Vision Discussion, ranging from target audience to procedural aspects to vision dependent techinical issues. http://www.christianfora.org/forum/list.php?6 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:52:19 -0500 Phorum 5.2.7 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,14067,14067#msg-14067 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,14067,14067#msg-14067 forum affiliated with the God Journey (http://thegodjourney.com/forums/) seems to have a pretty good seeker-friendly community going on. Moriah pops in there now and then to post a thing or two but has stayed only on the fringes of the community there.
(It actually had a rather negative experience when it first came there, not due to the community as a whole but due to a little clique of about 4 people who "ruled the roost" and probably saw incisive newcomers capable of exposing their doing so as a threat. In fact the one who basically swiftly made things intolerable there actually came forward later to not only apologize openly for what she'd done but to very courageously expose her own wrongdoings which others not only DID not know but WOULD not have known unless told, though Moriah with its annoying "spidey senses" had invariably caught the scent thereof. ^_^ )

Anyway so much for why it has stayed only on the fringes there since -- overall this community actually provides a good working model for a seeker-friendly forum, one worth studying. It bes driven by common interest generated in weekly podcasts by the two fellows who run the site. Those who listen to the podcasts and enjoy them go on from there to join the forum and participate with others who share interest in the topics -- and the conversations they get up to there bes really AWESOME. They have a section for conversations based on the podcasts by topic, a section for potential meet-ups to happen arranged by geolocation, and other sections for discussion. So check it out!]]> Moriah Conquering Wind Vision Discussion Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:31:41 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,13971,13971#msg-13971 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,13971,13971#msg-13971
Insights from scripture fit nicely into either General or Exploratory Religious Discussion, but these kinds of personal experiences really need their own space IMO, under the Religious section. They merit something more substantive than the "Chit Chat" section and they don't really fit under "Prayer".

Speaking of which, Ron, might we change the term "religious" to "faith"? Religious/religion seems to imply a system whereas faith implies a dynamic, interactive process. That might just be Moriah's mental maps for the word, but just making the suggestion. If both General and Exploratory bes meant to be from the Christian vicinity of approach (despite a wide variety of views and beliefs therein) then the term "faith" would be fitting -- and we could always make a section for interfaith discussions, e.g., examining a topic from both a Christian and, e.g., a Buddhist point of view, or whatever, if the interest in that arises here organically.]]> Moriah Conquering Wind Vision Discussion Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:32:47 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,13819,13819#msg-13819 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,13819,13819#msg-13819 br. max Vision Discussion Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:32:20 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,10748,10748#msg-10748 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,10748,10748#msg-10748
You are welcome at Christianfora

* if you are Asian, Hispanic, Black or White ...
* if you are male or female or transgender ...
* if you are three days old, 30 years old or 103 years old ...
* if you've never stepped foot in a church; or if you are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Roman Catholic, Unitarian, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, B'hai, Mormon or any other religious denomination ...
* if you are agnostic, atheist, ... or are a life-long Christian ...
* if you are single, married, divorced, widowed, separated or partnered ...
* If you are straight, gay, lesbian, or bisexual ...
* if you are a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party member, Independent, Socialist or not registered to vote ...
* if you have, or had, addictions, phobias, abortions or a criminal record. ...
* if you own your home, rent, live with your parents, children or a roomate or are homeless ...
* if you are fully-bodied, disabled or a person of differing abilities ...

You are welcome here!

We, the members of ChristianFora, are committed to being a radically loving and welcoming internet community of faith, centered in the Good News brought to us by Jesus the Christ. Therefore, in faithfulness to the Gospel, and to the best of our abilities, we promise to provide a place of safety, vision and care to all who seek God in this place.]]> mnphysicist Vision Discussion Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:58:42 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,8717,8717#msg-8717 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,8717,8717#msg-8717
By doing this, it would prevent people from being in a fishbowl, and it would prevent indexing of people's posts by Google. What think you all?]]> belindap Vision Discussion Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:25:46 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,6991,6991#msg-6991 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,6991,6991#msg-6991 br. max Vision Discussion Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:54:13 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,6970,6970#msg-6970 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,6970,6970#msg-6970 br. max Vision Discussion Thu, 22 May 2008 18:01:32 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,2826,2826#msg-2826 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,2826,2826#msg-2826
Reading here n there, and have to say this is a fairly unfriendly atmosphere due to 2 members.

Excluding above sentence..on to a bit more

overall, I see people desiring certain, actually many things and saying what is undesirable (many things), and they themselves saying the very same undesirable things of others that they dont want here.

it's a very exclusive forum at this point, due to such, and also seems to be a springboard of calling tons of other folks names.

but then, going on to how real some are (themselves) and how phoney or (insert any term) many others are.

not sure how any new c's or seekers, or struggling christians will be reached in this manner

also, there is moderating as to whether the right people complain about what was said or not in thread.

i wrote something was removed (which was okay), then later another person also did same as i did...was not removed.

because the one of the two didn't go after that person in thread, because the one of the two like that person.

so what i see aside from the good things that are helping people here, which are very good of course.

is basically just name calling of others, appears what majority of forum is for and about, and on the same hand, said, not what we want here, but is what some do here.

and is the very same thing being done here that they hate so much on cf. or other forums... they are doing exact same thing here that they say they hate, don't want, don't need, etc.

ETA: and if i didnt say it, what is disallowed by certain here is okay for them to say or do here but not ok if anyone else says it, unless that person is ok to say it..]]> Anonymous User Vision Discussion Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:11:51 -0600 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,1010,1010#msg-1010 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,1010,1010#msg-1010
1. We are not CF, so we need to shake off a lot of the mentalities that are inevitably going to carry over from CF, most notably the idea of the nanny-state.
2. The idea is that there will be a set of federal rules to govern the public forums, which those forums cannot override or ignore. Depending on their needs, some of the forums may have additional rules.
3. This site is designed to be seeker-friendly, which means that the rules will be geared that way. The goal isn't to protect them from exposure to theologies or ideas that might be wrong, but to protect them from getting hurt by the very people who should be helping them.
4. The rule-load needs to be relatively light and simple. Making things too complex creates more problems than it solves.

---

Here are my proposals for a couple of the rules:
1. You shall love your neighbor (and that means your fellow posters, too) as yourself. Christians will love the Lord their God. Non-christians will treat the Christian God with respect.
2. We are not a nanny state. For that reason, people are expected to be able to work out some things by themselves and not go whining to moderators about every little thing. In other words, Act Your Age, Not Your Shoe Size.
3. Flaming, spamming, porn and illegal activities will not be tolerated. In other words, Play Nice.]]> belindap Vision Discussion Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:57:54 -0500 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,912,912#msg-912 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,912,912#msg-912 br. max Vision Discussion Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:02:27 -0600 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,716,716#msg-716 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,716,716#msg-716
WIkis can and do work for such, as it gives the small group as much autonomy as the large group.... yet, they are subject to a few issues too. Ie, wiki paranoia (folks are not comfortable with the wiki process, and don't participate) wiki bullying (a common problem) they are not time efficient, and its easy for members to suffer fatique as a result.

Is there a way we can use some of the best practices from CF to assist in this area, and if so, what should they be?]]> mnphysicist Vision Discussion Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:53:30 -0600 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,714,714#msg-714 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,714,714#msg-714
This blog entry is pretty powerful.
http://onlymormon.blogspot.com/2007/08/christianforumscom-aka-forums-aint-so.html

Erwin tried, thats for sure, as did I, but we were going against a huge culture, and ultimately ran out of time, when the site was sold.]]> mnphysicist Vision Discussion Sat, 01 Mar 2008 19:38:09 -0600 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,711,711#msg-711 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,711,711#msg-711
What was proposed, was a People of the Book supercategory, with sub areas for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, such that we can focus on learning from each other, and what we have in common, rather than the all too common stance of animosity. I thought at the time, it was an idea with a lot of potential, and still do today. The problems I see are two fold, 1. how do we get this diverse mix of folks here, and 2. How do we best deal the the potential inflammatory issues that may arise.]]> mnphysicist Vision Discussion Fri, 07 Dec 2007 23:54:11 -0600 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,710,710#msg-710 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,710,710#msg-710
There is also the issue with doctrinal stuff, and one can easily take a stance of removing the slightest offensive or stumbling thing, and while doing so may be ok for an inreach focus, it can really kill off outreach, ministry, and even recovery.

Martin Luther had some interesting things to say, as concerns stumbling blocks and freedom, and the insanity of banning things which have the potential for abuse or trouble.

Referring to Deuteronomy 4:19, which prohibits bowing down to “the sun and the moon and the stars,” Luther said, “There are many people who worship the sun and the stars. Therefore we propose to rush in and pull the sun and stars from the skies. No, we had better let it be.” Touching on the Apocrypha (Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] 19:2 and 31:30), he commented, “Wine and women bring many a man to misery and make a fool of him; so we kill all the women and pour out all the wine.” Dr. Luther went on to note that “gold and silver” must then also be abolished and that finally, “we shall have to kill ourselves, for we have no greater enemy than our own heart. (LW 51)”

Folks need to be able to ask the hard and often seemingly unanswerable questions. Certainly, in the private forums, its up to the members to make those calls as to what they feel is acceptable.. In the public arena, its a lot more challenging. One of the things we discussed, and seem to be pretty solid one, is a statement of faith for each public forum. New members need to be aware of what they may be looking at, before they get immersed in something.

A possible extension of this, is self rating.... ie, one could use something like the movie studios use.

G- General and safe, not watered down by any means, but generally a moderate approach
P- Pastoral, or mentor guidance suggested
R- Restricted access (could be age, could be faith, could be any number of member driven criteria)
X- extreme content, access restricted to vetted members only

The rating thing is just an idea we can up with this morning. I'm not sure if its a real good idea or not, but its something worth discussing I think.]]> mnphysicist Vision Discussion Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:25:47 -0600 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,14,14#msg-14 http://www.christianfora.org/forum/read.php?6,14,14#msg-14
]]> mnphysicist Vision Discussion Wed, 28 Nov 2007 07:58:37 -0600