“The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”

Thomas Paine

The League of Reason, established 2009, is a multi-author blog written by a collection of highly motivated people, a community forum, and podcast. We do not represent each other or any kind of organisation. We just happen to come to the same place, where we represent ourselves, and if we disagree with each other we’re not afraid to say so.

The League of Reason is not a think-tank, advocacy group or corporation. What is consensus among its members is always subject to change, and there is no established policy. The only collective belief of its team is that if constructive debate is allowed to progress, better ideas will ultimately supplant worse ideas.

Though it is sometimes mistaken as a pretentious, self-congratulatory title, the name ‘League of Reason’ is actually a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek reference to YouTube’s rational debate community inspired by a mirrored video which Th1sWasATriumph jocularly called, League of Reason vs The Asshat Brigade.

Initially, the site was set up as a discussion forum to combat a plague of censorship against proponents of science and scepticism, orchestrated by a number of religious YouTube users. Their tactics included the employment of votebots (software designed to autonomously lower the ratings of videos) and the filing of false DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) claims in an effort to have critical material removed from the site.

The forum proved to be a successful and popular resource, not only for fighting censorship, but also for the discussion of a wide variety of topics. It flourished into a strong community for like-minded people all over the world.

Soon after its inception, with plans of expansion already in place, it was decided that the site should be moved to a new server, giving us more control. Our first (and best) webmaster, CosmicSpork, implemented the move and proceeded to sacrifice his free time to upgrade the site with more features and a unique image. Although our founder, Andromeda’s Wake, and webmaster CosmicSpork have since retired from the site, our new maintainers, Australopithecus and Prolescum, along with our moderation, blogging and podcasting teams continue to nurture the site and conserve its position as a haven for rational discussion.

Today our community continues to grow and diversify, as does our excellent team of committed and responsible contributors. What began as an outpost for victims of YouTube censorship is now a popular meeting place for discussion and commentary on every topic imaginable!

Most of us in this world think our ideas are the reasonable ones so it is not for the administrators or moderators of this community to dictate any policy on what its members must believe or agree on. Anyone can be a member of The League of Reason by signing up on the forums. All we ask is that you obey the rules in forums and chat, which are put in place to prevent chaos, not to stifle discussion. You are also welcome to suggest changes to the rules which will be reviewed by the team of moderators whose job it will be to enforce them. Remember, if you wish to convince other members that your ideas are the reasonable ones, you will almost certainly be expected to justify your claims!

In June of 2010, several members of The League of Reason, including its founder, began working together to produce The League of Reason Show, a spin-off aimed at promoting discussion and debate in a different medium. Those who appeared on the show, including guests and panelists, do not automatically represent the opinions of the community and the limited but growing number of individuals it is feasible to include are not to be confused with ‘The League of Reason’. Eventually, the show and its panel moved on and became The Magic Sandwich Show, and we now produce a podcast which any member can contribute to, aptly named The League of Reason Presents… To contribute ideas, content or anything else, there is a sub-forum intended strictly for suggestions and criticisms of the show.

If you have any queries about The League of Reason, please click here to email Australopithecus, the site administrator.