Who decides who gets banned and why?

[A Random Phrase]

Do you know why some people have a sixth sense? Because there is no sign or evidence of the first five? :))

Not sure whether to face-palm or laugh.

[Thomas]

I have never seen a thread, on this forum, dedicated to how bad a person was. Maybe a few have been started but they are quickly deleted.

That is what the friend and fun crowd just don't get. They cant understand the difference between bashing an idea and bashing a person.

[freedomforall]

Muerte - why would you want to be punched in the throat? ;)

So i will stop eating so many donuts.....

Here this guy beat a very serious health problem. Where there is will there is a way, right? :-B

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[freedomforall]

Do you know why some people have a sixth sense? Because there is no sign or evidence of the first five? :))

Not sure whether to face-palm or laugh.

Perhaps people with a sixth sense also have a personality like a locomotive... ... ...all loco, and no motive.

[mirkwood]

You guys are really making me want to see a link to that. @-) #-o

A link to what?

[SAM]

I read a lot of stuff on that forum and did not see a post like that. I did a search and couldn't find anything remotely similar. As for losing sleep, you place wayyyy too much importance on yourself. :ymparty:

I participated over there for a little while, mostly to try to persuade them that not everyone has an agenda when they are questioning things about how the church is run. Most people simply have honest questions and world like to talk about it.

Anyway, I saw that post about Jules. I saw mention of her and Brian being equated with Satan, rather unpleasant stuff. In any case, no one cared for my point of view so I left. They have very specific guidelines they would like followed, so I decided to respect that. I am much more comfortable here where I do believe Brian is quite lenient about what is discussed. Makes things interesting.

[Epistemology]

I have never seen a thread, on this forum, dedicated to how bad a person was. Maybe a few have been started but they are quickly deleted.

That is what the friend and fun crowd just don't get. They cant understand the difference between bashing an idea and bashing a person.

calling people out on their biased actions or treatment of others or hypocritical words or inconsistent actions etc. is not bashing the person.

[AI2.0]

Oh, I just remembered... and maybe these are the people you are referring to (though I would still like to know specifically who says they got banned and never received any communication from me).. there were actually a few people that got banned because they were using the forum to recruit for another forum AND on the other forum they were talking 'smack' about this forum and some of the people on it.

When I first read your response I thought 'yes, I can understand that made him upset and he's got the right to keep his board comfortable for himself and his friends', however, You did also claim that you only banned people when they violate the rules of the forum, so I checked the board rules to see if inviting other posters to another board was grounds for banning. After all, we all agree to abide by those rules when we register and they are spelled out--if we violate them when they are written clearly, it's our own fault.

However, I found one giant black hole that some of your posters seem to be falling into; I suppose this explains the bannings when there seemed to be no reason.

From the rules:

The Forum Administrator reserves the right to ban anyone from the forum for any reason

Brian, I'm not disputing your right to make this decision, you have clearly allowed yourself and your administrators right to ban anyone, for any reason; however, it is best if the forum participants understand this. Then there would not be so many bad feelings and surprise when a person finds they've been banned and they did not believe they'd violated any board rules.

[ajax]

Adults whining about an online forum? Reality check.
People take thing way too seriously.

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[AI2.0]

Three.

Just received a response from a poster who said that he was warned by Jules and then banned in August during the purge, I'm not sure what the name was that he used here. He also says that during the five years or so he posted here he never got a single message from you, Brian. I suppose that would be why he believes Jules was responsible.

And you conveniently don't know the username so there's no way I can go back and prove you wrong. /:)

The poster was e-eye. Not that it matters now. I think it is pretty clear that you don't have to provide explanations--heck, you don't even have to have a reason any of us would understand. With the 'admin' holding the right to ban for any reason whatsoever, it seems pretty pointless to even discuss this now and it may be in MY best interests to drop it if I want to be able to continue to post here. I'm just a bit surprised at myself that I didn't pick up on that 'rule' in the guidelines before now.

[Obrien]

It is GOOD we have a patient and libertarian-leaning forum Creator

[wrsales]

friendsandfun is honestly pretty scary. While they believe they are there to protect the Church, and the Brethren, it is one of the most judgmental and closed minded spaces I have ever encountered. A while back Jared (BallamDoctrine) was asking some sincere questions he had and he got beat down and criticized endlessly. Not to mention an entire thread bad mouthing Jules, where everyone could chime in and talk about how terrible she is. As long as you aren't going to disagree with anything they say, that's a good place to be. But if you ever have any questions or concerns, that's probably not the place to go.

Just the same way you're judging now? What's the difference? Do two wrongs make a right?

Yes, I will admit I am judging that forum. I don't have a horse in this race, I don't contribute very much to this forum but I enjoy reading and learning. For that reason I went to the other forum to be more of a lurker to see what I could learn there. Admittedly, it was in the beginning of the forum, so things might be much different now. All I know is that the things I read were frightening, and very disturbing. For that reason I have never gone back, nor will I. I apologize if you feel like it is a great place to be and to learn together. But I have never seen a thread on this forum that picks out a specific person for no other reason than to complain and hurl vile insults. Within a few minutes on friends and fun I saw multiple of those. Again, I am judging, I am happy to admit that. But I only judge by the fruits that I have seen.

[Obrien]

FWIW, I went there yesterday for the first time in FOREVER and it seems to have calmed a bit. It can't be TOO crazy when there are a dozen anonymous people on line all agreeing with each other.

[brrgilbert]

It is "cyclic" to find fault with fault finders. The end is no worse than the beginning.

[creator]

When I first read your response I thought 'yes, I can understand that made him upset and he's got the right to keep his board comfortable for himself and his friends', however, You did also claim that you only banned people when they violate the rules of the forum, so I checked the board rules to see if inviting other posters to another board was grounds for banning. After all, we all agree to abide by those rules when we register and they are spelled out--if we violate them when they are written clearly, it's our own fault.

However, I found one giant black hole that some of your posters seem to be falling into; I suppose this explains the bannings when there seemed to be no reason. ...

Actually they violated these rules:

Be kind. No personal attacks. There is no reason to attack each other for differing beliefs, label others apostate, call to repentance, etc.

- These forums will not be used for personal advancement of any form...

[creator]

It is GOOD we have a patient and libertarian-leaning forum Creator

I would not label myself a 'libertarian' but I think I understand what you mean.

[jbalm]

It is GOOD we have a patient and libertarian-leaning forum Creator

I would not label myself a 'libertarian' but I think I understand what you mean.

You're either libertarian or apostate.

Pick one.

;)

[wrsales]

I still think your use of the words disturbing and frightening are very "drama queenesque"

That's great. I am glad you are able to desensitize yourself to things like that. I, on the other hand, have a huge problem with it. We are Christians which means we should have Christian charity in all things we do. Obviously that does not happen because we are human. But I believe we should hold ourselves to as high a standard as possible. When I see "Christians" insult and degrade people in the way I saw, I find it upsetting. When Christians justify insults, degradation, and slander, because they feel they are protecting someone, or something, it is alarming.

It is these same kind sentiments that lead radical Islamist's to behead innocent people in the name of their religion. I understand this example is taking it to the absolute extreme but it is the same principle.

[Obrien]

I went over there this am and posted twice. I think it upped their overall post count by about 2%

[freedomforall]

friendsandfun is honestly pretty scary. While they believe they are there to protect the Church, and the Brethren, it is one of the most judgmental and closed minded spaces I have ever encountered. A while back Jared (BallamDoctrine) was asking some sincere questions he had and he got beat down and criticized endlessly. Not to mention an entire thread bad mouthing Jules, where everyone could chime in and talk about how terrible she is. As long as you aren't going to disagree with anything they say, that's a good place to be. But if you ever have any questions or concerns, that's probably not the place to go.

Just the same way you're judging now? What's the difference? Do two wrongs make a right?

Yes, I will admit I am judging that forum. I don't have a horse in this race, I don't contribute very much to this forum but I enjoy reading and learning. For that reason I went to the other forum to be more of a lurker to see what I could learn there. Admittedly, it was in the beginning of the forum, so things might be much different now. All I know is that the things I read were frightening, and very disturbing. For that reason I have never gone back, nor will I. I apologize if you feel like it is a great place to be and to learn together. But I have never seen a thread on this forum that picks out a specific person for no other reason than to complain and hurl vile insults. Within a few minutes on friends and fun I saw multiple of those. Again, I am judging, I am happy to admit that. But I only judge by the fruits that I have seen.

Perhaps you ought to read a book before you judge the cover. Scan through numerous threads and you will find disturbing statements and words. Then you can make an honest assessment, but not after just a few posts. Also do you suppose that all people have feelings and emotions made of steel? Here is a post where a member expressed having been accused of having half a brain. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29793&p=400648&hili ... in#p400648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are other examples but I'll leave it to you to seek them out.

[wrsales]

I still think your use of the words disturbing and frightening are very "drama queenesque"

That's great. I am glad you are able to desensitize yourself to things like that. I, on the other hand, have a huge problem with it. We are Christians which means we should have Christian charity in all things we do. Obviously that does not happen because we are human. But I believe we should hold ourselves to as high a standard as possible. When I see "Christians" insult and degrade people in the way I saw, I find it upsetting. When Christians justify insults, degradation, and slander, because they feel they are protecting someone, or something, it is alarming.

It is these same kind sentiments that lead radical Islamist's to behead innocent people in the name of their religion. I understand this example is taking it to the absolute extreme but it is the same principle.

Not being a drama queen is not the same as being desensitized lol.....But whatever......

As usual, a flippant comment that does not even address the heart of the issue. It's really frustrating when you call someone out on something and they give you a serious response only to be brushed off with some smart aleck response. I don't know why I even responded...

[wrsales]

Perhaps you ought to read a book before you judge the cover. Scan through numerous threads and you will find disturbing statements and words. Then you can make an honest assessment, but not after just a few posts. Also do you suppose that all people have feelings and emotions made of steel? Here is a post where a member expressed having been accused of having half a brain. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29793&p=400648&hili ... in#p400648" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are other examples but I'll leave it to you to seek them out.

I already admitted to you I only scanned "the cover" the point I'm making, as Thomas did earlier, is there is a huge difference between insulting someone's ideas and someone as an individual. While there may be personal attacks peppered all over this forum, I have never once seen a thread started for no other reason than to bad mouth somebody. I am simply pointing out what I saw which convinced me that I probably shouldn't go back. It is unfortunate that those threads happened to be the hot topic as I stopped by, but it is what it is. Take it however you want. If you feel uplifted in that environment then that's great, I am very happy for you. It just isn't for me personally.

[wrsales]

Let's get real here neither of us take each other seriously so why would I bother with a serious response?

First off, If I didn't take your responses seriously I wouldn't respond. Secondly, you must not take very many people seriously because almost every response you ever give is some flippant comment, or GIF you find online. If you don't want a serious conversation why even engage?

[Epistemology]

Warsales,

I can name several people off the top of my head thread started to what you would call bad mouthing someone based on your stance and position you outlined earlier in this thread.

Obama
Putin
DS
Several people who write books on NDE and dreams
Apostles and prophets
Possible persons who could be the antichrist
Mitt Romney
Ron Paul
And some forum members being called out as false prophets

To name a few

[creator]

It is GOOD we have a patient and libertarian-leaning forum Creator

I would not label myself a 'libertarian' but I think I understand what you mean.

You're either libertarian or apostate.
Pick one.
;)

That's not how it works. [-(