Just my two cents (wondering if I'm going to pay for saying this?!), but I think TAW is being over-moderated. I have dear friends of mine whom I find to be true treasures leaving here. They're getting warnings over small things.
And lately I think there is just an over-emphasis on labeling and "flames." It seems just about anything and everything these days can be considered a flame on here. I believe Islam is evil and demonic. I agree with everything Matt has said.
And moderators should note that one of our great Orthodox Fathers, St. John Damascene lived during the advent of Islam and condemned it as a Christian heresy. And where we Orthodox stand on heresy is that IT IS EVIL. Heresies are false, warped, twisted teachings about Christ and His Church and the theology of God that pollutes and perverts the Truth. Islam is a Christian heresy. I'm sticking to St. John Damascene on this. Muhammad was a false prophet, pure and simple.
Has Christian Forums turned into Sony? Sony makes a movie about North Korea's dictator getting offed and as a result, they get threatened and Sony shuts the project down? Is Christian Forums an Islamic forum now? Are we afraid of ticking off some jihadists who will hack CF and change all our avatars to pictures of the Ayatollah Khomeini? Why are we so afraid on here to call a spade a spade?
I imagine Jesus Himself would've been booted off CF pretty fast calling the Pharisees "hypocrites" and his "white sepulchers" comment would've failed miserably in here. "Fools" came out of His mouth. That wouldn't have flown too well.
Do I suggest we start throwing out strong terms like that? Nope. But I do think sometimes the referees just need to LET THE PLAYERS PLAY BALL and only intervene when a serious rule is obviously, blatantly, truly, profoundly broken. There aren't a lot of Muslims in TAW, and we have the right to stick to the teachings of our Church. I suggest if Muslims find the notion of their religion being false hurtful, they can take it up in St. Justin's, leave TAW, or convert to Holy Orthodoxy!
Free speech is being stunted with over-moderation on the "flaming" stuff. We're losing good people in here, and it's quickly becoming a place perceived to be a quasi-Orthodox subforum because it's over-moderated by non-Orthodox who are more concerned with non-Christians than protecting Christians' rights to express ourselves.
The West is rapidly becoming a fascist dictatorship of ideas. We can't express ourselves in public without being labeled "homophobes," "haters," "intolerant," "shamanistic," "anti-woman," and a host of other absurdities, but now even online in what should be a safe-haven for all Christians in their own subforums, there are people who just won't let us speak the Truth.
We have people in here who like evolution and same-sex 'marriage' and other liberal, un-Orthodox ideas, and they will turn in traditionalists at the drop of a hat. I think moderators should let the players play ball and start looking at spite reporting more and just shrug some of this junk off!
Over-moderation will effectively kill TAW. I can already see it starting. The intellectual capital here will leave and you'll be left with plenty of visitors with good questions that WON'T be answered! Why? Because it will be empty of bereft of brains.
I went through a spiritual funk recently; it got bad. Really bad. I was low. My brethren in here PICKED ME UP. As a result, I am back at Divine Liturgy, just went to confession again yesterday, read at Vespers, and I'm getting trained this week to be a Reader by my priest. I credit many posters in here at TAW for picking me up. Several of those picker-upers are being warned over Islam and other stuff. It's super frustrating.
TAW is pretty small as it is. I hope mods will reconsider the approach and how Islam's defense isn't worth running away Christians from this good forum.
I will also make the point that I think calling Islam demonic is a far cry from Christian polemics between denominations. Personally, I find Catholicism SERIOUSLY lacking and suffering some false beliefs, but I have HUGE respect for most Catholics, many Catholic thinkers and clergy, and I wish them nothing but the best. Try finding TAW members who will call Catholics "demonic." Or Lutherans! My kids go to an LCMS Lutheran school. I have SO MUCH respect for Lutherans. I do not accept the "solas" of Lutheranism in the least, but I understand why Luther reacted the way he did to Medieval Catholicism. I also think he had a good heart and some truth is in there. I won't call him "Martin Loser" like I read on many online Catholic forums. Absurd. Same with other Christian personalities.
But from time to time I and others have made comments about the Episcopal Church being 'wacky' or something of that vein, and all were swiftly dealt with as flamers (in the online context!). When we see things super far from what we Orthodox view as kosher, I think we should be given some latitude, just as Episcopalians can, in STR, think we Orthodox are fuddy-duddy male chauvinist pigs for not allowing female clergy, etc.
I guess I'm saying that we need to let our hair down a touch and just not overmoderate.
Apologies. I'm rambling.
