What did the Fluther Gods do to create such a slanted userbase?

I noticed this too, but I don’t mind. The views used to be almost opposite of what they are now.

You’ve clearly never read any of my posts.

I don’t think it has anything to do with mod intervention. I think part of it probably has to do with some sort of exponential mathematical thing, that if you have ten liberals, and they tell their friends, and then they tell their friends, about fluther, then you have a bunch of liberals on the site. I also think liberals tend to be more open minded, tend to like to debate, and like to learn different points of view, so they are more likely to enjoy a site like this. Also, scientists, who are attracted to a scientific method of questioning, and proof, like discussion, makes sense they would like a site like this, and scientist tend to be atheists, or at minimum question.

People who follow their religion lock step and their political leaders in the same way, generally are not the type to question, and prefer to be around the people who think exactly like themselves, and I think prefer not to debate topics. We do have people on fluther who are conservative both religiously and poltically, and I for one am glad to have them here. Glad to be able to find out from them how they think, glad they are willing to discuss politics, religion, how they view the world, and various issues. Generally our Jellies who are more to the right on such topics still are willing to discuss, obviously, and share their point of view, so they do not fit into the category of people I was describing above.

@Vortico What do you mean?

Sweet holy moly! I must have missed something, seems most do not share the same political leanings, logical or moral views as I do. I can’t imagine what form these leanings take that you see. :-p

@Hypocrisy_Central you dont think fluther has a lot of liberals, atheists, and gay people? I guess if you live in San Francisco, NYC, or Ft Lauderdale it seems normal, but I think for many it seems like a disporportionate amount.

This was asked awhile back. I wonder if I can find the thread…

@Gamer44, is this conclusion based on three weeks’ observation? Perhaps that’s not a sufficient sample.

Nope, I can’t. I don’t seem to have the magic combo of search words. Bet Auggie could, though.

What? I haven’t found this to be the case. I have gotten into some very heated disagreements, although some of the most offensive responders have left, some by their own choice, and others not.

<- Proud leftist.

Workers of the world, unite!

@JLeslie

Fluther has “a lot of gay people”? Since when?

I’ll admit that Fluther has a high level of liberals and atheists; I’ve always thought that. Most Q&A sites I’ve been on do. They seem to be the type of people who dominate the internet in general. But the gay people thing seems new to me…

@DominicX Maybe you are right. Maybe it is more accurate to say that fluther has a lot of people who think being gay is completely normal, and they should have equal rights like any other citizen.

@DominicX I think there is a strong representation of the spectrum of sexualities here. I only know a handful of people in real life who are not heterosexual, or at least a handful who are open about it, but there seem to be quite a few here.

@FireMadeFlesh It’s easier to be open about it online. Not that I’m in the closet in real life, but I am much more open about a myriad of things on here and on the internet in general than I am in real life.

No. We’re all freaks of a different breed.

@papayalily That is true, and it is one of the things that makes anonymous online interaction so valuable. I tend to be somewhat guarded here too though, because at least one user knows me in real life. Shh.

@FireMadeFlesh OMG, is it me???

@papayalily If you do, that would make two. Do you know any 19 year old Aussie guys?

@FireMadeFlesh Only in my dreams….

@papayalily Lol! I’m not a surfie or anything, so I doubt could feature in those dreams.

@FireMadeFlesh I dunno, I never see anything past the intense eyes, gorgeous hair, and the seriously ripped body.

@JLeslie you dont think fluther has a lot of liberals, atheists, and gay people? I guess if you live in San Francisco, NYC, or Ft Lauderdale it seems normal, but I think for many it seems like a disporportionate amount. When it comes to liberals I find that a very nebulous term. I can only see liberals as not being conservative. It does seem as though many of the active Flutheronians I have contact with are non-Christians or bisexual or Gay but then there are a lot of Flutheronians that are not active at least as seen from my personal Fluther. Since I don’t know the whole Fluther population as in numbers I can’t really say what percent of Fluther is Gay, call themselves liberals, or is atheist. I do not know if it is 30% 50% or more like 67%, I just don’t know. I only know the Flutheronians I answer and who answer me and often debate in I hope a non-threatening but civil way.

Perhaps that slant of people are the ones who are not content with sitting idly by and accepting things as they are…perhaps they are the ones always searching for new information and enlightenment from their fellow man…WE DEMAND ANSWERS, MAAAAANNN!!!
Or…not

@papayalily Well in that case…... nah, I’d just be kidding myself.

@papayalily Nope, I can’t find it either. But this is pretty much how I answered it:

The founders of Fluther are very well educated guys, and are pretty liberal themselves. When they first started the site, all of the members were either friends or family members, and most were cut from the same cloth. Almost all of our growth was initially via word-of-mouth, so of course, people invited others of the same ilk. And so on…

Since we now have members joining via many different avenues, we’ve gotten a more politically/religiously diverse population. That said, liberals are still a definite majority here.

Ever found yourself saying to yourself “I wish I’D said that!” ? Well that’s the case here for me, anyway, as @JLeslie took the words I wish I’d thought of first to say, so all I can add here is a hearty “Yeah… What @JLeslie said,” to the mix:)

Hi Abby Normal here. I like to think of myself as, well…...........“different! :¬)

@Hypocrisy_Central I nominate “Flutheronian” as the coolest new name for a Jelly. Sounds like something out of a 1950’s space opera. :-)

In the four or so years I’ve been an active member in online Q&A sites and other social networks, I’ve found that certain groups of people are very gregarious – they tend to stick with “their own”. Particularly fundamental religious groups.

Once upon a time, there was a social networking site called “Everyone’s Connected”. The Fundie group I once worshiped with pretty much took that secular social site and overran it with Jesus this and youth camp that… Over 40,000 members worldwide, most of them kids who didn’t have permission from their parents to go on any other site. (The site eventually went out of business)

The Q&A sites may be visited once in a while by prostletyzers, but those types never really stick around. Places like Fluther are the home of people who like discussion, not conversion.

We’re all actually the same person. This website is just an illusion.

And let’s not lump those groups together completely…just because you’re “liberal” doesn’t define you as an atheist as well, etc.

I wondered the same. Most liberals I knew were theists/dualists, pro-conspiracy, skeptical of cancer research and the medical establishment in general but on here it seems to be a different breed of “liberals”. It would be nice to get more of a balanced user base on here but I don’t see it happening. I would love to see more intelligent dualists on here.

Agree, @Jabe73. I’m as yellow-dog as they come, but I get nervous when it’s just one type of opinion around here (or in life) even if it’s on my “side”. It makes me nervous.

@Jabe73 Are you saying you want more pro-conspiracy people around, who are sceptical of modern medicine and cancer research? Theists/dualists and political conservatives yes, but the others you mentioned I think we can do without.

I think reality has a liberal bent. The answer is pretty simple. Young people are far more likely to (a) be liberal and (b) be online. Also, there is a strong correlation between education and both liberalism and atheism (though pointing this out really seems to upset people. Sorry, it’s a statistical fact, not my opinion). Stands to reason that the majority of online communities that aren’t set up based on religion/politics are going to have a “higher than the general population” level of liberalism and atheism.

@FireMadeFlesh Well that is my opinion. I happen to have alot of respect for people like Tim Bolen and G Edward Griffen. I didn’t know it was up to certain people on here to decide what we need more of here.

@Jabe73 It isn’t up to certain people to decide – I was just expressing my opinion of what people we need more of. I don’t know those names, but I think people who deny the amazing achievements of modern medicine and fall for every conspiracy theory are (not sure how to put this nicely) deluded. We really don’t need to re-explain near certain knowledge all the time.

@FireMadeFlesh Not when it comes to cancer are they “deluded”. I reserve my right then to call people who believe the funding behind cancer research has our best interests in mind mind are “deluded” as well. I can name call too.

@Jabe73 I work in health care, and I can categorically tell you that cancer treatment has come a long way in recent years. If you have something concrete, please let me know (or even start a new thread). Otherwise your scepticism is misplaced. My use of the word “deluded” was not intended to be name calling or offensive, it was intended to state that they don’t know what they are talking about. It is no reflection on their person, just on their opinions.

@FireMadeFlesh It’s really easy to throw around those accusations, but you should really think about what you’re saying. The “industry” of Cancer research is a massive collective made up (mostly) of people who could make a lot more money doing something less benevolent. In my experience people who work in the medical field are about 5000X more likely to be altruistic than just your average person-on-the-street. To then imply that these people (the ones that have dedicated every fiber of their being to help make humankind healthier) don’t have our best interests at heart is both disingenuous and mean-spirited. Accusations like that should really be backed up with references.

@crazyivan I totally agree. If you want references, try reading Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology – 2592 pages of everything we know about cancer and how to treat it. I just cannot accept that there is anything sinister or undesirable in this research.

The basis of that perception, I think, is that generally advances in medicine are incremental and take a long time to research and develop. If you look at cancer survival rates from 10 years ago and compare them to today they are moderately impressive, but if you compare todays survival rates to those of 25 years ago there is undeniable and significant progress. The problem is that the media and pop culture leave us looking for the “cure” for cancer. There will probably never be a “cure” because there are so many forms of cancer and they are all treated in different ways, but there are alot of very promising advances taking place every year.

@crazyivan The very idea of a cure for cancer is misleading. It cannot be cured, only treated. Cancer is inevitable, since every person will definitely get cancer if they live long enough (the majority of people die before they do get it though). All we can do is treat it as it arises – there will never be a day when cancer is unheard of, although one day I hope deaths from cancer will be rare. Our treatments are steadily improving, and there are many new techniques currently in development. The problem is that treatment techniques generally require 5–10 years of trials before they can become accepted practice so we can be certain that they work.