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dwmartin/Triumviron
    A newbie at Spacebattles made some claims about Babtech.  He felt that Babtech is full of inaccuracies, and felt that he would have won the debate I had with Adarx if it had been him in Adarx's place.  I found the thread in question because someone had been direct-linking some of my images in that thread.  I could not understand why someone with such confidence hasn't contacted us directly, preferring to make potshots from the safety of Spacebattles, where I don't normally visit.  Saying things about someone is always easier than saying it to them I guess.  In any event, I posted a message to him, providing the opportunity to prove his point.

His first reply follows:

----- Original Message -----
From: <dwmartin@iastate.edu>
To: <staff@babtech-onthe.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 4:17 PM
Subject: Your challenge to me at Spacebattles
 

What exactly are we going to debate?

I was somewhat surprised by this response, for two reasons.  First, I was surprised he replied at all.  Second, after making all those claims and telling everyone what he feels is wrong with Babtech, he asked me what we were to debate.
My response was as follows:

Choose your poison.
 

Brian Young
Babtech on the Net
http://www.babtech-onthe.net

After this, he sent some messages to my private e-mail address.  I asked him to direct his messages to staff@babtech-onthe.net
He wrote back, refusing to comply with that request, and accused me of attempting to back down from the debate!  That sounds familiar.  One has to wonder just what connection this guy has to Adarx, as his modus operandi is identical.

After sleeping on it, I decided to be generous, forget the bad netiquette, and respond to the message anyway.

My reply was as follows:

Because I am a supremely nice guy, and because I am in a good mood after getting low census at work (too many therapists + not enough patients = day off), I have decided to ignore your arrogance and improper netiquette, and continue the discussion.

As for the Vorlon Planet Killer page, your claims that it does not destroy planets and how long it takes are what I have problems with.  I don't care about the rest.
 

Okay.
 
 

Why are you so eager to change the subject away from that?
Does this mean you know the page is full of crap?  I can come up with a problem in almost every point you make on that page so why not face me on it?
 

You are a bumbling idiot.
If I "Know the page is full of crap," I would not have published it.
 
 

Also, why should I direct them towards the staff?  I am not accepting a challenge from the staff, I accepted it from you.
 

Because:
*It is proper netiquette.
*Babtech is now a group effort.  Even though I am the creator and webmaster, I prefer not to publish things that the guys don't know about.  I wouldn't be much of a group leader otherwise.
*I want witnesses to what is or is not said.  One person posted that he sent me a message that I had no answer to.  The staff were witnesses that the message was either not sent or not sent properly.  One person claimed that I ended the debate prematurely, but the staff were witnesses as to when the message in question was sent.  I don't trust you to be honest.  The staff
will serve as a silent third-party witness.
*The website address has filtering for spam and viruses.  My private address does not.  If sent to the private address only, your post may get lost in spam or the current virus crisis.
*I asked you to.  Noncompliance indicates that you are simply trolling, and don't care about participating in a proper discussion or debate.  Debate is not about who can flame the best or be the most stubborn.  It is about who has the best evidence and presents a logical conclusion, based on the scientific method.
 

As another note, we have yet to settle the terms for the debate.

*I will respond to this message now, but I will not respond to or publish anything else you send that is not directed to staff@babtech-onthe.net by either primary address or CC.  You can reply to my private address, as long as you CC the staff address.  If you wish to have a third party as a witness for yourself as well, simply request that, and I'll CC that address with
each post.
*Limit four posts per side.
*Limit 20k of TEXT per post.
*Limit of 48 hours response time to a post (from the time the message is SENT).  After 48 hours, if there is no response, the debate ends with the last post.  Technical difficulties will be taken into consideration however.
*No profanity.  Babtech is strictly rated PG.
*Provide your own evidence.  Vague references to episodes or events does not constitue evidence.  Provide your own EXACT quotes, images, video clips, or audio clips.  If you don't provide your own evidence, I will call you on it. If your quotes aren't exact, I will call you on it.  If the files you present aren't relevant to the topic in question, I will call you on it.  In the interest of fairness, you may use existing related files in the Babtech section in question, *for this debate only*.  In this case, simply provide the appropriate link.
*Because Babtech is based on canon evidence, only evidence from filmed episodes, telemovies, and novels OF the telemovies are appropriate.  This debate will not devolve into a discussion about what is or is not canon, or what sources should or should not be used.
*If you want this debate posted at Spacebattles, it is your responsibility. I do not frequent Spacabattles.  Do not alter the debate if you do so.
*I will publish your posts at Babtech, provided you send those posts to staff@babtech-onthe.net by either primary address or CC.  I will color-code the debate and convert to HTML format, but will not alter the content.
*You make the first post.
*No baseless claims of victory.  None of the senseless "concession accepted" statements, unless a concession is actually made by the other side.
*Stay on topic.  If you stray from the topic, I will call you on it.
*Calculations will be explained in sufficient detail to be reproduced.

Now, you have chosen to debate issues regarding the Vorlon Planet Killer.
You suggested two areas of concern: my statements that the VPK does not scatter the mass of planets, and the time taken to complete a bombardment.
This is rather vague.  I recommend a more specific topic.  For example,
*You will argue that the VPK does in fact scatter the entire mass of habitable planets, overcoming the gravitational binding energy.
*I will argue that it does not.

If that scenario is not to your liking, then a more specific example of the second area of concern is:
*You will argue that the VPK bombards a planet for X time.
*I will argue that evidence suggests a 10-12 hour timeframe.

I look forward to your reply.
 

Brian Young
Babtech on the Net
http://www.babtech-onthe.net

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