Originally Posted by Ronald Brak

What it comes down to is this - Monkeys determine status by mounting each other, humans do it via words. IDers, moon hoaxers, the superstitious and so on often mistake scientific discussion forums as a place to perform status displays. Since a status display has little to do with reason or objectivity what they say often is unreasonable and unobjective. It is instead about identifying the enemy, gathering support and doing battle. Right and wrong doesn't come into it, just us and them. Often people who are not completely unreasonable (i.e. an average human) can be roped in or led astray by those obsessed with battleing for status. It is possible to set these normal people straight. But a true status hound almost never admits being mistaken, even though they can be driven off by being laughed at.