OrthodoxChristianity.net

[JustDippinCandles]

...Are any of you members of the "OCnet" forums?

I was a member for a few months. I got the impression that the members there act more like a social club, and there is a certain amount of bullying involved if a member who is generally disliked poses a question. Not at all my cup of tea, which is why I joined here.

What are your impressions of it?

 

[truthseeker32]

Honestly, I think internet Orthodoxy here, there, or anywhere else can be harmful. My priest and other Orthodox Christians have actually recommended limiting my exposure to such resources.

That being said, there are both good people there and here, and I think these places should primarily be social. If one wants to learn about Orthodoxy they should find a priest and read recommended Orthodox texts since you never know how biased or inaccurate answers might be from online sources.

 

[Knee V]

Woopsie. Double post.

 

[Knee V]

I have an account there with a version of my name here (Knee V), with the same avatar. I post there from time to time. I don't like it there. There is a whole lot of pettiness and bickering, and too many people have skin that is far too thin. It seems like everyone's panties are always in a wad. Not my cup of tea either. I prefer the folks here at TAW.

 

[Gnarwhal]

Honestly, I think internet Christianity here, there, or anywhere else can be harmful.

Fixed.

My priest and other Orthodox Christians have actually recommended limiting my exposure to such resources.

When I was getting to know the Orthodox priest in my town months and months ago, he suggested the same thing. I think it's sage advice that is universal.

That being said, there are both good people there and here, and I think these places should primarily be social. If one wants to learn about Orthodoxy they should find a priest and read recommended Orthodox texts since you never know how biased or inaccurate answers might be from online sources.

Agreed. I've encountered the best and the worst of every brand of Christianity represented here on CF, there are many people I admire on here: Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians and there are others still who are troublesome and represent their faith poorly.

It's the internet, at the end of the day you can't really do anything except shrug your shoulders, enjoy a good beer and realize that "it is what it is".

I second the suggestion to meet with a priest in person if you're wanting to check it out more seriously.

 

[buzuxi]

Except for one or two posters, the info provided their tends to be inaccurate. In my opinion you're observations are correct.

 

[Cappadocious]

Large majority of the board needs to be made private. That's the biggest issue.

 

[prodromos]

I did, however, appreciate the direction SerpentSlayer's thread there was taken

I've been a member there from early on. I took a break from internet apologetics for a couple of years and have only recently logged back on to CF. I've dropped by OC.net but I haven't logged on, same with Catholic Forums where surprisingly I escaped being banned (although I no doubt have an inflated opinion on the impact of my former presence there )

 

[Anhelyna]

I've been a member of OC.net since it's inception

Really it's changed beyond all recognition I rarely log on , and even when I do it's to send a PM to someone I've not seen around for a long time - so we can catch up so-to-speak.

 

[Joseph Hazen]

I go there pretty often.

TAW is much friendlier and more like real world Orthodoxy, IME. But as others have said, there's only so many parallels between internet Orthodoxy and real life.

OC.net is cliquish, sarcastic, and cynical, but I go there because sometimes they have interesting perspectives and they're one of the few places with a Western rite forum. Sometimes they have old threads on a wider variety of topics, just because their forum is bigger. If I had to give it up, it wouldn't be any skin off my teeth. It might even be for the better.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I have an account there with a version of my name here (Knee V), with the same avatar. I post there from time to time. I don't like it there. There is a whole lot of pettiness and bickering, and too many people have skin that is far too thin. It seems like everyone's panties are always in a wad. Not my cup of tea either. I prefer the folks here at TAW.

I agree! I have been called a heretic here way less than there

 

[RobNJ]

I agree! I have been called a heretic here way less than there

Maybe they just don't know you, as well as we do!


We used to refer to it as OC Nyet, for a reason!

 

[jckstraw72]

i had to quit posting on OC.net because the baloney i encountered that was passed off as Orthodoxy just made me angry all the time.

 

[xenia]

It's a great place to go if you are of a mind to lose your faith.

 

[xenia]

When I was first interested in Orthodoxy, I didn't know anyone locally who was Orthodox. I had no Orthodox friends except for one woman who lived in a different state and wasn't very helpful. So I turned to the Internet for information. What a crazy jumble of info and mis-info I encountered. I joined a small Orthodox discussion forum only to watch all three of the founders, one by one, abandon Orthodoxy and begin to mock me for sticking with it. Once I found a parish, I really didn't need Internet Orthodoxy because I had my own priest but it was too late, I was already hooked on the gossip and controversies I was reading about on Monomachos and OC.net. I am also a little shocked by how much time some monastics appear to spend on Facebook!

I prefer TAW to OC.net, that's certain.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Maybe we all need to step back and be introspective, be a little more self-evaluative in that we can all call "Internet Orthodoxy" a bit wacko, but aren't we part of that "Internet Orthodoxy?" Surely there isn't anyone out there who would admit that THEY'RE the nutter that makes the place unlikable or something to be avoided! LOL.....A good example is that the tone can get nasty at times. People have super harsh views on things like education, Father Seraphim Rose, stuff like wearing a head scarf, heck, even stuff like the kontakion and troparion can get you jumped on in the dark alleys of internet orthodoxy!

Tone is a big thing. I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT when people reply to a sincere post with immature, sarcastic, rude nonsense like "umm, no!" and other sparty pants teenage verbiage.

Those threads about Father Seraphim and Toll Houses get people so riled up. Quickly the Father Seraphim fans ignite in the usual, "It's patristic, well-documented fact, knuckleheads!" and the people opposed get equally nasty and shout and shout.

I think we'd all be better posters (myself included!) if we treated each other as someone standing RIGHT IN FRONT of each other at coffee hour discussing this stuff. But that's not what we do. We scream and yell and know it's online so it's somehow not "real." The people are far away so they can't knock our block off. That way we can be real jerkwads and show cocky disrespect.

I sometimes think that people who "live" in online forums have a lack of empowerment in their "real" lives. We get knocked around or we're shrinking violets, quiet, perhaps quirky, and not able to "win" arguments, so one comes on here to be the cyber butt-kicker.

Online forums can be awesome and also quite bizarre. I think it's easy to blast and criticize "Online Orthodoxy" and then say our priest advises against us coming here (mine does!!!! so did my former Catholic priest who told me online Catholicism is a few cans short of a six-pack!), but we also need to step back (again, myself included) and ask if WE are to blame and if WE are playing a part in making online Orthodoxy nutty!

 

[ArmyMatt]

never been there, heard too many stories. the folks here are pretty good folks, and it seems here that most spats are fixed quickly and nothing ever lingers, so I stick around.

plus gurney is a hardcore Seinfeld fan

 

[Anhelyna]

Well - strange to say

It's down at present

 

[HalupkiMonster]

I used to post there a lot. I was so young when I joined, and made a bit of a fool of myself, which I can't seem to live down over there. The CF crowd are much more friendly and forgiving.