Introducing NoGodTube

James Randi and JREF recently had their YouTube account suspended because of a copyright violation. The violation was addressed and resolved and their account is now back online.

While this may have been a fair reason to suspend the offending video, YouTube may have crossed the line by suspending the entire account.

JREF is fortunate in this case, too. They were able to resolve the issue amicably. It also helped that so many atheists wrote YouTube and complained. Other groups (like the Rational Response Squad) routinely have individual videos or their entire account taken down for no apparent reason — presumably, religious people are just offended by what they see.

We can help fix this problem, though.

Atheists no longer have to rely on YouTube to share their videos (or worry about YouTube suspending their accounts). There’s now a one-stop shop if you want to watch videos for/about/by other atheists.

It’s called NoGodTube:

The name is in response to GodTube (since renamed Tangle).

It was begun by a group of people including Brother Richard, from Atheist Nexus and the blog Life Without Faith, who says this:

With NoGodTube, we can continue to debate, but on our terms. Theists will be able to present their arguments based on reason, but if they disagree with our responses, they won’t be able to get us banned or flame us. Best of all, we can use NoGodTube to preserve our arguments for posterity.

Some may argue that we will be biased because of our name, NoGodTube. The way I look at it, the statement, “No God” is the default position. Just like “No Unicorns” is the default. The burden of proof is on the believer.

NoGodTube will be in Beta for quite some time, so I hope everyone will be patient with us. If anyone would like to offer suggestions, help out with the design, or volunteer as a moderator, send us an email from the Contact Us page.

I’m hoping this site can be successful. I fully expect atheists to put their videos on YouTube where it has a wider audience, but I hope they will store them at NoGodTube as well.

Let’s start building the library.

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Les

No offense, but I think this is a horrible idea.

The great thing about Youtube is NOT that atheists can preach to the choir.
That’s boring.

The great thing about it is people of various religions, as well as atheists, sharing ideas.

I just don’t think “NoGodTube” can encourage that in the same way.
Anne

This is great! I hope the logo gets put on some tshirts.

I think if Christians can have everything with their name on it, why can’t we.

The name is obviously a gimmick and a funny way to get attention. I am going to post both on YouTube and NoGodTube. I would have posted on GodTube, but they wouldn’t allow atheists to do so. Plus I don’t have to worry about getting negative reviews from the crazies simply because they disagree.
Anne

This is great! I hope the logo gets put on some tshirts.

I think if Christians can have everything with their name on it, why can’t we.

The name is obviously a gimmick and a funny way to get attention. I am going to post both on YouTube and NoGodTube. I would have posted on GodTube, but they wouldn’t allow atheists to do so. Plus I don’t have to worry about getting negative reviews from the crazies simply because they disagree.
Jeff

People should definitely double-post. If you want to change the world, you must post so that the world sees it.
Tao Jones

Les, I don’t think the point of this is to be a huge circle jerk.

It sounds like it’s just meant to be a safe place where we can know our videos won’t get deleted or banned because of the content. This makes videos posted on NGT safe and convenient to be posted on our blogs, etc.

Nothing wrong with cross posting our videos on YouTube for the reach and on NGT as an archive.
Darwin’s Dagger

I think FreeThoughtTube would be a much better name. Again a bunch of misguided atheists who think its a good idea to identify themselves with a negative.
James

Strange idea.
Wim Vandenberghe

I don’t really like the name NoGodTube either. It shows how deep the religious bias goes, even in the case of atheists. What about polytheism or religions that have no god or gods but who have equally ridiculous and baseless religious notions like reincarnation, spirits, etc.
Neither does it cover all the new-age, psychic, alt.med woo-woo. I’d prefer a site called SkepticTube or SkepTube, or as suggested by Darwin’s Dagger, FreeThoughtTube.
Laura

I like the idea of building a library. It will be helpful to those who are just coming out of their religion. I agree that we need dissent, but it is also nice to have a one stop site for it all, too. I, for one, get enough dissent in every day life to keep me on my toes anyways. 🙂
David D.G.

I agree with the comments from Darwin’s Dagger and Jeff. The idea of a rationalist-controlled video site is a good one, but it cannot be considered equivalent to the mainstream market, and the name they chose for this one is downright juvenile and off-putting.

Maybe the name could be changed to “Untangle”? ;^D No, I’m not serious about that. “FreeThoughtTube” or something of that ilk would be better, though.

~David D.G.
manyhats

I like the Untangle idea. Why’d you dismiss it David D.G.? How about “ReasonTube”. I’m personally not just concerned with a lack of reason when it comes to imaginary friends. It’d be nice if it could be broadened to include all skeptical inquiry.

I’m sure the organizers of this effort realize they’re opening up a legal can of worms. Have they gotten advice about potential copyright and libel issues?
Aj

I think it’s great to have site for these videos but it’s not a replacement for YouTube. It’s not just atheists that have trouble with YouTube, with its zealous censorship and secrecy. YouTube isn’t just a video hosting service, it’s a video sharing service that means it’s about community more than hosting. I’d prefer a challenger to YouTube that’s not subject-specific, but a video sharing service without such a crappy approach to censorship.
Vincent

It has to be done in a “we’re better than you because unlike you, we won’t ban you or flame you if you disagree” way.
If they start banning idiots then it’s going to fail.
miller

If the entire point was to have an alternative video website to avoid YouTube’s kneejerk reactions to accusations of copyright violation, then they should have done it without narrowing the focus down to atheism. I doubt that atheists are the only ones for whom YouTube causes problems.

Anyways, there’s probably a reason that YouTube reacts so harshly to alleged copyright violations. It’s to avoid legal issues, obviously. How will NoGodTube avoid said legal issues?
Brooks

No offense, but I think this is a horrible idea.

The great thing about Youtube is NOT that atheists can preach to the choir.
That’s boring.

I don’t think it’s preaching to the choir though, at least that’s not the impression I get from the article. The article specifically says they won’t ban people who disagree with them, so it’s not like this site is an exclusive club for atheists only. And you know there will probably be a ton of fundies who will come to that site to try and save our poor lost souls from damnation, so it’s not like we’ll be the only ones there. I personally think the site is a great idea. It pisses me off that Christians not only get GodTube as their stomping grounds but they’re trying to take over youtube too by banning any video that offends their beliefs. Atheists need a place where we can express our views without getting banned and there will be sure to be plenty of fundies trying to save us. So, maybe instead of looking at NoGodTube as being an exclusive club for atheists, maybe try looking at as youtube atheist/religious debates the way they should be done? But I do agree that they should have a better name that also includes non-god superstitious beliefs like I like the idea of the name freethoughttube or rationalisttube.com
Reality Activist

Posting atheist based videos on Youtube so that others can view them is essential for two reasons. It exposes the dangerous behavior caused by religious beliefs and combats the irrational thinking caused by religious beliefs. As long as posting videos on an atheist site does not hinder those endeavors then it is a great idea. It worries me though that creating our own playground will hinder those objectives. If we want to be accepted in society then we should play with the other members of society. The prejudices against atheist are, in part, due to the lack of exposure to atheists. Often they are unaware that the people who they are interacting with are atheists.
I also detect another potential issue. It is true that atheists are of like minds when it comes to not having a belief in god(s), but beyond that, the waters of the philosophical, cultural and spiritual beliefs become quite muddy. Fundamentalists beliefs are dangerous regardless if a god is at the basis of their beliefs. Creating a platform for these believers will cause dissension. Religion poses a threat to the survival of our species. We need to focus on that and not the smaller groups that want to spread their non deity beliefs.
tamarind

I think the name is horrible. NoGodTube sounds every bit as silly as GodTube does. By going off of the same name as your opponent, it lends your opponent legitimacy as well. It’s better to be on the offensive than the defensive.

Using a name (NoGodTube) that sounds like an alternative version of a highly successful, extremely well-known site (YouTube) makes it sound like you’re trying to compete with it. Just as with GodTube and Conservapedia, people will think you have a fundamental problem with the normal, socially popular site and assume you’re some kind of freak. It makes you look too far outside of the mainstream. We atheists already have to work too hard to convince others that we’re normal.
Rev. Hellbound Alleee

Ah, yes. The old “we have to be more like them” panic. This is just the problem the feminist and the gay movements had to deal with. Of course, it was the drag queens who were the champions of Stonewall: not the gay christians.

The fact is, it’s not mainstream. Just…headdesk…why in the WORLD would someone want to Be Like Everyone Else? Sigh. I guess some of us really want that, but I’ll never understand it.

As J.R. “Bob” Dobbs says, “if you act like an idiot, then they’ll accept you as an equal!”

A political strategy, I suppose, if you’re seeking some sort of political power. Which always, always defeats the purpose in the end.

When you talk about behavior, speak for yourself. What purpose is there to monitor the behavior of someone who simply shares one thing in common, unless it’s out of fear? Is that a positive thing?

Maybe everyone should go outside with signs saying “we’re mediocre! we’re mediocre! Up with conformity!”