Please Welcome CF's New Owner (Qs and As added to post #2)

[Philothei]

I disagree about the "opening up"all forums for Christians and non-christians. It has nothing to do with increasing the membership IMHO... There is not need for opening it up to everyone ...There are plenty of interaction in most forums in this site. IMHO they tried to let interaction be open and it failed ... Chirstians left because of this not the other way around....

If this is a Christian site which it is it has to remain focused on Christianity. Debate and discussion can still take place but in certain areas as in most Chrisian sites do also. Actually in my short time being here relatively I have seen more interaction of Christians versus non-Christian areas even when the interaction between them was open. The volume of participation was not any higher at least in our congegational area. I am sure though that Paul can check his stats for that

disabled the ability to discuss theology and philosophy,

You have many areas that are designed to accomodate such discussions. The way that it is now it enables people to seek information and discuss about Christianity in a more constructive way rather than in an "antagonistic" way.

Also many areas offer open challenging discussion.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

I agree that this forum has been through a lot of changes and there are probably as many opinions as to how to improve/modify CF as there are people who have left...

I agree that the focus should be to restore functions first...

Will there be a future thread at some point to discuss potential policy changes/ modifications ???

Hopefully Paul will spend some time interacting significantly in various areas here getting to know us and letting us get to know him...

God Bless,
Ty

Wise thoughts, Ty!

 

[Pauler]

I agree that this forum has been through a lot of changes and there are probably as many opinions as to how to improve/modify CF as there are people who have left...

I agree that the focus should be to restore functions first...

Will there be a future thread at some point to discuss potential policy changes/ modifications ???

Hopefully Paul will spend some time interacting significantly in various areas here getting to know us and letting us get to know him...

God Bless,
Ty

i will communicate in advance if there are any policy changes/modifications, and i do hope to interact w/ the membership here in different areas of the forum.

I disagree about the "opening up"all forums for Christians and non-christians. It has nothing to do with increasing the membership IMHO... There is not need for opening it up to everyone ...There are plenty of interaction in most forums in this site. IMHO they tried to let interaction be open and it failed ... Chirstians left because of this not the other way around....

If this is a Christian site which it is it has to remain focused on Christianity. Debate and discussion can still take place but in certain areas as in most Chrisian sites do also. Actually in my short time being here relatively I have seen more interaction of Christians versus non-Christian areas even when the interaction between them was open. The volume of participation was not any higher at least in our congegational area. I am sure though that Paul can check his stats for that

You have many areas that are designed to accomodate such discussions. The way that it is now it enables people to seek information and discuss about Christianity in a more constructive way rather than in an "antagonistic" way.

Also many areas offer open challenging discussion.

there are many opinions on this, and i hope that if there is a policy change on this in the future, we would do it with a prayerful attitude.

 

[Bombila]

I disagree about the "opening up"all forums for Christians and non-christians. It has nothing to do with increasing the membership IMHO... There is not need for opening it up to everyone ...There are plenty of interaction in most forums in this site. IMHO they tried to let interaction be open and it failed ... Chirstians left because of this not the other way around....

If this is a Christian site which it is it has to remain focused on Christianity. Debate and discussion can still take place but in certain areas as in most Chrisian sites do also. Actually in my short time being here relatively I have seen more interaction of Christians versus non-Christian areas even when the interaction between them was open. The volume of participation was not any higher at least in our congegational area. I am sure though that Paul can check his stats for that



You have many areas that are designed to accomodate such discussions. The way that it is now it enables people to seek information and discuss about Christianity in a more constructive way rather than in an "antagonistic" way.

Also many areas offer open challenging discussion.

Please name those areas which are conducive to discussing theology, Christian philosophy, and Christian apologetics in a reasonably free speech atmosphere where both Christians and non believers can debate and discuss. Exploring Christianity restricts the non Christian input to one person. Ethics and Morality is unsuitable - it's main thrust is ethics and morality, not theology, philosophy or apologetics. Non Christian Theology is primarily used to discuss Islam, Bah'ai, and Paganism - atheism rarely manages to hold onto a thread there.

General Apologetics provided a place for those discussions which are no longer held anywhere on this board. An open debate/discussion forum called General Theology could do the same, in all likelihood.

Hardly anyone is suggesting there be no CO areas - very few care to embroil themselves in congregational discussions, for example. We would like to see one board where Christianity can be discussed and questioned, where theology can be explored as it once was, where Christian scholars can adequately explain the history and development of Christian thought when asked, as was once possible here..

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Please name those areas which are conducive to discussing theology, Christian philosophy, and Christian apologetics in a reasonably free speech atmosphere where both Christians and non believers can debate and discuss. Exploring Christianity restricts the non Christian input to one person. Ethics and Morality is unsuitable - it's main thrust is ethics and morality, not theology, philosophy or apologetics. Non Christian Theology is primarily used to discuss Islam, Bah'ai, and Paganism - atheism rarely manages to hold onto a thread there.

General Apologetics provided a place for those discussions which are no longer held anywhere on this board. An open debate/discussion forum called General Theology could do the same, in all likelihood.

Hardly anyone is suggesting there be no CO areas - very few care to embroil themselves in congregational discussions, for example. We would like to see one board where Christianity can be discussed and questioned, where theology can be explored as it once was, where Christian scholars can adequately explain the history and development of Christian thought when asked, as was once possible here..

Greetings. I am with agreement of you here

 

[synger]

Please note that while everyone is welcome to ask questions and give suggestions in this thread, this is not a debate thread. I have seen too many announcement threads closed down due to debate, and I would hate to see it happen again. So this is a pre-emptive reminder to please keep the discussion to questions and suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Bombila]

Synger, could you suggest any place on this entire board where it is possible to discuss, or, shockingly, debate, what we are discussing, without having the thread closed?

 

[Gwenyfur]

Bombila,
if you feel staff has acted inappropriately regarding threads, you are more than welcome to request the Reconciliation Team to investigate.

Start a thread in the Suggestions/Complaints, and be sure to include links to threads you feel have been closed unfairly

 

[Bombila]

Gwenyfur, thank you for the suggestion, but I don't think it is relevant to either the discussion I would like to see or the question I asked synger.

Also, Suggestions/Complaints is invisible to everyone on the board except the submitter and staff - hardly an open discussion.

 

[lilmissmontana]

Hi, Pauler ... I happened to be here reading and saw your name up there ... thought I'd say hi and God bless!

 

[Gwenyfur]

Gwenyfur, thank you for the suggestion, but I don't think it is relevant to either the discussion I would like to see or the question I asked synger.

Also, Suggestions/Complaints is invisible to everyone on the board except the submitter and staff - hardly an open discussion.

and that's the avenue available if a member feels the moderation teams have acted inappropriately...
the only staff with access are the RT, the Advisors and Admins...
to allow for the members to feel they can speak freely

 

[Tychicus2]

and that's the avenue available if a member feels the moderation teams have acted inappropriately...
the only staff with access are the RT, the Advisors and Admins...
to allow for the members to feel they can speak freely

I don't feel I can speak freely in the complaint area period.



I am here because this is my forum home and I still have friends here, though many have left .

Paul, will future policy changes/ modificaitons to CF be openly discussed or just announced?

Ty

 

[Gwenyfur]

Nice twist on the facts there Ty

 

[RuthD]

Welcome Paul. All the best to you! God bless you always!

 

[Tychicus2]

Nice twist on the facts there Ty

May I have permission to speak freely without fear of being banned???

Ty

 

[synger]

Synger, could you suggest any place on this entire board where it is possible to discuss, or, shockingly, debate, what we are discussing, without having the thread closed?

We tried having member-driven open debate on any and all levels of policy. It failed in at least four different iterations that I can recall. There may have been more before I joined the board. Because of these failures, we limit policy discussion now. However, we do provide a number of ways that members can raise issues of concern that have to do with the way the site is run:

• You may bring up general questions and suggestions in Questions About CF, where senior staff read and respond regularly to members.

• You may bring up specific questions and suggestions to the Reconciliation Team in the Suggestions and Complaints forum, where only you and they participate in the discussion.

• And when we update Forum-Specific Guidelines (FSGs), I encourage the admins to open member/staff discussion threads in the appropriate member/staff forum, so that those who are most directly influenced by guideline changes have input into the development process.

So while we no longer have a forum open for member discussion of site-wide rules, we do provide avenues for member feedback and input on policies and guidelines. Issues raised through these avenues often provide us very good feedback and ideas for subsequent policy discussions.

My point in the previous post was that this particular thread should not become a discussion of specific policies. It is for welcoming Paul and asking him questions, which he then can use to guide his decisions going forward.

 

[LittleManFromAnotherPlace]

We tried having member-driven open debate on any and all levels of policy. It failed in at least four different iterations that I can recall. There may have been more before I joined the board. Because of these failures, we limit policy discussion now. However, we do provide a number of ways that members can raise issues of concern that have to do with the way the site is run:

• You may bring up general questions and suggestions in Questions About CF, where senior staff read and respond regularly to members.

• You may bring up specific questions and suggestions to the Reconciliation Team in the Suggestions and Complaints forum, where only you and they participate in the discussion.

• And when we update Forum-Specific Guidelines (FSGs), I encourage the admins to open member/staff discussion threads in the appropriate member/staff forum, so that those who are most directly influenced by guideline changes have input into the development process.

So while we no longer have a forum open for member discussion of site-wide rules, we do provide avenues for member feedback and input on policies and guidelines. Issues raised through these avenues often provide us very good feedback and ideas for subsequent policy discussions.

My point in the previous post was that this particular thread should not become a discussion of specific policies. It is for welcoming Paul and asking him questions, which he then can use to guide his decisions going forward.

All of which turn to smoke as the senior Staffers--Advisors in particular--disregard all established rules, policy, and protocol whenever the fit takes them.

 

[Alive4Evermore]

Paul, will future policy changes/ modificaitons to CF be openly discussed or just announced?

Good question Ty.

Let's remember to treat each other with respect, please?

 

[MN John]

Wow! What a surprise! Hi Paul! Welcome to the driver's seat!

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

May I have permission to speak freely without fear of being banned???

Ty

Ya mean people actually get banned on CF!!!!!