Are YA viewpoints representative of the population?

No Not at all, It has been my Observation that only a Tiny Fraction even know or care about Y!A

I think that is an excellent question. I really do not think that it matters what the demographics are exactly. I don't think this is the Neilson ratings, neither is it a scientifically-based poll to sample which issue a candidate should focus his or her campaign on in an upcoming election. I believe that what you find are people who are interested in a particular subject tend to be drawn to certain areas. The more passionate they are the more likely they are to be interested in that area. Most atheists are intelligent people who have given quite a bit of thought to the issue of omniscience but concluded that deity is irrational somewhere along the way. The point is that most are rather passionate about their belief and can usually defend what they believe unlike many who believe in God. I seriously doubt you will find many luke-warm believers or atheists making much of an attempt to defend their faith. I know that I can defend what I believe.

No, Y!A would represent a case of self selection bias. I would hypothesize that the average IQ for the Y!A population is significantly higher than the average for the population overall, that there is a greater proportion of Y!A users with non-managerial white collar jabs than average, that Y!A users tend to be more educated, etc.

No, under no circumstance could I entertain the notion that Y!A constitutes a representative cross section of the population.

Yahoo does a large number of user response surveys and although these would also suffer self selection they might at least give an idea of the Y!A constituency.

The internet provides a nice little mask for everyone.

If you were to ask all of the people on Y!A for their opinion in person, you would find that a lot of them wouldn't dare say some of the things that they have said here.

Internet forums are never a true representation of people's viewpoints. Its very easy to throw the decency book out the window and abuse people over the internet when you know they can't land a quick one-two on your cheekbone.

Could you say that internet forums are therefore a true reflection of a persons feeling? Since "not offending people" isn't a contributing factor? Maybe... but personally, I think that true opinions are those which we are willing to share face-to-face and to take a beating for; if necessary.

I've no idea about the publishing of demographics. But I do know that, as a European, I know very few Christians. To me it's odd to hear from so many apparent creationists. I've never met one in 'real' life. But then, people in the UK rarely talk about religion at all (unlike Y!A) so who knows?

I suspect it takes a particular personality or mindset to find Y!A (and in particular R&S) rewarding. That in itself probably makes it unrepresentative!

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