Norman number of days of effort to engage a supplier? Or will you personally adjudicate in each case as to how long the gas use can continue without becoming theft if supplier agreement is delayed?

    I have asked after what period it ceases to be reasonable to use gas you
    are not paying for, ie days, weeks, months, years, decades or forever.
    What is *your* answer to that?

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Pamela@pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 19:26:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 13:34 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela wrote:
    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman
    Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that
    was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 20:16:46 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Pamela" <pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com> wrote in message news:XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226...

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    An ad-hominem is a logical fallacy whereby a person's character
    is attacked in lieu of any serious attempt at addressing their
    argument.

    Such as "you're stupid" or "you couldn't argue your way of
    wet paper bag"; or in the case of Simon Parker's response
    to some of Norman's points, the totally fallacious claim "because
    you haven't got any legal qualifications, you can't possibly know
    what you're talking about."

    And indeed because of his persistence Norman has himself been
    the subject of many ad hominem attacks down the years


    By way of contrast, in this instance, Norman is quite unambiguously
    but wrongly accusing another poster of being a thief, of being a
    dishonest person; at least as far as Norman understands things.

    But he is not thereby arguing that this person's arguments shouldn't
    be taken seriously simply because he was a thief. He has not, thus
    far at least accused him of lying. Which would indeed shade into
    an ad-hom.



    bb






    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 20:30:50 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Roger Hayter" <roger@hayter.org> wrote in message news:3484142940.53c79ac0@uninhabited.net...
    On 30 Jun 2026 at 16:40:09 BST, "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:

    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was
    theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest this was >>>>>> a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not confessing >>>>> to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they
    are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to
    a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact,
    it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking
    for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it
    wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly
    consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it
    when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the
    legal system theft is necessarily dishonest, even when there is no
    deception, i.e. the legal definition of dishonest diverges from common
    English usage of the word.

    FWIW, I suspect I agree with Roland behaviour 100%. It was the
    responsibility of a massive corporation to have reliable billing
    systems. However, if the gas (or similar) had been supplied by a poor
    little old lady down the road, I would classify behaviour like Roland's
    as theft.

    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    I entirely agree with the disuse of Norman's point. The analogy between a bag of magic beans that an old lady might perhaps own without being aware of them and a national import, storage and distribution system for natural gas involving many thousands of workers and a significant proportion of GDP is somewhat unhelpful, not least because the energy industry is subject to detailed statutory regulation, which the old lady's private possessions aren't. There is no obvious analogy between Roland's actions and any similar actions regarding the old lady's magic beans. I think we have to agree that it
    is not within the realms of possibility that said old lady would own a large chunk of the energy sector, at least without employing a huge bureaucracy to manage it for her.

    So, disuse it is.

    A better analogy might have been "Bottom". So that had Roland been living
    with Ade and Eddie, and had helped them steal gas from Mr Rotweiller*
    next door, via a garden hose, and had failed to convince the gasman
    who came to read their meter that they never used any gas, "we always
    make our tea with cold water" he would definitely have been charged
    with theft.


    bb

    Brian Pringle




    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 20:50:30 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote in message news:nai779F70hvU9@mid.individual.net...
    On 30/06/2026 15:41, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message
    news:1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me...
    On 6/30/26 13:34, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela >>>> wrote:

    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>> Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that
    was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.


    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.


    AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was theft, or >>> not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    The only person debating that was Norman. With himself.

    Everyone else agreed that using gas *with every intention of paying for
    it at some stage or other *isn't theft.

    "(2) A person's appropriation of property belonging to another may be dishonest notwithstanding that he is willing to pay for the property."

    Theft Act 1968, Section 2(2).

    "may"; not "is".

    "May" applying in circumstances where the other party might not wish
    to sell that property at present, as was known to the "buyer" at the
    time, and may be inconvenienced as a result.

    Unlike gas companies who pump the stuff at pressure through pipes
    directly to people's houses. So much, do they want to sell it


    bb








    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 19:54:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-06-30, billy bookcase <billy@anon.com> wrote:
    "Pamela" <pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com> wrote in message news:XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226...
    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    An ad-hominem is a logical fallacy whereby a person's character
    is attacked in lieu of any serious attempt at addressing their
    argument.

    Such as "you're stupid" or "you couldn't argue your way of
    wet paper bag"; or in the case of Simon Parker's response
    to some of Norman's points, the totally fallacious claim "because
    you haven't got any legal qualifications, you can't possibly know
    what you're talking about."

    To be honest, I don't remember Simon ever saying that. "You don't have
    any legal qualifications", sure. "You don't know what you're talking
    about", sure. Perhaps that remedying the former could cure the latter.
    But not that former necessarily implies the latter.

    And indeed because of his persistence Norman has himself been
    the subject of many ad hominem attacks down the years

    Haha. "Persistence" is an extremely charitable way of putting it.
    Norman invariably either ignores, flatly denies, or posts nonsense
    in response to valid arguments against whatever ludicrously position
    he is purporting to hold at any particular time, so there is never
    any point in engaging him in argument.

    I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of occasions on
    which he has admitted to changing his position in response to argument
    - even after suffering some terrible accident which resulted in the
    loss of several fingers. This leaves only ignoring him or mocking him,
    although the latter will of course generally be rejected in the
    moderated group.

    By way of contrast, in this instance, Norman is quite unambiguously
    but wrongly accusing another poster of being a thief, of being a
    dishonest person; at least as far as Norman understands things.

    But he is not thereby arguing that this person's arguments shouldn't
    be taken seriously simply because he was a thief. He has not, thus
    far at least accused him of lying. Which would indeed shade into
    an ad-hom.

    It's not an "ad-hominem argument" because his accusation of dishonesty
    doesn't relate to an argument anyone else is making. But it does come
    under moderation policy rule (a), which says that posts "will normally
    be rejected if they imply that another contributor ... [is] dishonest".
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 19:56:04 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-06-30, billy bookcase <billy@anon.com> wrote:
    A better analogy might have been "Bottom". So that had Roland been living with Ade and Eddie, and had helped them steal gas from Mr Rotweiller*
    next door, via a garden hose, and had failed to convince the gasman
    who came to read their meter that they never used any gas, "we always
    make our tea with cold water" he would definitely have been charged
    with theft.

    The gas safety inspection person who comes round seems surprised, every
    year, to learn that in our flat we have a gas supply but no gas meter.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 20:55:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Martin Harran" <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote in message news:l9s74l1bjhktnh3c9cgcaockjsis060ot0@4ax.com...
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells >>> wrote:

    [snipped]

    If you want to continue to be a total cunt Norman then be my guest.

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    As opposed to the benefits everyone else has accrued; as a result
    of spending decades engaging with the more sensible posters on
    UseNet


    bb


    https://usenetarchives.com/index.php


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Pancho@Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 21:06:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was
    theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest this was >>>>>> a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not confessing >>>>> to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they
    are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to
    a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact,
    it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking
    for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it
    wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly
    consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it
    when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    Any argument that it's theft necessarily requires that it be dishonest.
    It's part of the definition of theft.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the
    legal system theft is necessarily dishonest,

    You've got that completely backwards. It must be dishonest to be theft,
    not the other way around.
    A judge doesn't sit there in court going "well
    I have decided that what you did was theft, therefore I am forced to the inevitable conclusion that you were dishonest".


    In fact, that is often the way it works. The judge may match a pattern
    of behaviour to a precedent where a similar pattern was judged to be
    theft.

    For instance spending a large mysterious windfall payment wrongly
    deposited into a bank account is considered theft. So it is dishonest.

    Alternatively the beneficiary of a will may notice HMRC overpaid the
    pension to the diseased after they were dead, but HMRC cannot force the beneficiary to give it back (a simplification). So it isn't dishonest.

    even when there is no deception, i.e. the legal definition of
    dishonest diverges from common English usage of the word.

    FWIW, I suspect I agree with Roland behaviour 100%. It was the
    responsibility of a massive corporation to have reliable billing
    systems. However, if the gas (or similar) had been supplied by a poor
    little old lady down the road, I would classify behaviour like Roland's
    as theft.

    So if everything about it was completely different, it would be
    different? You'll have to give me a minute to process this revelation.


    It is a simplistic example to show how the legal use of dishonest is arbitrary.

    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him, but we both know that Norman does sometimes make
    good points.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 21:12:57 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote in message news:naifsaF70hvU17@mid.individual.net...
    ?

    I have asked after what period it ceases to be reasonable to use gas you are not paying for, ie days, weeks, months, years, decades or forever. What is *your* answer to that?


    How about 20 years ?

    Of free electricity.anyway.

    quote::

    Carol Kellar has ended up enjoying 20 years of free electricity worth an estimated u10,000 after somehow slipping through the system back in
    the 1990s when her house was incorrectly marked down as having been disconnected.

    [..]

    So it's far from clear what actually happened and why she never received
    any bills as far back as 1993 - but what about the $64,000 question: was
    Kellar going to be hit with a huge back-bill? E.ON told us: "We will not be back-billing her." That decision reflects the fact that, as E.ON said, "we wouldn't have records [as to what happened in 1998] - we didn't own the
    company then".

    :unquote

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/07/no-electricity-bill-20-years


    10,000 quids worth and they won't even be back billing her !

    Its enough to make you sick; isn't it Norman ?

    And just think, had Roland not moved out ,maybe he might have
    eventually written a letter to the "Guardian" too. And he might
    have got u10,000 worth of free gas !



    bb










    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:21:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 21:12, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote in message news:naifsaF70hvU17@mid.individual.net...

    Carol Kellar has ended up enjoying 20 years of free electricity worth an estimated +U10,000 after somehow slipping through the system back in
    the 1990s when her house was incorrectly marked down as having been disconnected.

    [..]

    So it's far from clear what actually happened and why she never received
    any bills as far back as 1993 - but what about the $64,000 question: was Kellar going to be hit with a huge back-bill? E.ON told us: "We will not be back-billing her." That decision reflects the fact that, as E.ON said, "we wouldn't have records [as to what happened in 1998] - we didn't own the company then".

    :unquote

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/07/no-electricity-bill-20-years

    10,000 quids worth and they won't even be back billing her !

    Its enough to make you sick; isn't it Norman ?

    If they had the evidence, they surely would have back-billed her. If
    they had the evidence I think she may well have been prosecuted for theft.

    She was in my view very lucky indeed.

    And just think, had Roland not moved out ,maybe he might have
    eventually written a letter to the "Guardian" too. And he might
    have got +U10,000 worth of free gas !

    It seems he got two years worth at least. But that's not because he was
    in the right. In another, more attentive world he may just have got two years. For theft.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:31:23 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 20:16, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Pamela" <pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com> wrote in message news:XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226...

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    An ad-hominem is a logical fallacy whereby a person's character
    is attacked in lieu of any serious attempt at addressing their
    argument.

    Such as "you're stupid" or "you couldn't argue your way of
    wet paper bag"; or in the case of Simon Parker's response
    to some of Norman's points, the totally fallacious claim "because
    you haven't got any legal qualifications, you can't possibly know
    what you're talking about."

    And indeed because of his persistence Norman has himself been
    the subject of many ad hominem attacks down the years

    By way of contrast, in this instance, Norman is quite unambiguously
    but wrongly accusing another poster of being a thief, of being a
    dishonest person; at least as far as Norman understands things.

    It's not a question of whether the person is dishonest as an intrinsic characteristic but whether his appropriation of the property in question
    was dishonest, which I think the evidence shows it was.

    But he is not thereby arguing that this person's arguments shouldn't
    be taken seriously simply because he was a thief. He has not, thus
    far at least accused him of lying. Which would indeed shade into
    an ad-hom.

    No, he hasn't lied. But I think on the evidence that he has stolen.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 21:34:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was >>>>>>> theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest this was >>>>>>> a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not confessing >>>>>> to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they >>>>> are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to
    a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact,
    it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking
    for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it
    wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly
    consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it
    when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    Any argument that it's theft necessarily requires that it be dishonest.
    It's part of the definition of theft.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the
    legal system theft is necessarily dishonest,

    You've got that completely backwards. It must be dishonest to be theft,
    not the other way around.
    A judge doesn't sit there in court going "well
    I have decided that what you did was theft, therefore I am forced to the
    inevitable conclusion that you were dishonest".

    In fact, that is often the way it works.

    No, it isn't.

    The judge may match a pattern of behaviour to a precedent where a
    similar pattern was judged to be theft.

    You mean a similar pattern was judged to be dishonest.

    For instance spending a large mysterious windfall payment wrongly
    deposited into a bank account is considered theft. So it is dishonest.

    No. It's considered dishonest, therefore it's theft.

    Alternatively the beneficiary of a will may notice HMRC overpaid the
    pension to the diseased after they were dead, but HMRC cannot force the beneficiary to give it back (a simplification). So it isn't dishonest.

    That doesn't make any sense either. That sounds like something that
    might be dishonest but isn't theft, rather than the other way around.

    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him,

    You've managed to pack quite a lot of falsehoods and non sequiturs into
    quite a short sentence there.

    but we both know that Norman does sometimes make good points.

    As I've said before, he's less a "stopped clock" that is right twice
    a day and more a "stopped calendar" that's right once a year. But he's
    been posting for several decades so it would be truly impressive if
    he'd *never* been right, even if only by accident. It's just incredibly
    rare. A magic 8-ball would be more reliable.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jeff Gaines@jgnewsid@outlook.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 21:35:18 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela
    wrote:

    On 13:34 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela >>wrote:
    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid >>>>>non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that
    was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly against another poster.
    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    How does a gender neutral bog differ from a unisex bog ?
    It has a non-binary number on the door.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:42:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 20:54, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, billy bookcase <billy@anon.com> wrote:
    "Pamela" <pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com> wrote in message
    news:XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226...
    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    An ad-hominem is a logical fallacy whereby a person's character
    is attacked in lieu of any serious attempt at addressing their
    argument.

    Such as "you're stupid" or "you couldn't argue your way of
    wet paper bag"; or in the case of Simon Parker's response
    to some of Norman's points, the totally fallacious claim "because
    you haven't got any legal qualifications, you can't possibly know
    what you're talking about."

    To be honest, I don't remember Simon ever saying that. "You don't have
    any legal qualifications", sure. "You don't know what you're talking
    about", sure. Perhaps that remedying the former could cure the latter.
    But not that former necessarily implies the latter.

    And indeed because of his persistence Norman has himself been
    the subject of many ad hominem attacks down the years

    Haha. "Persistence" is an extremely charitable way of putting it.
    Norman invariably either ignores, flatly denies, or posts nonsense
    in response to valid arguments against whatever ludicrously position
    he is purporting to hold at any particular time, so there is never
    any point in engaging him in argument.

    Perhaps you don't have the intelligence to understand the points I
    raise. But I always justify whatever I say, and am always happy to
    argue the merits if anyone disagrees.

    I could count on the fingers of one hand the number of occasions on
    which he has admitted to changing his position in response to argument
    - even after suffering some terrible accident which resulted in the
    loss of several fingers. This leaves only ignoring him or mocking him, although the latter will of course generally be rejected in the
    moderated group.

    Quite right too. I expect better.

    By way of contrast, in this instance, Norman is quite unambiguously
    but wrongly accusing another poster of being a thief, of being a
    dishonest person; at least as far as Norman understands things.

    But he is not thereby arguing that this person's arguments shouldn't
    be taken seriously simply because he was a thief. He has not, thus
    far at least accused him of lying. Which would indeed shade into
    an ad-hom.

    It's not an "ad-hominem argument" because his accusation of dishonesty doesn't relate to an argument anyone else is making. But it does come
    under moderation policy rule (a), which says that posts "will normally
    be rejected if they imply that another contributor ... [is] dishonest".

    Suppose another contributor is actually dishonest, which is not beyond
    the realms of possibility. Are you saying that that truth should be suppressed? That the truth is for some reason subservient to making the dishonest poster feel better about himself?

    What sort of world is that?

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:48:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 22:35, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela wrote:

    On 13:34-a 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela
    wrote:
    On 10:44-a 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman
    Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement.-a He was depriving its owner, whoever that
    was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so?-a Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly against another poster.

    which, if you actually look it up:

    "attacks the character, motive, or personal traits of their opponent
    rather than engaging with the actual substance of the argument itself"

    I have done nothing of the sort, but have concerned myself entirely with
    the substance of the argument.

    As always.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:49:11 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 20:56, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, billy bookcase <billy@anon.com> wrote:
    A better analogy might have been "Bottom". So that had Roland been living
    with Ade and Eddie, and had helped them steal gas from Mr Rotweiller*
    next door, via a garden hose, and had failed to convince the gasman
    who came to read their meter that they never used any gas, "we always
    make our tea with cold water" he would definitely have been charged
    with theft.

    The gas safety inspection person who comes round seems surprised, every
    year, to learn that in our flat we have a gas supply but no gas meter.

    Quite right too. Who is paying for the gas you are using?
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:52:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 20:50, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote in message news:nai779F70hvU9@mid.individual.net...
    On 30/06/2026 15:41, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message
    news:1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me...
    On 6/30/26 13:34, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela >>>>> wrote:

    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>>> Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that >>>>>>>> was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.


    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.


    AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was theft, or
    not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    The only person debating that was Norman. With himself.

    Everyone else agreed that using gas *with every intention of paying for
    it at some stage or other *isn't theft.

    "(2) A person's appropriation of property belonging to another may be
    dishonest notwithstanding that he is willing to pay for the property."

    Theft Act 1968, Section 2(2).

    "may"; not "is".

    Indeed. It means that it's not a universal get-out just to say when
    caught oh, I'm willing to pay.

    See my comment earlier about a shoplifter discovered with goods up his
    jumper.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:56:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 21:06, Pancho wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him, but we both know that Norman does sometimes make
    good points.

    Always, actually.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 23:00:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 22:34, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was >>>>>>>> theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest this was >>>>>>>> a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not confessing >>>>>>> to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they >>>>>> are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to
    a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact, >>>>> it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking >>>>> for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it >>>>> wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly >>>> consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it
    when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    Any argument that it's theft necessarily requires that it be dishonest.
    It's part of the definition of theft.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the >>>> legal system theft is necessarily dishonest,

    You've got that completely backwards. It must be dishonest to be theft,
    not the other way around.
    A judge doesn't sit there in court going "well
    I have decided that what you did was theft, therefore I am forced to the >>> inevitable conclusion that you were dishonest".

    In fact, that is often the way it works.

    No, it isn't.

    The judge may match a pattern of behaviour to a precedent where a
    similar pattern was judged to be theft.

    You mean a similar pattern was judged to be dishonest.

    For instance spending a large mysterious windfall payment wrongly
    deposited into a bank account is considered theft. So it is dishonest.

    No. It's considered dishonest, therefore it's theft.

    Alternatively the beneficiary of a will may notice HMRC overpaid the
    pension to the diseased after they were dead, but HMRC cannot force the
    beneficiary to give it back (a simplification). So it isn't dishonest.

    That doesn't make any sense either. That sounds like something that
    might be dishonest but isn't theft, rather than the other way around.

    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him,

    You've managed to pack quite a lot of falsehoods and non sequiturs into
    quite a short sentence there.

    but we both know that Norman does sometimes make good points.

    As I've said before, he's less a "stopped clock" that is right twice
    a day and more a "stopped calendar" that's right once a year. But he's
    been posting for several decades so it would be truly impressive if
    he'd *never* been right, even if only by accident. It's just incredibly
    rare. A magic 8-ball would be more reliable.

    Except that you have absolutely no evidence of that but are just
    spouting your prejudices off the top of your head or out of some other
    part of your anatomy.

    It doesn't impress.


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Tue Jun 30 22:33:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-06-30, Norman Wells <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 20:56, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, billy bookcase <billy@anon.com> wrote:
    A better analogy might have been "Bottom". So that had Roland been living >>> with Ade and Eddie, and had helped them steal gas from Mr Rotweiller*
    next door, via a garden hose, and had failed to convince the gasman
    who came to read their meter that they never used any gas, "we always
    make our tea with cold water" he would definitely have been charged
    with theft.

    The gas safety inspection person who comes round seems surprised, every
    year, to learn that in our flat we have a gas supply but no gas meter.

    Quite right too. Who is paying for the gas you are using?

    I suppose me, sort of, but in an indirect, unmetered way. The heating
    and hot water system is communal to the block, so the only gas usage
    inside each flat is the cooker hobs, which I guess they decided is not
    worth metering on an individual basis.

    I imagine the total annual usage for the block is divided between the
    flats, and my landlord presumably took this into account when deciding
    how much rent they wanted to charge.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Pancho@Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 07:54:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 6/30/26 22:34, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was >>>>>>>> theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest this was >>>>>>>> a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not confessing >>>>>>> to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they >>>>>> are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to
    a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact, >>>>> it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking >>>>> for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it >>>>> wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly >>>> consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it
    when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    Any argument that it's theft necessarily requires that it be dishonest.
    It's part of the definition of theft.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the >>>> legal system theft is necessarily dishonest,

    You've got that completely backwards. It must be dishonest to be theft,
    not the other way around.
    A judge doesn't sit there in court going "well
    I have decided that what you did was theft, therefore I am forced to the >>> inevitable conclusion that you were dishonest".

    In fact, that is often the way it works.

    No, it isn't.

    The judge may match a pattern of behaviour to a precedent where a
    similar pattern was judged to be theft.

    You mean a similar pattern was judged to be dishonest.

    For instance spending a large mysterious windfall payment wrongly
    deposited into a bank account is considered theft. So it is dishonest.

    No. It's considered dishonest, therefore it's theft.


    Theft is necessarily dishonest, Dishonesty is not necessarily theft.

    Theft implies dishonest, dishonest does not imply theft.

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their
    action is theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal
    group should permit a reasonable argument that an action committed by a
    poster is theft.

    Alternatively the beneficiary of a will may notice HMRC overpaid the
    pension to the diseased after they were dead, but HMRC cannot force the
    beneficiary to give it back (a simplification). So it isn't dishonest.

    That doesn't make any sense either. That sounds like something that
    might be dishonest but isn't theft, rather than the other way around.


    In what way is keeping (and spending) an overpaid tax credit dishonest?
    It doesn't involve deception, it doesn't involve a breach of trust, it
    isn't illegal. The major difference between that and spending a large
    mistaken bank credit is just legal precedent. That is why one is
    dishonest, and the other isn't.


    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him,

    You've managed to pack quite a lot of falsehoods and non sequiturs into
    quite a short sentence there.

    but we both know that Norman does sometimes make good points.

    As I've said before, he's less a "stopped clock" that is right twice
    a day and more a "stopped calendar" that's right once a year. But he's
    been posting for several decades so it would be truly impressive if
    he'd *never* been right, even if only by accident. It's just incredibly
    rare. A magic 8-ball would be more reliable.

    No, Norman is often right, it is just that his argumentative stile is
    very different from many other group members who have a legal
    background. Norman's style is more mathematical, from first principles.
    Legal members of the group tend to argue more from a precedent or
    consensus view point (in the view of my learned friends etc). Both
    styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 07:55:20 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 23:33, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Norman Wells <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 20:56, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, billy bookcase <billy@anon.com> wrote:
    A better analogy might have been "Bottom". So that had Roland been living >>>> with Ade and Eddie, and had helped them steal gas from Mr Rotweiller*
    next door, via a garden hose, and had failed to convince the gasman
    who came to read their meter that they never used any gas, "we always
    make our tea with cold water" he would definitely have been charged
    with theft.

    The gas safety inspection person who comes round seems surprised, every
    year, to learn that in our flat we have a gas supply but no gas meter.

    Quite right too. Who is paying for the gas you are using?

    I suppose me, sort of, but in an indirect, unmetered way. The heating
    and hot water system is communal to the block, so the only gas usage
    inside each flat is the cooker hobs, which I guess they decided is not
    worth metering on an individual basis.

    I imagine the total annual usage for the block is divided between the
    flats, and my landlord presumably took this into account when deciding
    how much rent they wanted to charge.

    Is it not specified in your rental agreement?

    If you find out you've been using it without payment, though, do let us
    know. We could do with a good robust discussion.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 08:27:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message news:1122diu$1m9tq$1@dont-email.me...

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their action is
    theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal group should permit
    a reasonable argument that an action committed by a poster is theft.

    ULM is a moderated group. Any argument that an action committed
    by a poster is theft, absent conclusive proof* that would stand up in a
    Court of Law is clearly defamatory; and would potentially place the
    moderators who collectively passed such a post, at risk,

    So why should they take that risk ?


    No, Norman is often right, it is just that his argumentative stile is very different from many other group members who have a legal background. Norman's style is more mathematical, from first principles. Legal members of the group tend to argue more from a precedent or consensus view point (in the view of my
    learned friends etc). Both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Norman is a troll who thrives on attention.

    By their very nature trolls need to post incorrect information. Either
    that or post outlandish views; so at to generate a response

    The "mathematical style" to which you refer, is Norman' insistence on
    following through to the bitter end, the apparent logical implications
    which follow from *his own* preferred definitions of words and phrases;
    which often don't coincide with those used by everyone else.

    Most notably as they feature in Statutes and the like.

    As only in this way he can assemble that cast of dupes, patsies, and smartarses, such as myself; all queuing up for the chance to put his
    right.


    bb

    * In which case it should be presented to the police. As failure to
    do so could constitute a criminal offence, in itself.




    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 07:43:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-01, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 22:34, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 16:08, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-06-30, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:
    On 6/30/26 15:02, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <1120ho3$vpqj$1@dont-email.me> Pancho wrote: >>>>>>>>> AIUI, the thread was debating if using the gas without paying was >>>>>>>>> theft, or not. Isn't that what a legal group is about?

    If someone came onto the group and said that they often drive their >>>>>>>>> car above the speed limit, would it be permissible to suggest >>>>>>>>> this was a criminal offence?

    The issue is making a personal attack on another person, not
    confessing to a crime :-)

    But if someone "confesses" to a crime, how do you point out that they >>>>>>> are a criminal, without making a personal attack?

    In this particular case, it wasn't theoretical, it was specific to >>>>>> a poster, and it isn't just something like "driving over 35mph in
    a 30mph limit is an offence" which is an objective, impersonal fact, >>>>>> it's "using gas that you have not received a bill for despite asking >>>>>> for one is dishonest", which is the opposite of impersonal even if it >>>>>> wasn't total bloody nonsense.

    AIUI, Norman's argument was that it was theft because Roland knowingly >>>>> consumed gas he was not being charged for. He continued to consume it >>>>> when he knew he might never be charged for it.

    Any argument that it's theft necessarily requires that it be dishonest. >>>> It's part of the definition of theft.

    That is why it is theft. It is then dishonest because according to the >>>>> legal system theft is necessarily dishonest,

    You've got that completely backwards. It must be dishonest to be theft, >>>> not the other way around.
    A judge doesn't sit there in court going "well
    I have decided that what you did was theft, therefore I am forced to the >>>> inevitable conclusion that you were dishonest".

    In fact, that is often the way it works.

    No, it isn't.

    The judge may match a pattern of behaviour to a precedent where a
    similar pattern was judged to be theft.

    You mean a similar pattern was judged to be dishonest.

    For instance spending a large mysterious windfall payment wrongly
    deposited into a bank account is considered theft. So it is dishonest.

    No. It's considered dishonest, therefore it's theft.

    Theft is necessarily dishonest, Dishonesty is not necessarily theft.

    Theft implies dishonest, dishonest does not imply theft.

    Well, I'm glad that you've understood and are able to repeat back to me
    what I just told you above. But regardless, you're mixing up cause and
    effect. You don't decide first that something is theft and therefore
    that proves it was dishonest. You have to first decide whether it was
    dishonest - if it wasn't, then it wasn't theft. If it was, then it might
    be theft.

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their
    action is theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal
    group should permit a reasonable argument that an action committed by a poster is theft.

    Yes. You'll note you used the word "reasonable" there.

    Alternatively the beneficiary of a will may notice HMRC overpaid the
    pension to the diseased after they were dead, but HMRC cannot force the
    beneficiary to give it back (a simplification). So it isn't dishonest.

    That doesn't make any sense either. That sounds like something that
    might be dishonest but isn't theft, rather than the other way around.

    In what way is keeping (and spending) an overpaid tax credit dishonest?

    In what way does that question not answer itself? You're spending money
    you know isn't yours that the rightful owner would like back.

    It doesn't involve deception, it doesn't involve a breach of trust, it
    isn't illegal. The major difference between that and spending a large mistaken bank credit is just legal precedent. That is why one is
    dishonest, and the other isn't.

    You'd have to provide a reference to whatever precedent it is you're
    presumably talking about.

    So I think Norman's point should be allowed and disused.

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him,

    You've managed to pack quite a lot of falsehoods and non sequiturs into
    quite a short sentence there.

    but we both know that Norman does sometimes make good points.

    As I've said before, he's less a "stopped clock" that is right twice
    a day and more a "stopped calendar" that's right once a year. But he's
    been posting for several decades so it would be truly impressive if
    he'd *never* been right, even if only by accident. It's just incredibly
    rare. A magic 8-ball would be more reliable.

    No, Norman is often right,

    He is not.

    it is just that his argumentative stile is very different from many
    other group members who have a legal background. Norman's style is
    more mathematical, from first principles.

    It's like "mathematical, from first principles" if the person doing
    the maths doesn't understand how addition works, has only a vague
    notion of subtraction, and has never even heard of multiplication
    or division.

    Legal members of the group tend to argue more from a precedent or
    consensus view point (in the view of my learned friends etc). Both
    styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Well, Norman's style has the minor disadvantage that it means he's
    almost always wrong. No advantages spring to mind right now.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jeff Gaines@jgnewsid@outlook.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 07:46:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 in message <naisbuF70hvU23@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells wrote:

    On 30/06/2026 21:06, Pancho wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much >>time insulting him, but we both know that Norman does sometimes make good >>points.

    Always, actually.

    And so modest :-)
    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    By the time you can make ends meet they move the ends
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jeff Gaines@jgnewsid@outlook.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 07:48:25 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 30/06/2026 in message <nairshF70hvU20@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells wrote:

    On 30/06/2026 22:35, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela >>wrote:

    On 13:34-a 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226> Pamela >>>>wrote:
    On 10:44-a 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>>Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid >>>>>>>non-payment agreement.-a He was depriving its owner, whoever that >>>>>>>was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so?-a Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against >>>another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly against >>another poster.

    which, if you actually look it up:

    "attacks the character, motive, or personal traits of their opponent
    rather than engaging with the actual substance of the argument itself"

    I have done nothing of the sort, but have concerned myself entirely with
    the substance of the argument.

    Apart from when calling somebody a thief of course.

    As always.

    :-)
    --
    Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
    George Washington was a British subject until well after his 40th birthday. (Margaret Thatcher, speech at the White House 17 December 1979)
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 08:53:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 08:27, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message news:1122diu$1m9tq$1@dont-email.me...

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their action is
    theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal group should permit
    a reasonable argument that an action committed by a poster is theft.

    ULM is a moderated group. Any argument that an action committed
    by a poster is theft, absent conclusive proof* that would stand up in a
    Court of Law is clearly defamatory; and would potentially place the moderators who collectively passed such a post, at risk,

    An argument is not defamatory. For anything to be defamatory, it has to
    be a statement. That statement has to be about an identifiable person,
    and it has to be likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of that person.

    See Section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013.

    Even a statement that meets all of those criteria is not defamatory if
    it is 'substantially true'.

    See Section 2 of the Defamation Act 2013.

    So why should they take that risk ?

    No, Norman is often right, it is just that his argumentative stile is very >> different from many other group members who have a legal background. Norman's
    style is more mathematical, from first principles. Legal members of the group
    tend to argue more from a precedent or consensus view point (in the view of my
    learned friends etc). Both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Norman is a troll who thrives on attention.

    Now, that's a statement that is potentially defamatory.

    Do you have 'conclusive proof* that would stand up in a
    Court of Law' as you said is required for it not to be?

    If so, without being utterly wet, vague, waftily airy and ineffectually pathetic, what is it?

    By their very nature trolls need to post incorrect information. Either
    that or post outlandish views; so at to generate a response

    The "mathematical style" to which you refer, is Norman' insistence on following through to the bitter end, the apparent logical implications
    which follow from *his own* preferred definitions of words and phrases;
    which often don't coincide with those used by everyone else.

    Most notably as they feature in Statutes and the like.

    I always give references and sources to support whatever I say. As
    above, just by way of example. As in connection recently with the Theft
    Act for another.

    As only in this way he can assemble that cast of dupes, patsies, and smartarses, such as myself; all queuing up for the chance to put his
    right.

    and

    <exit, pursued by a bear>


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 08:56:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 08:48, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <nairshF70hvU20@mid.individual.net> Norman
    Wells wrote:

    On 30/06/2026 22:35, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:

    On 13:34-a 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela
    wrote:
    On 10:44-a 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>>> Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement.-a He was depriving its owner, whoever that >>>>>>>> was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so?-a Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly
    against another poster.

    which, if you actually look it up:

    "attacks the character, motive, or personal traits of their opponent
    rather than engaging with the actual substance of the argument itself"

    I have done nothing of the sort, but have concerned myself entirely
    with the substance of the argument.

    Apart from when calling somebody a thief of course.

    Quote anything I've posted where I've done that.

    Or apologise for your memory loss and overly vivid imagination.


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 09:02:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 08:43, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote:

    No, Norman is often right,

    He is not.

    Who are you to judge?

    it is just that his argumentative stile is very different from many
    other group members who have a legal background. Norman's style is
    more mathematical, from first principles.

    It's like "mathematical, from first principles" if the person doing
    the maths doesn't understand how addition works, has only a vague
    notion of subtraction, and has never even heard of multiplication
    or division.

    Legal members of the group tend to argue more from a precedent or
    consensus view point (in the view of my learned friends etc). Both
    styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Well, Norman's style has the minor disadvantage that it means he's
    almost always wrong. No advantages spring to mind right now.

    My approach is purely legalistic actually. As anyone with any knowledge
    or experience of the law at all would immediately appreciate.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 09:05:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 08:46, Jeff Gaines wrote:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <naisbuF70hvU23@mid.individual.net> Norman
    Wells wrote:

    On 30/06/2026 21:06, Pancho wrote:
    On 6/30/26 17:29, Jon Ribbens wrote:

    Norman doesn't have a point. He never does. He is pointlessness
    in human form.

    I suspect if Norman never had a point the mods wouldn't spend so much
    time insulting him, but we both know that Norman does sometimes make
    good points.

    Always, actually.

    And so modest :-)

    Better than being abusive, offensive and descending to potty-mouthed
    personal insults when found wanting, I think.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 09:20:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote in message news:najvbtFkm5gU2@mid.individual.net...

    An argument is not defamatory.

    Back to the dodgey definitions, I see.

    You just can't leave them alone, can you ?



    bb


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 09:51:28 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 09:20, billy bookcase wrote:
    "Norman Wells" <hex@unseen.ac.am> wrote in message news:najvbtFkm5gU2@mid.individual.net...

    An argument is not defamatory.

    Back to the dodgey definitions, I see.

    You just can't leave them alone, can you ?

    I suggest you go away and actually read Section 1 of the Defamation Act.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Roger Hayter@roger@hayter.org to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 08:54:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 1 Jul 2026 at 08:27:49 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:


    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message news:1122diu$1m9tq$1@dont-email.me...

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their action is
    theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal group should permit
    a reasonable argument that an action committed by a poster is theft.

    ULM is a moderated group. Any argument that an action committed
    by a poster is theft, absent conclusive proof* that would stand up in a
    Court of Law is clearly defamatory; and would potentially place the moderators who collectively passed such a post, at risk,

    So why should they take that risk ?


    No, Norman is often right, it is just that his argumentative stile is very >> different from many other group members who have a legal background. Norman's
    style is more mathematical, from first principles. Legal members of the group
    tend to argue more from a precedent or consensus view point (in the view of my
    learned friends etc). Both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Norman is a troll who thrives on attention.

    By their very nature trolls need to post incorrect information. Either
    that or post outlandish views; so at to generate a response

    The "mathematical style" to which you refer, is Norman' insistence on following through to the bitter end, the apparent logical implications
    which follow from *his own* preferred definitions of words and phrases;
    which often don't coincide with those used by everyone else.

    Most notably as they feature in Statutes and the like.

    As only in this way he can assemble that cast of dupes, patsies, and smartarses, such as myself; all queuing up for the chance to put his
    right.


    bb

    * In which case it should be presented to the police. As failure to
    do so could constitute a criminal offence, in itself.

    As a legal aside, there are limited circumstances when people in England have any legal obligation to report crimes to the police. One for ulm rather than here, though.
    --

    Roger Hayter
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Pamela@pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 13:30:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 22:35 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:
    On 13:34 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:
    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>Wells wrote:


    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid >>>>>>non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that >>>>>>was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against >>another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly
    against another poster.

    My apologies as I hadn't realised the comment was made about someone in
    this group. I wrongly thought it was some other person in another
    situation.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From billy bookcase@billy@anon.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 13:35:13 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation


    "Roger Hayter" <roger@hayter.org> wrote in message news:9606377837.57f23acb@uninhabited.net...
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 08:27:49 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:


    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message
    news:1122diu$1m9tq$1@dont-email.me...

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their action >>> is
    theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal group should
    permit
    a reasonable argument that an action committed by a poster is theft.

    ULM is a moderated group. Any argument that an action committed
    by a poster is theft, absent conclusive proof* that would stand up in a
    Court of Law is clearly defamatory; and would potentially place the
    moderators who collectively passed such a post, at risk,

    So why should they take that risk ?


    No, Norman is often right, it is just that his argumentative stile is very >>> different from many other group members who have a legal background.
    Norman's
    style is more mathematical, from first principles. Legal members of the
    group
    tend to argue more from a precedent or consensus view point (in the view of >>> my
    learned friends etc). Both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Norman is a troll who thrives on attention.

    By their very nature trolls need to post incorrect information. Either
    that or post outlandish views; so at to generate a response

    The "mathematical style" to which you refer, is Norman' insistence on
    following through to the bitter end, the apparent logical implications
    which follow from *his own* preferred definitions of words and phrases;
    which often don't coincide with those used by everyone else.

    Most notably as they feature in Statutes and the like.

    As only in this way he can assemble that cast of dupes, patsies, and
    smartarses, such as myself; all queuing up for the chance to put his
    right.


    bb

    * In which case it should be presented to the police. As failure to
    do so could constitute a criminal offence, in itself.

    As a legal aside, there are limited circumstances when people in England have any legal obligation to report crimes to the police. One for ulm rather than here, though.


    I was thinking in terms of offences covered by sections 44-46 of the
    Serious Crime Act of 2007. Whereby not reporting a crime could be interpreted as encouraging the criminal to go on to commit further offences.

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2




    bb


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Roger Hayter@roger@hayter.org to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 14:01:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 1 Jul 2026 at 13:35:13 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:


    "Roger Hayter" <roger@hayter.org> wrote in message news:9606377837.57f23acb@uninhabited.net...
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 08:27:49 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:


    "Pancho" <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> wrote in message
    news:1122diu$1m9tq$1@dont-email.me...

    In other words, it is not possible to explain to a person that their action
    is
    theft without also saying that they are dishonest. A legal group should >>>> permit
    a reasonable argument that an action committed by a poster is theft.

    ULM is a moderated group. Any argument that an action committed
    by a poster is theft, absent conclusive proof* that would stand up in a
    Court of Law is clearly defamatory; and would potentially place the
    moderators who collectively passed such a post, at risk,

    So why should they take that risk ?


    No, Norman is often right, it is just that his argumentative stile is very >>>> different from many other group members who have a legal background.
    Norman's
    style is more mathematical, from first principles. Legal members of the >>>> group
    tend to argue more from a precedent or consensus view point (in the view of
    my
    learned friends etc). Both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

    Norman is a troll who thrives on attention.

    By their very nature trolls need to post incorrect information. Either
    that or post outlandish views; so at to generate a response

    The "mathematical style" to which you refer, is Norman' insistence on
    following through to the bitter end, the apparent logical implications
    which follow from *his own* preferred definitions of words and phrases;
    which often don't coincide with those used by everyone else.

    Most notably as they feature in Statutes and the like.

    As only in this way he can assemble that cast of dupes, patsies, and
    smartarses, such as myself; all queuing up for the chance to put his
    right.


    bb

    * In which case it should be presented to the police. As failure to
    do so could constitute a criminal offence, in itself.

    As a legal aside, there are limited circumstances when people in England have
    any legal obligation to report crimes to the police. One for ulm rather than >> here, though.


    I was thinking in terms of offences covered by sections 44-46 of the
    Serious Crime Act of 2007. Whereby not reporting a crime could be interpreted as encouraging the criminal to go on to commit further offences.

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2




    bb

    Most notable for defining "inaction" as an action. Anyone know what the courts have made of this - but this is not of course the place to answer.
    --

    Roger Hayter
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 15:39:10 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 13:30, Pamela wrote:
    On 22:35 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:
    On 13:34 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:
    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>> Wells wrote:

    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that >>>>>>> was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly
    against another poster.

    My apologies as I hadn't realised the comment was made about someone in
    this group. I wrongly thought it was some other person in another
    situation.

    It's still just a restatement of the facts he originally posted.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Spike@aero.spike@mail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 14:53:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 13:35:13 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:

    I was thinking in terms of offences covered by sections 44-46 of the
    Serious Crime Act of 2007. Whereby not reporting a crime could be interpreted
    as encouraging the criminal to go on to commit further offences.

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2

    Most notable for defining "inaction" as an action. Anyone know what the courts
    have made of this - but this is not of course the place to answer.

    Then why pose the question here, if this is not the place for replies?

    Where do you expect replies to appear?
    --
    Spike
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 16:00:34 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 15:53, Spike wrote:
    Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 13:35:13 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:

    I was thinking in terms of offences covered by sections 44-46 of the
    Serious Crime Act of 2007. Whereby not reporting a crime could be interpreted
    as encouraging the criminal to go on to commit further offences.

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2

    Most notable for defining "inaction" as an action. Anyone know what the courts
    have made of this - but this is not of course the place to answer.

    Then why pose the question here, if this is not the place for replies?

    It's not frankly the place for rationality either.

    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Roger Hayter@roger@hayter.org to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 15:20:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 1 Jul 2026 at 15:53:27 BST, "Spike" <aero.spike@mail.com> wrote:

    Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 13:35:13 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:

    I was thinking in terms of offences covered by sections 44-46 of the
    Serious Crime Act of 2007. Whereby not reporting a crime could be interpreted
    as encouraging the criminal to go on to commit further offences.

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2

    Most notable for defining "inaction" as an action. Anyone know what the courts
    have made of this - but this is not of course the place to answer.

    Then why pose the question here, if this is not the place for replies?

    Where do you expect replies to appear?

    A paradox with which you are clearly having difficulty coping. A little Valium might help.
    --

    Roger Hayter
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 16:58:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 16:14:09 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Kerr-Mudd, John@admin@127.0.0.1 to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 20:09:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:58:24 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    You must try harder, he's not reposting a 50k screed of text each time you respond.
    --
    Bah, and indeed Humbug.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 22:04:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from
    tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the
    Catholic Church.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 22:05:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 20:09:31 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" <admin@127.0.0.1>
    wrote:

    On Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:58:24 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    You must try harder, he's not reposting a 50k screed of text each time you >respond.

    More like 70k+ now. The mind boggles at what he thinks that is
    achieving.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 22:08:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 20:09, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:
    On Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:58:24 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    You must try harder, he's not reposting a 50k screed of text each time you respond.

    Sorry, but I don't recognise that allegation at all. It's really not my style.

    Do you perhaps have some examples with which you can regale us or even
    refer to with message ids? Just one would be a start, if you can. But
    I doubt if you'll be able.

    Anyway, what's this vague allusion to Galileo about?




    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 22:11:56 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 01/07/2026 22:05, Martin Harran wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 20:09:31 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" <admin@127.0.0.1>
    wrote:
    On Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:58:24 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    You must try harder, he's not reposting a 50k screed of text each time you >> respond.

    More like 70k+ now.

    Where?

    The mind boggles at what he thinks that is achieving.

    I've actually been accused here recently of over-snipping. But it is necessary to retain as much context as is necessary to understand the
    point being made.


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Wed Jul 1 22:25:32 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from
    tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the
    Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 08:33:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from
    tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the
    Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 08:35:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:08:38 +0100, Norman Wells <hex@unseen.ac.am>
    wrote:

    On 01/07/2026 20:09, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:
    On Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:58:24 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.
    []

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    You must try harder, he's not reposting a 50k screed of text each time you >> respond.

    Sorry, but I don't recognise that allegation at all. It's really not my >style.

    Do you perhaps have some examples with which you can regale us or even
    refer to with message ids? Just one would be a start, if you can. But
    I doubt if you'll be able.

    Anyway, what's this vague allusion to Galileo about?


    It's another ng where John and I participate,, nothing to do with UKLM
    or yourself.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Spike@aero.spike@mail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 07:48:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 15:53:27 BST, "Spike" <aero.spike@mail.com> wrote:
    Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
    On 1 Jul 2026 at 13:35:13 BST, ""billy bookcase"" <billy@anon.com> wrote:

    I was thinking in terms of offences covered by sections 44-46 of the
    Serious Crime Act of 2007. Whereby not reporting a crime could be interpreted
    as encouraging the criminal to go on to commit further offences.

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/27/part/2

    Most notable for defining "inaction" as an action. Anyone know what the courts
    have made of this - but this is not of course the place to answer.

    Then why pose the question here, if this is not the place for replies?

    Where do you expect replies to appear?

    A paradox with which you are clearly having difficulty coping. A little Valium
    might help.

    Ex nihilo nihil fit.
    --
    Spike
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Pamela@pamela.private.mailbox@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 09:44:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 15:39 1 Jul 2026, Norman Wells said:
    On 01/07/2026 13:30, Pamela wrote:
    On 22:35 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47BC5BF44A7E1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:
    On 13:34 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 30/06/2026 in message <XnsB47B87E4C333A1F3QA2@157.180.91.226>
    Pamela wrote:
    On 10:44 30 Jun 2026, Jeff Gaines said:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <naeov1Fo769U2@mid.individual.net> Norman >>>>>>> Wells wrote:

    "He was using the gas without payment and without any valid
    non-payment agreement. He was depriving its owner, whoever that >>>>>>>> was, permanently of it."

    That is a personal attack Norman.

    How so? Forgive my confusion.

    Read it, it is clearly a suggestion that a person is stealing gas.

    I thought we were talking about a personal attack ("ad hom") against
    another poster. Not someone else being referred to.

    Many moons ago when I was a lad it was a statement made directly
    against another poster.

    My apologies as I hadn't realised the comment was made about someone in
    this group. I wrongly thought it was some other person in another
    situation.

    It's still just a restatement of the facts he originally posted.

    That's how I originally read your post although I haven't closely followed
    any finer points in the discussion.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 09:07:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in >>>>>>> protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church. >>>>>>[]

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from
    tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the
    Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know
    why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good
    move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know,
    but maybe worth a shot?
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 13:41:35 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in >>>>>>>> protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church. >>>>>>>[]

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner.

    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from
    tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the
    Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know
    why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good
    move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know,
    but maybe worth a shot?

    Do I really have to point out how you showed your total lack of
    understanding of what "quote mining" is when you claimed an example of
    me doing so when I quoted an article about child abuse in the Catholic
    Church by a highly reputable professor in a leading academic journal
    but didn't mention he was a Catholic, even though the opening sentence
    in the quote described him as "the Augustin Cardinal Bea,
    S.J.University Professor, professor of psychology, and by courtesy,
    religious studies"?

    Do I really have to remind you of you showing your religious bias by
    suggesting that even though he is highly qualified and held numerous
    high-level positions including director of mental
    health services at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto, that he
    couldn't really be trusted to talk about child abuse because he was a
    member of the Catholic Church?

    Do I really have to remind you of your accusation that I was telling
    lies when I said I was simply correcting factual errors, not
    *defending*the Church, showing your poor understanding of the
    difference between objectivity and advocacy?

    You actually remind me of the poster in the other ng that John was
    alluding to. You, like he, seem to think that simply disagreeing with
    you equates to telling lies.


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 13:41:08 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this? >>>>>>>>>
    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in >>>>>>>>> protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church. >>>>>>>>[]

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner. >>>>>>
    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from >>>>> tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the >>>>> Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know
    why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good
    move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know,
    but maybe worth a shot?

    Do I really have to point out how you showed your total lack of
    understanding of what "quote mining" is when you claimed an example of
    me doing so when I quoted an article about child abuse in the Catholic
    Church by a highly reputable professor in a leading academic journal
    but didn't mention he was a Catholic, even though the opening sentence
    in the quote described him as "the Augustin Cardinal Bea,
    S.J.University Professor, professor of psychology, and by courtesy,
    religious studies"?

    You could, but it would be a lie if you did. And it's a bit concerning
    that you've been obssessing over that thread from well over a year ago,
    turning it over and over in your mind trying to think of ways you could
    have avoided what happened, coming up with new attempted defences that
    you regret didn't occur to you at the time. "l'esprit de l'escalier" is
    all very well, but you're more than a dollar short and *much* more than
    a day late.

    Do I really have to remind you of you showing your religious bias by suggesting that even though he is highly qualified and held numerous high-level positions including director of mental
    health services at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto, that he couldn't really be trusted to talk about child abuse because he was a
    member of the Catholic Church?

    That would be another lie - I said no such thing.

    Do I really have to remind you of your accusation that I was telling
    lies when I said I was simply correcting factual errors, not
    *defending*the Church, showing your poor understanding of the
    difference between objectivity and advocacy?

    You could go back and read the thread again I suppose, and find the
    post where I gave you the dictionary definition of "defend", to aid
    your understanding.

    You actually remind me of the poster in the other ng that John was
    alluding to. You, like he, seem to think that simply disagreeing with
    you equates to telling lies.

    That would be... another utterly obvious, provable lie. People disagree
    with me all the time, yet I only very rarely describe what they said as
    a lie.

    You really can't help yourself, can you? For some reason you've decided
    to randomly bring up the fact that you were exposed as constantly lying
    in an old thread from last year, as if you're worried that people might
    have forgotten. And just to make sure, you've immediately hit the ground running with a rapid barrage of lies this time too. Have you never heard
    the expression "let sleeping dogs lie"? People had probably forgotten
    your humiliation, and now you're here reminding them all over again.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Norman Wells@hex@unseen.ac.am to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 16:13:37 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 02/07/2026 14:41, Jon Ribbens wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    <snipped bad tempered row between the above>

    Oi, cut it out, this thread is supposed to be just about ME!
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 16:26:29 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 13:41:08 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this? >>>>>>>>>>
    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in >>>>>>>>>> protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church. >>>>>>>>>[]

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner. >>>>>>>
    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from >>>>>> tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the >>>>>> Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know >>>why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good >>>move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know, >>>but maybe worth a shot?

    Do I really have to point out how you showed your total lack of
    understanding of what "quote mining" is when you claimed an example of
    me doing so when I quoted an article about child abuse in the Catholic
    Church by a highly reputable professor in a leading academic journal
    but didn't mention he was a Catholic, even though the opening sentence
    in the quote described him as "the Augustin Cardinal Bea,
    S.J.University Professor, professor of psychology, and by courtesy,
    religious studies"?

    You could, but it would be a lie if you did.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoting_out_of_context

    "Quoting out of context (sometimes referred to as contextomy or quote
    mining) is an informal fallacy in which a passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning."

    Let's see you explain how leaving out the author's religion fits into
    that.

    And it's a bit concerning
    that you've been obssessing over that thread from well over a year ago,

    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    turning it over and over in your mind trying to think of ways you could
    have avoided what happened, coming up with new attempted defences that
    you regret didn't occur to you at the time. "l'esprit de l'escalier" is
    all very well, but you're more than a dollar short and *much* more than
    a day late.

    Do I really have to remind you of you showing your religious bias by
    suggesting that even though he is highly qualified and held numerous
    high-level positions including director of mental
    health services at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto, that he
    couldn't really be trusted to talk about child abuse because he was a
    member of the Catholic Church?

    That would be another lie - I said no such thing.

    Do I really have to remind you of your accusation that I was telling
    lies when I said I was simply correcting factual errors, not
    *defending*the Church, showing your poor understanding of the
    difference between objectivity and advocacy?

    You could go back and read the thread again I suppose, and find the
    post where I gave you the dictionary definition of "defend", to aid
    your understanding.

    You actually remind me of the poster in the other ng that John was
    alluding to. You, like he, seem to think that simply disagreeing with
    you equates to telling lies.

    That would be... another utterly obvious, provable lie. People disagree
    with me all the time, yet I only very rarely describe what they said as
    a lie.

    You really can't help yourself, can you? For some reason you've decided
    to randomly bring up the fact that you were exposed as constantly lying
    in an old thread from last year, as if you're worried that people might
    have forgotten.


    Poor attempt at blame-shifting when you were the one who instigated it
    here.

    And just to make sure, you've immediately hit the ground
    running with a rapid barrage of lies this time too. Have you never heard
    the expression "let sleeping dogs lie"? People had probably forgotten
    your humiliation, and now you're here reminding them all over again.

    It seems you had forgotten your own humiliation in that thread -
    religious bigotry is hardly the image you like to project.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Thu Jul 2 16:06:25 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 13:41:08 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>>>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>> >> On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this? >>>>>>>>>>>
    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in >>>>>>>>>>> protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church. >>>>>>>>>>[]

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner. >>>>>>>>
    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from >>>>>>> tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the >>>>>>> Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know >>>>why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good >>>>move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know, >>>>but maybe worth a shot?

    Do I really have to point out how you showed your total lack of
    understanding of what "quote mining" is when you claimed an example of
    me doing so when I quoted an article about child abuse in the Catholic
    Church by a highly reputable professor in a leading academic journal
    but didn't mention he was a Catholic, even though the opening sentence
    in the quote described him as "the Augustin Cardinal Bea,
    S.J.University Professor, professor of psychology, and by courtesy,
    religious studies"?

    You could, but it would be a lie if you did.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoting_out_of_context

    "Quoting out of context (sometimes referred to as contextomy or quote
    mining) is an informal fallacy in which a passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning."

    Let's see you explain how leaving out the author's religion fits into
    that.

    Because the author's religion was central to the point under discussion.

    Why did you think that would be difficult to explain?

    Since I'm feeling particularly generous, here's a free clue: you are misremembering the thread. If you want to keep talking about it, I'd
    strongly suggest you go and read it again. You might even discover
    the fundamental mistake you made at the time.

    And it's a bit concerning
    that you've been obssessing over that thread from well over a year ago,

    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed...
    three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.

    turning it over and over in your mind trying to think of ways you could >>have avoided what happened, coming up with new attempted defences that
    you regret didn't occur to you at the time. "l'esprit de l'escalier" is
    all very well, but you're more than a dollar short and *much* more than
    a day late.

    Do I really have to remind you of you showing your religious bias by
    suggesting that even though he is highly qualified and held numerous
    high-level positions including director of mental
    health services at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto, that he
    couldn't really be trusted to talk about child abuse because he was a
    member of the Catholic Church?

    That would be another lie - I said no such thing.

    Do I really have to remind you of your accusation that I was telling
    lies when I said I was simply correcting factual errors, not
    *defending*the Church, showing your poor understanding of the
    difference between objectivity and advocacy?

    You could go back and read the thread again I suppose, and find the
    post where I gave you the dictionary definition of "defend", to aid
    your understanding.

    You actually remind me of the poster in the other ng that John was
    alluding to. You, like he, seem to think that simply disagreeing with
    you equates to telling lies.

    That would be... another utterly obvious, provable lie. People disagree >>with me all the time, yet I only very rarely describe what they said as
    a lie.

    Presumably your inability to come up with a response to any of the above
    is a tacit admission that you were lying.

    You really can't help yourself, can you? For some reason you've decided
    to randomly bring up the fact that you were exposed as constantly lying
    in an old thread from last year, as if you're worried that people might >>have forgotten.

    Poor attempt at blame-shifting when you were the one who instigated it
    here.

    Look, just a small suggestion here: if you really must constantly lie,
    perhaps you should choose lies that anyone reading can't instantly
    prove to be false merely by reading back a few posts up the thread?

    And just to make sure, you've immediately hit the ground
    running with a rapid barrage of lies this time too. Have you never heard >>the expression "let sleeping dogs lie"? People had probably forgotten
    your humiliation, and now you're here reminding them all over again.

    It seems you had forgotten your own humiliation in that thread -
    religious bigotry is hardly the image you like to project.

    It's not possible to "forget" things that never happened.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Kerr-Mudd, John@admin@127.0.0.1 to uk.net.news.moderation on Fri Jul 3 13:52:21 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 16:06:25 -0000 (UTC)
    Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 13:41:08 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>> On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>>>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>> >> On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    Far too deep, I've snipped a lot.

    [pants-on-fire tennis]

    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed...
    three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.


    I'm not getting involved further; this seems like another unending "discussion".
    []
    --
    Bah, and indeed Humbug.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Fri Jul 3 12:58:05 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-03, Kerr-Mudd, John <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 16:06:25 -0000 (UTC)
    Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed...
    three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.

    I'm not getting involved further; this seems like another unending "discussion".

    Indeed. It doesn't appear that you were involved at all to be fair!
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Adam Funk@a24061a@ducksburg.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Fri Jul 3 14:53:43 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-06-30, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.

    Pope John Paul II issued a correction:

    Thanks to his intuition as a brilliant physicist and by relying on
    different arguments, Galileo, who practically invented the
    experimental method, understood why only the sun could function as
    the centre of the world, as it was then known, that is to say, as a
    planetary system. The error of the theologians of the time, when
    they maintained the centrality of the Earth, was to think that our
    understanding of the physical world's structure was, in some way,
    imposed by the literal sense of Sacred Scripture...

    Literalism against science is now a far-Protestant problem (e.g.,
    denial of evolution, which is no longer an issue for the RCC).
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 12:00:59 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Fri, 3 Jul 2026 13:52:21 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" <admin@127.0.0.1>
    wrote:

    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 16:06:25 -0000 (UTC)
    Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 13:41:08 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John"
    <admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    Far too deep, I've snipped a lot.

    [pants-on-fire tennis]

    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed...
    three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.


    I'm not getting involved further; this seems like another unending >"discussion".

    Maybe the moral of the story is not to bring in stuff from another ng
    when people don't know the back-story ....
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 12:02:33 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:53:43 +0100, Adam Funk <a24061a@ducksburg.com>
    wrote:

    On 2026-06-30, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.

    Pope John Paul II issued a correction:

    Thanks to his intuition as a brilliant physicist and by relying on
    different arguments, Galileo, who practically invented the
    experimental method, understood why only the sun could function as
    the centre of the world, as it was then known, that is to say, as a
    planetary system. The error of the theologians of the time, when
    they maintained the centrality of the Earth, was to think that our
    understanding of the physical world's structure was, in some way,
    imposed by the literal sense of Sacred Scripture...

    Literalism against science is now a far-Protestant problem (e.g.,
    denial of evolution, which is no longer an issue for the RCC).

    Mostly an American evangelical thing, you don't get much of it this
    side of the Atlantic
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Adam Funk@a24061a@ducksburg.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 12:28:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-04, Martin Harran wrote:

    On Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:53:43 +0100, Adam Funk <a24061a@ducksburg.com>
    wrote:

    On 2026-06-30, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.

    Pope John Paul II issued a correction:

    Thanks to his intuition as a brilliant physicist and by relying on
    different arguments, Galileo, who practically invented the
    experimental method, understood why only the sun could function as
    the centre of the world, as it was then known, that is to say, as a
    planetary system. The error of the theologians of the time, when
    they maintained the centrality of the Earth, was to think that our
    understanding of the physical world's structure was, in some way,
    imposed by the literal sense of Sacred Scripture...

    Literalism against science is now a far-Protestant problem (e.g.,
    denial of evolution, which is no longer an issue for the RCC).

    Mostly an American evangelical thing, you don't get much of it this
    side of the Atlantic

    Fortunately not yet, but they are trying to export various aspects of
    extremist Protestantism here.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 13:16:17 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 16:06:25 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 13:41:08 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>>> On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:57:58 +0100, "Kerr-Mudd, John" >>>>>>>>>><admin@127.0.0.1> wrote:
    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>>> >> On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this? >>>>>>>>>>>>
    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in >>>>>>>>>>>> protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church. >>>>>>>>>>>[]

    In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner. >>>>>>>>>
    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from >>>>>>>> tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the >>>>>>>> Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know >>>>>why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good >>>>>move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know, >>>>>but maybe worth a shot?

    Do I really have to point out how you showed your total lack of
    understanding of what "quote mining" is when you claimed an example of >>>> me doing so when I quoted an article about child abuse in the Catholic >>>> Church by a highly reputable professor in a leading academic journal
    but didn't mention he was a Catholic, even though the opening sentence >>>> in the quote described him as "the Augustin Cardinal Bea,
    S.J.University Professor, professor of psychology, and by courtesy,
    religious studies"?

    You could, but it would be a lie if you did.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoting_out_of_context

    "Quoting out of context (sometimes referred to as contextomy or quote
    mining) is an informal fallacy in which a passage is removed from its
    surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning."

    Let's see you explain how leaving out the author's religion fits into
    that.

    Because the author's religion was central to the point under discussion.

    Why did you think that would be difficult to explain?

    You did not explain it, you made no attempt to explain how not
    mentioning his religion equates to "a passage [being] removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning".


    Since I'm feeling particularly generous, here's a free clue: you are >misremembering the thread. If you want to keep talking about it, I'd
    strongly suggest you go and read it again. You might even discover
    the fundamental mistake you made at the time.

    And it's a bit concerning
    that you've been obssessing over that thread from well over a year ago,

    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed...
    three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.

    I made a comment to John Mudd-Kerr and you jumped in with "Why, have
    you been lying and quote-mining *again*? (my emphasis added). That is
    what instigated the exchange between us.

    The reference to "again" is a direct implication that I have been
    caught previously.

    In regard to "quote-mining", the only exchange between us involving
    that that I can recall is the one mentioned above. Feel free to remind
    me if there was some other one that you were referring to.

    In regard to being caught *lying*, I have had many disagreements with
    posters here and in UKLM, some of them quite vociferous, but the only
    occasion I can recall being called a liar was in the thread titled
    "Removal of Jury trials - Rejection abuse"[1] which wandered more or
    less into a follow-up from the one above. I said that I had never
    defended the Church in regard to child abuse, that I had only
    corrected errors and misconceptions. That was where you accused me of
    lying, that my 'explaining' amounted to defending.

    That supports my point that "You, like [a poster in another ng], seem
    to think that simply disagreeing with you equates to telling lies."
    You and I obviously have different opinions on the difference between 'explaining' and 'defending'. Which of us correct doesn't matter - the
    fact that we have different opinions does not entitle either of us to
    call the other person a liar.

    [1] Again, feel free to remind me if there was some other one that you
    were referring to.



    turning it over and over in your mind trying to think of ways you could >>>have avoided what happened, coming up with new attempted defences that >>>you regret didn't occur to you at the time. "l'esprit de l'escalier" is >>>all very well, but you're more than a dollar short and *much* more than
    a day late.

    Do I really have to remind you of you showing your religious bias by
    suggesting that even though he is highly qualified and held numerous
    high-level positions including director of mental
    health services at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto, that he >>>> couldn't really be trusted to talk about child abuse because he was a
    member of the Catholic Church?

    That would be another lie - I said no such thing.

    Do I really have to remind you of your accusation that I was telling
    lies when I said I was simply correcting factual errors, not
    *defending*the Church, showing your poor understanding of the
    difference between objectivity and advocacy?

    You could go back and read the thread again I suppose, and find the
    post where I gave you the dictionary definition of "defend", to aid
    your understanding.

    You actually remind me of the poster in the other ng that John was
    alluding to. You, like he, seem to think that simply disagreeing with
    you equates to telling lies.

    That would be... another utterly obvious, provable lie. People disagree >>>with me all the time, yet I only very rarely describe what they said as
    a lie.

    Presumably your inability to come up with a response to any of the above
    is a tacit admission that you were lying.

    You really can't help yourself, can you? For some reason you've decided >>>to randomly bring up the fact that you were exposed as constantly lying >>>in an old thread from last year, as if you're worried that people might >>>have forgotten.

    Poor attempt at blame-shifting when you were the one who instigated it
    here.

    Look, just a small suggestion here: if you really must constantly lie, >perhaps you should choose lies that anyone reading can't instantly
    prove to be false merely by reading back a few posts up the thread?

    You really need to wake up to how pretentious it is for you to dismiss
    somebody as telling lies just because their opinion differs from
    yours.


    And just to make sure, you've immediately hit the ground
    running with a rapid barrage of lies this time too. Have you never heard >>>the expression "let sleeping dogs lie"? People had probably forgotten >>>your humiliation, and now you're here reminding them all over again.

    It seems you had forgotten your own humiliation in that thread -
    religious bigotry is hardly the image you like to project.

    It's not possible to "forget" things that never happened.


    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Jon Ribbens@jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 12:55:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On 2026-07-04, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 16:06:25 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 13:41:08 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:07:45 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-02, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 22:25:32 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:14:09 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens >>>>>>>>><jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:
    On 2026-07-01, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>> In fairness to him, he hasn't branded me a liar and a quote-miner. >>>>>>>>>>
    Why, have you been lying and quote-mining again?

    Nah, just a guy in another ng who, like yourself, can't refrain from >>>>>>>>> tossing out unfounded allegations because he has a 'thing' about the >>>>>>>>> Catholic Church.

    So yes, you're lying again.

    QED

    I confess: when you lie, I will occasionally point it out. I don't know >>>>>>why you think drawing attention to me pointing out your lies is a good >>>>>>move on your part. You could always try not lying. Crazy idea, I know, >>>>>>but maybe worth a shot?

    Do I really have to point out how you showed your total lack of
    understanding of what "quote mining" is when you claimed an example of >>>>> me doing so when I quoted an article about child abuse in the Catholic >>>>> Church by a highly reputable professor in a leading academic journal >>>>> but didn't mention he was a Catholic, even though the opening sentence >>>>> in the quote described him as "the Augustin Cardinal Bea,
    S.J.University Professor, professor of psychology, and by courtesy,
    religious studies"?

    You could, but it would be a lie if you did.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoting_out_of_context

    "Quoting out of context (sometimes referred to as contextomy or quote
    mining) is an informal fallacy in which a passage is removed from its
    surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning."

    Let's see you explain how leaving out the author's religion fits into
    that.

    Because the author's religion was central to the point under discussion.

    Why did you think that would be difficult to explain?

    You did not explain it, you made no attempt to explain how not
    mentioning his religion equates to "a passage [being] removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning".

    Because you copied a large quote from the page but excluded the part
    of the surrounding matter that contained the explicit reference to his
    religion that would have disproved your point.

    I'm beginning to think the reason you thought it would be hard to
    explain is less any intrinsic complexity in doing so and more the
    difficulty of explaining anything to you that you would prefer to
    continue to not understand.

    To the best of my recollection, the only reason I mentioned quote
    mining at all was that you had just accused someone else of it, so
    I thought it was mildly amusing that you had then almost immediately
    engaged in it yourself. It was the hypocrisy I was pointing out.

    Since I'm feeling particularly generous, here's a free clue: you are >>misremembering the thread. If you want to keep talking about it, I'd >>strongly suggest you go and read it again. You might even discover
    the fundamental mistake you made at the time.

    And it's a bit concerning
    that you've been obssessing over that thread from well over a year ago,

    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed... >>three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.

    I made a comment to John Mudd-Kerr and you jumped in with "Why, have
    you been lying and quote-mining *again*? (my emphasis added). That is
    what instigated the exchange between us.

    The reference to "again" is a direct implication that I have been
    caught previously.

    Yes, the previous occasion that you had just made reference to.

    In regard to "quote-mining", the only exchange between us involving
    that that I can recall is the one mentioned above. Feel free to remind
    me if there was some other one that you were referring to.

    In regard to being caught *lying*, I have had many disagreements with
    posters here and in UKLM, some of them quite vociferous, but the only occasion I can recall being called a liar was in the thread titled
    "Removal of Jury trials - Rejection abuse"[1] which wandered more or
    less into a follow-up from the one above. I said that I had never
    defended the Church in regard to child abuse, that I had only
    corrected errors and misconceptions. That was where you accused me of
    lying, that my 'explaining' amounted to defending.

    So you admit that you were directly referencing our previous
    conversation, which is only one of the reasons that your claim
    that I "jumped in" to a conversation between you and John is a lie.

    You really need to wake up to how pretentious it is for you to dismiss somebody as telling lies just because their opinion differs from
    yours.

    Yet you are lying by knowingly, falsely, claiming that I do that.
    All you need to do to not be called a liar is not to lie.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 14:16:38 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Sat, 04 Jul 2026 12:28:45 +0100, Adam Funk <a24061a@ducksburg.com>
    wrote:

    On 2026-07-04, Martin Harran wrote:

    On Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:53:43 +0100, Adam Funk <a24061a@ducksburg.com>
    wrote:

    On 2026-06-30, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:

    On Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:40:13 +0100
    Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 22:50:06 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens
    <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-06-29, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:
    On 29/06/2026 in message <nafnchFo769U10@mid.individual.net> Norman Wells
    wrote:

    [snipped]

    [Norm]

    This is the enduring mystery. Why on earth does he do this?

    An even bigger mystery is why otherwise sensible people engage in
    protracted exchanges with him.

    or you could try debating with him about Galileo v the RC church.

    Pope John Paul II issued a correction:

    Thanks to his intuition as a brilliant physicist and by relying on
    different arguments, Galileo, who practically invented the
    experimental method, understood why only the sun could function as
    the centre of the world, as it was then known, that is to say, as a
    planetary system. The error of the theologians of the time, when
    they maintained the centrality of the Earth, was to think that our
    understanding of the physical world's structure was, in some way,
    imposed by the literal sense of Sacred Scripture...

    Literalism against science is now a far-Protestant problem (e.g.,
    denial of evolution, which is no longer an issue for the RCC).

    Mostly an American evangelical thing, you don't get much of it this
    side of the Atlantic

    Fortunately not yet, but they are trying to export various aspects of >extremist Protestantism here.

    The Intelligent Design movement tried to get going in the UK but seem
    to have got nowhere. They set up a UK Centre for Intelligent Design in
    2009 but it sems to have gone extinct (pun deliberate) - the website
    is certainly dead.
    http://www.c4id.org.uk/

    Somebody tried back in 2022 to get a petition going for "Give all
    schools in the UK the freedom to teach intelligent design as
    legitimate" but it was rejected out of hand on the grounds that it's
    about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
    https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/628266

    Somebody else tried again in 2025 with "Include science based
    Intelligently Designed Creation in the Science Curriculum" but it only
    ever got 31 signatures.
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/706659

    The only political party that I ever knew to support this stuff is the
    DUP but they have other matters to absorb their attention right now!
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin Harran@martinharran@gmail.com to uk.net.news.moderation on Sat Jul 4 14:23:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: uk.net.news.moderation

    On Sat, 4 Jul 2026 12:55:52 -0000 (UTC), Jon Ribbens <jon+usenet@unequivocal.eu> wrote:

    On 2026-07-04, Martin Harran <martinharran@gmail.com> wrote:

    [snip for focus]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoting_out_of_context

    "Quoting out of context (sometimes referred to as contextomy or quote
    mining) is an informal fallacy in which a passage is removed from its
    surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning."

    Let's see you explain how leaving out the author's religion fits into
    that.

    Because the author's religion was central to the point under discussion.

    Why did you think that would be difficult to explain?

    You did not explain it, you made no attempt to explain how not
    mentioning his religion equates to "a passage [being] removed from its
    surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning".

    Because you copied a large quote from the page but excluded the part
    of the surrounding matter that contained the explicit reference to his >religion that would have disproved your point.

    Leaving aside that it most certainly did not disprove my point, none
    of that amounts to distorting the author's meaning so it most cetainly
    was not a quote-mine..



    I'm beginning to think the reason you thought it would be hard to
    explain is less any intrinsic complexity in doing so and more the
    difficulty of explaining anything to you that you would prefer to
    continue to not understand.

    To the best of my recollection, the only reason I mentioned quote
    mining at all was that you had just accused someone else of it, so
    I thought it was mildly amusing that you had then almost immediately
    engaged in it yourself. It was the hypocrisy I was pointing out.

    Unless you can cite where I did that, it sounds like a feeble attempt
    to wriggle of the hook you foolishly caught yourself on.


    Since I'm feeling particularly generous, here's a free clue: you are >>>misremembering the thread. If you want to keep talking about it, I'd >>>strongly suggest you go and read it again. You might even discover
    the fundamental mistake you made at the time.

    And it's a bit concerning
    that you've been obssessing over that thread from well over a year ago, >>>>
    It's clearly you who is obsessed, jumping into a discussion between
    myself and John Mudd-Kerr to toss out more accusations about me lying.

    Every single part of that sentence is a lie. I think you've managed... >>>three or four lies in two lines there. It's actually impressive.

    I made a comment to John Mudd-Kerr and you jumped in with "Why, have
    you been lying and quote-mining *again*? (my emphasis added). That is
    what instigated the exchange between us.

    The reference to "again" is a direct implication that I have been
    caught previously.

    Yes, the previous occasion that you had just made reference to.

    In regard to "quote-mining", the only exchange between us involving
    that that I can recall is the one mentioned above. Feel free to remind
    me if there was some other one that you were referring to.

    In regard to being caught *lying*, I have had many disagreements with
    posters here and in UKLM, some of them quite vociferous, but the only
    occasion I can recall being called a liar was in the thread titled
    "Removal of Jury trials - Rejection abuse"[1] which wandered more or
    less into a follow-up from the one above. I said that I had never
    defended the Church in regard to child abuse, that I had only
    corrected errors and misconceptions. That was where you accused me of
    lying, that my 'explaining' amounted to defending.

    So you admit that you were directly referencing our previous
    conversation, which is only one of the reasons that your claim
    that I "jumped in" to a conversation between you and John is a lie.

    You really need to wake up to how pretentious it is for you to dismiss
    somebody as telling lies just because their opinion differs from
    yours.

    Yet you are lying by knowingly, falsely, claiming that I do that.
    All you need to do to not be called a liar is not to lie.

    Fair enough, I realise that pretentiousness is a difficult thing to
    shake off.
    --- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2