My decision about joining Patheos

January 7, 2015 • 2:53 pm

The short answer: I’m staying here. A few hours ago I sent this email to Leo Brunnick, the founder of Patheos, and to Dale McGowan, who runs the “atheist channel” at the site:

Hi guys,

I’m sorry to say that, after a ton of consideration when I was in India, I decided to remain independent and not join Patheos. While my readers were overwhelmingly against the move, that was not the deciding factor. The factor was, in fact, threefold, none of the reasons reflecting any bad opinion I have of your site.  The deciding issues included the presence of ads, which I simply cannot abide and do not have on my site (I pay to avoid them!); the fact that with increased readership I could not retain my personal monitoring of comments, which I don’t want to outsource; and the fact that Patheos really was founded as a religious website, “hosting the conversation on faith:  “atheism” is, unaccountably, listed as a “faith channel,” but of course atheism is not a faith at all and doesn’t belong with any of the other conventional faiths.  All told, I guess I would like to remain independent, sans ads, and not be part of a network that touts all kinds of religious delusions on other channels.

But I was honored to be invited, for I know you wouldn’t have done so had you not thought I’d contribute something to your site. And it was very tempting to have an opportunity to increase my readership, which I’m certain would have happened had I moved. I like many of the atheist sites (and some not so much!), but your overall effort on the Atheist Channel has been admirable. I wish you the best of luck with your site!

Best,

Jerry

Leo wrote back a nice note saying that they regretted my decision but that some of the issues I raised will be addressed in the near future. But for the time being I will remain The Cat That Walked by Himself.

I have to say that a few of the readers struck me as a bit selfish about this, wishing to keep the smallish community of people (many who know each other) with whom they regularly interact. But I was heartened by most readers’ avowal that although they wished me to remain independent, they’d continue to read the site if it moved.

I should also add that the promise of increased readership, which almost certainly would have happened had I moved to Patheos, was tempting. Let’s face it: nobody wants to write publicly if nobody reads them, and the more readership the better. It certainly would have been useful in helping me find readers for my new book.  The money from Patheos would have been a bonus (probably several tens of thousands of dollars per year), but, as I said, dollars were never my main concern.

Given that I’m abandoning both dosh and readers, and in fact providing content for free (I pay a nominal fee to host the site and keep it free of ads) I’d like to ask the many of you who urged me to stay to do me two small favors. First, buy Faith versus Fact (link above); you can pre-order it now though it doesn’t come out till May 19. If every subscriber bought a book, it would produce an initial sale of 30,000+ copies, a very good number, and one that Viking would appreciate since they want their advance recouped. I can say that I don’t think you’ll consider this investment wasted. Second, recommend the book and this website to your friends if you think they’d enjoy them.  I’m asking for your help since I’ve given up the increased sales of the book that would likely have come by joining Patheos.

And I plan no changes here in the near future, though I’ll probably add a link at the top right for the new book, giving information about it and where you can order it.  As General Patton said in his famous speech to the Third Army, “you’ll know what to do.”

funny-cat-picture-im-not-going-anywhere-and-neither-is-the-box

193 thoughts on “My decision about joining Patheos”

  2. The dice has been cast. And you’re right, it was selfish to want to keep it small.

    Looking forward to reading the book.

        1. The correction is overly pedantic in normal conversation nowadays, but “dice” just sounds wrong in that quotation: Alea jacta est!

          /@

          PS. Just as I was typing it, I heard “the die is cast” in the lyrics of “Burn the Witch” by Stone Gods.

          PPS. Prompted my a typo I just made (and corrected), I ask: For Jerry should it be “The die is cats”?

          4. I just started reading the book accompanying BBC’s Ancient Rome and it is essential that each such credo be met with utmost skepticism. Some of them come from contemporal historians who mostly have it from hearsay, some of them from (auto)biographies which are not averse to eulogising their subject.

          5. Wiki says:

            Caesar was said to have borrowed the phrase from Menander, his favourite Greek writer of comedy; the phrase appears in “Ἀρρηφόρος” (Arrephoros,) (or possibly “The Flute-Girl”), as quoted in Deipnosophistae, Book 13, paragraph 8. Plutarch reports that these words were said in Greek:

            Ἑλληνιστὶ πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας ἐκβοήσας, «Ἀνερρίφθω κύβος», [anerriphtho kybos] διεβίβαζε τὸν στρατόν.[3]

            He [Caesar] declared in Greek with loud voice to those who were present ‘Let the die be cast’ and led the army across.
            — Plutarch, Life of Pompey, 60.2.9[4]

          7. I don’t think it’s overly pedantic. 🙂

            If there’s one thing I hate, it is to discover an error I’ve been using and never received corrections. It’s like a self inflicted mental facepalm, so I appreciate it.

          10. Yeah…but all that dunking in wet stuff and contortions and pinching and tying up with string? To the cats?

            I mean, the visual is great…I’m just not so sure about the execution….

            b&

          12. And a suit of armor. Don’t forget to put the visor down. Frantic / pissed off cats like to use human faces for traction when exiting situations they’d rather not be in.

    2. It’s a bit selfish, but certainly not strange. Most humans feel at ease in a company of a certain amount of people, as Dunbar pointed out. Dunbar sets the number to 150 for “maintaining stable social relationships”, but for some communities like an online forum it may well be smaller.

      That is not so strange, because in a large group people start to feel anonymous, and in a large number of comments, their voice just drowns because nobody is going to read to the end. This also has the effect that some prominent posters with a lot of time on their hands become dominant, adding even more to the feeling of insignificance.

      So I’m sorry for Jerry’s publisher, but for the site this decision may ultimately be the best. (I’ll buy the book, don’t worry.)

      1. That makes sense. And there’s the soundbite/volume-effect that often buries more subtle inputs.

    3. “And you’re right, it was selfish to want to keep it small.”

      Mea culpa also. I should have clarified that size itself doesn’t bother me, and I love to come across interesting knew people. It has simply been my experience that very often changes in venue mark the beginning of “friends” going their seperate ways.

      I was never worried about changes to Jerry’s content and would read him wherever he goes.

      And, even if out of nothing but selfish interest, I don’t need to be asked to buy Jerry’s new book. I am looking forward to it! Multiple copies may been in order as I know several people who really need to read it!

      1. Roger that. The more the merrier.

        I’ve been giving it a go over at the friendly atheist, just in case, to get familiar with the system and one thing has struck me; This site is remarkably troll-free and Jerry would have to get help monitoring the comments if he moved.*

        The climate in the comment section is also different because a lot of energy is wasted feeding them.

        So it’s a bit more statement-minded than discussion-minded, imo.

        *That may eventually ( hopefully ) also be necessary here. 🙂

  3. I’m not buying another copy until my first one arrives! 😉

    And I’m very happy, though not surprised, to hear your decision.

    1. 😄

      I have mine pre-ordered on amazon.co.uk.

      (I very rarely do that; I have a full-to-overflowing “save for later” list.)

      I admire your ability to turn down O(10k) USD!!!

      /@

      1. Just like me – I pre-ordered as soon as it was possible; mostly I just add to my huge wish list.

        My wish list at Amazon.co.uk is even bigger because stuff gets to NZ quicker from England than America. (Australia is slower still!)

  5. I am Charlie and I approve your decision.

    [I agree with your reasons too – it wouldn’t be worth ditching your principles for 30 pieces of silver, and for that I applaud you. It is all too easy to take the money without appreciating the cost].

    I also applaud your support for Charlie which is another reason to stay independent – hopefully patheos wouldn’t have censored!

    I look forward to reading some (though not all – I am time-poor) of your future posts, and long may they continue.

    1. I am at a trade show in Las Vegas and the reps at French tech companies were all wearing Je Suis Charlie badges today. Very emotional thing to see. And since my role here is giving VIP tours of the show to tech executives and entertainment VIPs, I made sure to hit all the French companies on the tour – bravery and solidarity deserve support.

    1. Yes. I was under the illusion that I could have chosen otherwise, but of course that was bogus. The choice was made (though I didn’t know it) before I left for India.

      2. A question about ‘before India’ – does that imply that you did not read or think anything about the move to Patheos while you were traveling? Might just need to postpone this discussion for another day….

      4. Not necessarily before you left for India. There may have been changes in the material circumstances that were a consequence of being in India, and that these changes entailed your decision.

  9. The ads…indeed.

    As I mentioned once already, there is also malware on Patheos, and I couldn’t use the site at all last week because of constant redirects to fake updates that contained viruses and trojans.

  11. Well said. The ads have always bugged me. Your other reasons are very valid. Glad we’re keeping our community here.

  13. (Just thought I’d let you know that) I am an improved human as a result of being a member here, and I wanted to reassure you that I’ll be buying the book – and I recommend the website anyway. Thanks for existing.

    1. Same here! Though in my case I ordered the Kindle version (I LOVE my Kindle, I take several dozen of my favorite books with me almost every time I walk out the door).

      2. I just started using the Kindle Whispersync and like a sucker buying the Audible version as well as the e-book. The feature is really good for me though as I’m a slow reader who falls asleep when reading (so I read in bed) and this allows me to listen in the car, etc.

      3. Also pre-ordered the kindle version.

        To me one of the major selling points of the kindle is the ability to highlight, save, download into the computer and copy to Word. As someone who is very mean to books (and future readers) and underlines the heck out of a lot of them — sometimes going back later to laboriously type them into a file sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph — this is a major perk.

        I will thus be able to quote Jerry at will (always with attribution of course.)

        And here we have the real difference between faith and science, for, unlike faith, science can answer the question, “How would I know if I were wrong?” And if you can’t answer that question, how can you know if you are right? (Jerry Coyne)

        1. Being a big technical geek, I too like the note function because I don’t want to mark up my hard copies. Here is how I’ve managed to avoid that when not reading electronic books.

          I bought the Livescribe bluetooth pen and the sticky notes. I read at night in bed so I just toss a sticky note on whatever page I find interesting. Then, later I write the quote on the sticky note with the page reference with the Livescribe pen.

          The Livescribe pen sincs the notes to my iPad and I sync those notes to Evernote under a folder for whichever book I’m reading.

          It’s not as easy as electronic, but it’s a nice work around to marking up your hard copy books and you have all the quotes and notes you made wherever you go because it’s in Evernote.

  16. Well… I’ve had “that book” pre-ordered since I first learned about it. Guess I’ll have to (pre-)order another –

    I appreciate your decision and your reasoning.

    yay!

  17. …since they want their advance recouped.

    You mean…they pay you for writing your thoughts and for disbursing your expertise?

    Dude! Way to go. I see more Poland and India in your future.

    (no, I haven’t been drinking. Just having fun.)

  23. Its pre-ordered on Kindle as of 10 seconds ago!

    I’m glad you stayed sans ads, but sad you aren’t getting paid for this particular intellectual output. In an ideal world, you would. Maybe if Patheos changes enough, you can reconsider. Though I very much doubt they’ll get rid of the religious channels as I think part of their whole operating philosophy is to offer many disparate voices under the same umbrella.

  24. Jerry, you can count on me to buy (probably more than one copy of) any book you publish.

    I have (so far) purchased 5 copies of WEIT. I give them out to people that need them. (Such as local politicians.) 🙂

  25. Hmmm…a thought. Astronomer Ethan Siegel of Starts with a Bang (I recommend) actually mirror-posts on two sites. He publishes on one site where they pay him for expanded content, and he publishes synopses on his ‘original’, less money-making site, where his old regulars still hang out and comment.
    Maybe in the future that’s a model that might work for you: Patheos *and* WEIT. Anyway, I offer it as something to consider. You’d get the expanded readership and funds, the regulars would still get their community here and a no-ad way of reading most (if not all) of your stuff.

    2. You’ll get 2 slightly overlapping commenting communities and be driven insane, as a site owner.

    3. That sounds like it might be a pretty good idea. If he doesn’t want to make the effort to monitor comments at both sites, he doesn’t have to. Most paying sites have moderators already. It seems likely that traffic at WEIT would also increase with such an arrangement.

  26. Wow, good for you, Jerry. I always loved maintaining my own site in that way – total control over the blog (carefully designed to be just right), and not having ads or anything.

    Somehow the new book just came onto my radar – I’ll put that on my list.

    (Tangentially – do you ever intend to narrate your own books? You apparently procured a close likeness for WEIT on Audible, but I’ve loved the self-narrated audiobooks by Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and others, and it’s just never quite the same. Just voicing that in case it hadn’t crossed your mind seriously.)

    1. I believe our host, like many people, does not like the sound of his own voice. Shame because it’s a nice deep voice which would really be nice for an audio book.

      1. I love not only the timbre & pitch of Jerry’s voice, but his speaking style & cadence as well.

        (I think it’s watching himself more than listening to himself that he dislikes…Are there many of us who do like watching ourselves?)

          5. Then at least you could have aspired to more than “worker” or “drone” or “soldier.”

  27. I’m glad you were able to come to a decision. I know I didn’t express this in the other thread, but despite the ads, of course I would have followed you to the new site; I just would have constantly complained about the ads. Oddly, I have recently seen adds show up here. I block them with adblocker so I don’t know if they are still showing up. That’s a bit concerning if you pay for ads not to show up.

    Also, I don’t think I was one of the selfish ones – I scoured the comments and don’t think I was. I welcome new readers and honestly I think you are going to get lots of new ones when your book comes out.

    Yes, now that I will soon be gainfully employed, I will pre-order your book (would have probably bought more than one copy anyway) but I still think the my WEIT bake sale was aces! 🙂

    1. I meant “I still think my WEIT bake sale idea was aces”. Stupid nervous system.

      1. WEIT bake sale? Is that anything like a WEIT elephant sale?

        Just make sure you sell something besides pie, because Jerry and I would buy up all the pies. I love homemade pie!!

    4. No ads that show up come from me. Sometimes readers (one told me this today) have extensions to their browsers that themselves post the ads. So check your extensions.

  28. I’ve ordered the book and I’m happy you’re staying independent, but I would have followed you regardless. I just wish the release date was sooner, much sooner. As I’m sure you’re aware, it’s 1F in Chicago today and I need more books to tide myself over till the weather breaks.

    Patiently waits for an invite from Ben…….
    Brrrrr

    1. Oh, feel free to drop by any time! I’m afraid I don’t exactly have guest accommodations, but I’m sure we could figure something out.

      b&

    2. It’s a beautiful warm, sunny day in NZ. All the doors and windows are open, and a gentle breeze is wafting through.

      I’ve only got one spare bedroom though, so don’t all turn up at once! 🙂

  29. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this. All good stuff. I would have continued to read no matter where you posted. And I’ve already ordered your book. Let’s see, what else? Oh, keep up the good work.

  30. Firstly, I am personally happy about your choice ( and yes I will be ordering both your and Matthew Cobbs’ books). Sometimes WordPress is bloody irritating (lack of ability to edit comments for example) but that is more than offset by the lack of adverts.

    As for Patton…. man was probably clinically insane but what a general !

    1. I’ve actually grown to like the “no edit” approach to discussions.

      Some people will edit their comments so the discussion become pointless. ( It happens a lot on facebook ).

      And I honestly like looking at yous all as mere grammatical mortals like the rest of us clutzes.

      It’s not all bad, imo.

      1. I was going to say exactly that. Specially if we’re trying to include any sort of links or tags. I think I know HTML but what I don’t know is whether WordPress knows the same flavour of HTML as I do. So I just avoid using it.

        A preview / sandpit would be ideal.

  31. Good news on the move, I’m sure it was a difficult decision.

    I’ll be buying the book when it us available but I avoid Amazon UK as much as possible due to their disgusting tax avoidance activities so I won’t be pre-ordering.

    1. Seconded! Will be buying the book through non Amazon channels. We will have to make it worth your while not to have moved to Pathos.

  32. I’m glad that you’re staying, although I certainly would have continued reading had you moved!

    And count on one pre-order of the book on my part, and probably a bunch more orders for gifts next christmas. After all, it is only 351 days away!

  33. I applaud your reasons for not joining a herd, as if one can herd cats. …It always bugs me too, when the desire to have ones beliefs conform as much as possible to reality with all its inherent messiness, is considered just another subset of the prostrating, genuflecting, fear fomenting, wishful wanting products of humankind’s imagination.

  35. In addition to the book, I will also order the audiobook, if one becomes available. Immersion reading is great!

    1. I ordered the Kindle version with the hopes of an audio sync kind of version in the future.

  37. I don’t even remember what I wrote in response to the first post–aside from being not in favor of the move– but now I’m hoping it didn’t sound too selfish! I had no idea of the size of the monetary sacrifice not moving would entail. And of course the increased readership would have been a plus on more than one level.

    Greatly relieved by your decision nonetheless. Thank you!

    I’ll preorder another copy or two of FvF. Books make the best gifts after all. (I wonder if school libraries would be open to donations of FvF? Perhaps I’ll try it and find out.)

    1. My Christmas presents from my six nieces and nephews (via my three siblings) this year: five books plus US$75 Amazon credit and NZ$40 book voucher. They know me!

  38. I, too, am glad you’re staying here. It’s a home for my brain. You have a wonderful community of readers. Being a low-income person, I’ll have to read the library copy of your book. I’ve already recommended its purchase by the library.

  39. As others have said, I still would have followed you if you had moved, but so happy you didn’t! My Kindle copy of your new book has been ordered! Can’t wait until May to read it!

  40. Book ordered. Glad you’re staying, but I would have followed you regardless. I have to confess I hadn’t realised how much money it would have been worth to go, that’s a lot of incentive, think of the boots that would buy!

  41. Apart from the other arguments con Patheos, local site roolz will not permit me to express in words my heartfelt feelings of the Disqus commenting system or the provenance of its inventors.

  42. I’m relieved! I certainly will buy your book but I’ll wait till it comes out.

    Idea for your consideration: why not have a donate button? I get a lot from this website and I would love to show my appreciation. Many others would likely feel the same. At least it would help with the squirrel feed!

    2. I don’t want to e-beg beyond what I’ve done in this post. It should be clear that being able to express my ideas to a wide audience exceeds by far my desire for money. I won’t ever have a donate button, but I may suggest from from time to time that readers donate to organizations like Doctors without Borders and the Freedom from Religion Foundation.

      1. Hear hear. Yours is the best living room on the webs. Happy to respond to the donate suggestions. When you recommend something, I know I want to donate to it. (Obviously MSF and FFRF.)

      2. When considering donations, in addition to Doctors without Borders and Freedom from Religion Foundation, please also consider donating to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. There are numerous other worthy secular organizations working on our behalf that could use our donations.

  43. I hope I would not be out of place with a suggestion — maybe Prof CC, Greg, Matthew, Grania et al could collectively offer to run a site on Patheos?

  44. Congratulations on your decision! I have just pre-ordered the book and hope that I can catch up on my reading before it arrives…
    For those of you suffering from the cold, thank you for sending us a bit of ‘coolth’. After nearly a week of about 40 C and a huge bush fire it rained yesterday,and today’s maximum is predicted to be about 25 C, and the fire is 95% extinguished.

          1. Yes, although a bit steamy by Adelaide standards. Good for the garden especially my rather cooked tomato plants.
            We are in Unley Park, not so far from Mitchell Park.
            Out of curiosity are you based in OZ the US or ???

          3. It sure would be nice to have a pied a terre in Oz and the UK (or Minnesota in my case). Summer in the northern hemisphere and then … summer in the southern hemisphere! 🙂

          4. My friend’s parents sort of do that – summer in Australia, summer in Canada.

  45. Glad you’ve come to that decision, though like most others I would have followed you over to Patheos if you’d moved.

    And yes, I will most certainly buy your book.

  49. Thanks to Ceiling Cat – but would have followed even if it did move.

    Placing pre-order for book now – will gift a bunch of the books to my book club gang just like with WEIT.

  54. Pleased that you are staying Jerry, although I’m pretty sure I’d have tagged along wherever you went.

    Although I’ve only been reading regularly for about 18 months and I rarely comment, and even more rarely reply(not something I’m proud of I promise you), this is the most thoughtful, intelligent, consistent, likeable science/religion website I’ve come across.

    It is, for example, my first port of call when something like today’s atrocity happens – W.E.I.T. feels like a small isthmus of sanity between those who see Islam as utterly and incontrovertibly benign and those who see it as beyond redemption and symptomatic of an inferior race.

    As for buying your book Jerry…let’s pretend that you’ve convinced me, even though I was always going to get it. I’ve devoured books on this subject by far, far less interesting writers than yourself – you always had a guaranteed purchase here:)

  56. I am looking forward to both buying and reading the book.
    Thanks for staying independent.

  57. Thanks for all you do Jerry. I pre-ordered your book the minute it hit Amazon! Can’t wait to read it.

  58. The book is already ordered but will be a good gift as well. The first certainly was.

  60. This is one of the most pleasant blogs to visit and comment on, too. The thought of that maybe changing with a move was a bit bleak so it’s really, really nice that WEIT will stay here!

  61. Congratulations Jerry, I know you gave the change serious thought and I’m selfishly pleased you decided to stay here for now, although I would follow you through think and thin (I saw the typo there but left it because it seemed to mean something too!)

    As for the book, I was planning to get it anyway. And I promise to give it a thorough, thoughtful writeup on Amazon and anywhere else my opinions might be heard.

  62. I was wondering why the ads appeared briefly then disappeared – much appreciated.

    1. There was a brief moment several years ago when I tried the ads option, but ditched it when I didn’t like the ads. I now pay for the site to be ad-free, and in the last two years there should be no ads appearing. If there are, it comes from browser extensions, not WordPress.

      1. We appreciate your being willing to pay out of your own pocket to avoid ads on your website. Thank you! This is beyond the call of duty!

      2. I have to add that I am impressed by your ability to pass up n X $10,000 that were on offer at Patheos*. My admiration has moved up a few notches beyond the very high position it was already in.

        That would be a tough call for me (as it probably was for you.)

        (* I’m glad that quality web writers can make that kind of money.)

  63. I will also say, “Thank you”, for remaining independent. I have already ordered your book, but have now ordered a second copy to send to my weakly religious cousin. May she be enlightened.

  64. While it was your decision to make and I would have followed you anywhere, I am thrilled with your decision!

  65. Thanks, Andrea!
    Thank you for your purchase. This book will be auto-delivered wirelessly to your Kindle on May 19, 2015.

  66. Thank you for staying independent. While I read The Friendly Atheist, Progressive Secular Humanist, and Ask Richard (and sometimes other things) on the Patheos site, compared to your current one I find it harder to navigate. Your blog is the first thing I check in the morning. I, too, am a cat lover (d*gs, too) and also appreciate your posts on religion, science and music. Thank you!

  68. For all who might still see this tip, please pass it around.

    Nearly all libraries have adopt-a-book programs, I know ours does. So stop by the library and buy the new book for yours. Every library should have this book don’t you think

  69. Woohoo! I would lift my hands up and praise God if I were still a Christian.

    Well, on second thought, if I were still a Christian, I would be praying for God to smite the WordPress server that supports your site.

    Anyway, I’m definitely buying your book, and I know of at least one other person for whom I’ll be getting another copy.

  71. I’m very happy you’re staying here. I like your comments, and the comments of many of your followers, which might get diluted if you moved to a place like Pathos.

    Oh, and I pre-ordered Faith vs Fact as soon as it was available on Amazon.

  72. Thank you for keeping the blog the same. I have already ordered the book and look forward to reading it and putting it next to your other bookin my library Does anyone know if Amazon says how many copies of the new book have been pre-ordered?I also wonder how many copies of why evolution is true have been published since it was first written. Thank you for having such an intellectually stimulating and unique blog and I look forward to looking at it first thing every morning.

  73. I’m sorry to hear that not going to Patheos will cause you some problems, but I think it is fortunate for us. I enjoy being able to share your site with people for the variety of topics (food, science, religion, etc) and can do so in a way with religious people that I couldn’t if you were in the Atheist section of Patheos.

    If they say something, I simply point out that it’s your understanding of things and they should respect it as they would like others to respect them. Later I’ll find out that they’ve read several of your atheist articles and want to discuss them, something that hasn’t happened when I’ve tried to point them to an “official” atheist writer. Plus they enjoy the food, travel, science writing I originally suggested.

    As for reaching people on Patheos, perhaps you can guest write on some of their blogs?

    I need to find someone to buy your book for so I can pre-order it (I was made to promise my family that I wouldn’t buy it for myself so that they could get it as a birthday present for me when it comes out-I’ll suggest pre-ordering to them.

    I have bought 5-6 copies of WEIT for people over the years and will likely buy copies of this as well, if folks show the same interest that your science posts generated when I shared them.

  75. I’ve been following Patheos for a bit (I especially like “Camels with Hammers” and “Daylight Atheism”), but I never realized that on the main page atheism is listed as “faith channel”. I think we’re more of a “show me” channel.

    In some ways it’s a bit of a misclassification of Buddhist and pagan blogs as well. “Faith” is the ultimate virtue more than anything else in Protestant Christianity and Islam. Most other religions say you need it but they don’t say your whole religion revolves around it.!! It’s a projection of a Protestant paradigm to call other religions “faith-traditions”.

  77. Happy, happy, ebook ordered. Thank you for sharing your life and love of cats with us.

  79. I was always going to buy your new book, whether you stayed or not. But I’m glad you stayed. I like to think I do recommend your site and many of the posts when the appropriate time arises. Thank you for all the content, it is a lot of it!

  80. Pre-ordered the new book, and finally got around to ordering WEIT itself.

    Thanks for all the great posts and for being a big part of the online community of sanity in a world that feels bereft of same on this sad day.

  81. But if you’re The Cat That Walk[s] by Himself, then all places are alike to you. I don’t know if that makes a decision like this easier or harder. Flip a rupee?

  82. Money and/or fame aren’t tempting to you? Are you some sort of robot?!

    In terms of the book. Since getting books to Australia is expensive, I hope you don’t mind an IOU that will be redeemed if/when the book comes to either Kindle or Audible.

  83. I was happily planning to do both of your recommendations Jerry. As I did with your last book, and I hope, many more to come.

  84. I genuinely thought you bwere pulling our legs at first, as it seemed to me, never having seen Patheos before, that it was all about religion. It also seemed rather US orientated, whereas you are far more international & eclectic – I worried that the cat related material would not survive! I do not feel protectionist about this site, I mean in the narrow ‘small community ergo good’ sense. I welcome having new readers & new interactions. I suppose after so many years here it would have been a natural step, & maybe that will happen in the future.

    I will buy more than one copy, for I will give copies to at least two friends! One will be infuriated by it 😉

  86. Your prerogative, your decision Jerry.
    From my perspective it is both reassuring and heartening to feel that quality material wiil continue to be available from a person of reason & principles, ( as evidenced on this and other very recent issues). Thank you for your contributions to a world that needs you & others like you.

  88. As someone who thinks that where something is hosted doesn’t really matter, as long as the content doesn’t change, I don’t have any particular feeling one way or another. However, this place does have more of a “small town” feel to it than a major network does, and you’d definitely not like the B-word being applied to your site!

    I do need to look into ordering The Albatross though… a fair reminder!

  89. Thank you, thank you and thank you again. Both books ordered from Amazon. I think Hili is smiling too. I’m one of the selfish ones – this site is an oasis on the internet.

  90. I’m very glad to hear that – thank you as well as congratulations!
    Although I wonder if it would have been am option to keep your site as well as “mirroring” the articles to patheos – without putting any efforts into their comment section.

  92. I bought “Why Evolution Is True” a few years ago because I was unable to make a cogent argument when someone questioned the validity of the Theory of Evolution despite the fact that I had accepted it as fact many years ago and it has long looked self evident to me. And it worked. I’m no scientist, but I found the book more readable and understandable than anything else I’ve read on the subject. I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I’m now at least able to hold up my end of a conversation and counter the most common arguments. I wish I could make the book and this site required reading for all those evolution deniers out there, but I have yet to attain that level of authority. So of course I’m buying your new book. I only wish it was hitting the market sooner.

    And thank you, Dr. Coyne, for making such an unselfish decision to remain independent. Many think no amount of money is enough and most would not be able to resist the temptation of more money and more readers which could lead to even more fame, more television invites, more prizes, etc. Regular readers here as the beneficiaries of your decision have an obligation to promote you, your books and this site and I know many of us will.

  93. My desire for your site to be independent was not because it was convenient for myself but because of how I perceive your good self to be and that I regard sites like this as a vanguard to a better world, one without the influence of a fairy tale and a lie. A place to understanding the world and to organize oneself.
    As we have just seen, some people die for this reason. I am horrified and saddened by this.
    I care little of your bank balance, monies not received (non business of mine) but care greatly that you have forfeited this right, there is something incorruptible about that.
    To me this is important and will follow up as per your requests because of it.
    So for what it is worth I applaud your decision to remain independent (even as it has nothing to do with me or this community) not to move.

  94. I’m happy if you’re happy Mr Coyne because if you’re happy you’ll write more!

    Arigato for all your work.

  97. My first comment here: I would have continued to subscribe no matter where your material ended up. In appreciation of your work on this site and the cost to keep it ad-free I have very happily pre-ordered Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible. I’m looking forward to what will surely be a great read.

    I guess this is a good opportunity to also extend a simple thank you for maintaining this site. Thank you, and to all your contributors, keep up the great work.

  98. Greetings. I’m very, very glad about your decision. \o/

    I would not call the voices for a small community selfish, though. At least not any more than most human motivations including so-called “selfless” actions (e.g. helping others drugs your brain). That said, wanting to stay among known friends isn’t the worst of selfishness. Especially if we look at other big “communities” on the net. It *can* work, but in many instances it sadly doesn’t.

    Speaking for myself, I doubtlessly would have kept reading your magnificent blog but I would not have had the same pleasuring experience I get from the sleak design and simple comment functionality of your own site. I know that because I notice a certain reluctance in me reading JT Eberhart’s “What would JT do?” on Patheos, despite it’s good content.

    Your mention of possible X times $10K illustrated to me this incredible temptation those ad-driven portals provide and I applaud you for setting other reasons before that. As others already mentioned, even well-heeled humans often tend to crave more money for it’s own sake.

    Thanks for staying here *and* for the funny picture. I call it “The Truth Behind Schroedinger’s Story.” 🙂

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