The Christian Way Forums / The Christian Way Forums / Forum Announcements and Updates

Recent server problems

Linda — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:12:36 GMT

We just discovered that our server has been having some problems that were discovered yesterday and have been corrected . Our apologies to any whose posts were delayed.

C.sand proud

Do_Go_Be_Man — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:14:50 GMT

[i]C.sand proud[/i]’s privilege to post has been revoked. This is a measure reluctantly taken as we prefer to keep these forums as open as possible. Her continued participation, however, is too disruptive, not in line with the goals of these forums, and does not represent topics related to the study of or association with Christian Science.

As noted in several posts, her actual knowledge of Christian Science appears naïve and poorly developed at best. We tolerated her posts to avoid censorship and in the hopes of guiding her naïve reliance upon Christian Science to either get serious about its study or to seek other care for herself and her children. Reliance upon Christian Science requires study and informed consent. She resists the counsel of experienced former Christian Scientists and appears unable to support her contributions based on the Bible or Christian Science teachings. Christian Scientists have not seen her posts or have chosen not to respond. Attacks against persons instead of discussion of issues (ad hominem arguments) are not useful for furthering the cause of Christianity or Christian Science. Until today, every post she submitted logged in as C.sand proud or anonymously was approved, yet she continues to claim otherwise.

We hope that this episode does not poorly reflect on the welcome we extend to Christian Scientists to engage in thoughtful, meaningful discussion. It illustrates the need to keep discussions based on issues rather than personalities. We agree with the assumed spirit of Mary Baker Eddy’s Rule for Motives and Acts:

[i]Neither animosity nor mere personal attachment should impel the motives or acts of the members of The Mother Church. In Science, divine Love alone governs man; and a Christian Scientist reflects the sweet amenities of Love, in rebuking sin, in true brotherliness, charitableness, and forgiveness. The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing or being influenced erroneously.[/i] - Manual of the Mother Church

While forgiven, we must also rebuke [i]C.sand proud[/i] with the intent of true brotherliness and charitableness. We pray for God’s governance, forgiveness, and wisdom.

The Moderators
Linda and Do Go Be Man

"Weird 'Private Message'"

Do_Go_Be_Man — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:47:49 GMT

As noted in a forum post and several private messages I've received, we've been victimized by someone posting an inappropriate message through the forum private message function.

Please accept our apologies. The suspect poster has been banned and we will be monitoring for other such activity. Your prayers, understanding, and patience are appreciated.

Do Go Be Man
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Problems logging in?

Linda — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:21:14 GMT

Hi all,

A couple of people have written me today saying that they're having problems logging in. I checked the system out and don't see an overall problem, but please do let us know if you try to log in and can't. You can contact us at contact@christianway.org.

To the Anonymous Poster re: Mixed Marriage and CS Discussion Boards

Do_Go_Be_Man — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:02:50 GMT

[quote]Are you the same one on CS disscussion boards?[/quote]
An anonymous poster just left me a private message regarding a mixed marriage and whether I am the same Do Go Be Man as on the christianscience.com forum, but I have no private means to respond.

I am the same one and would be glad to pray for you and discuss your situation publicly or privately.

You may register on this site and I can communicate by private message or you may contact me at do-go-be-man@nc.rr.com.

Do Go Be Man
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Something too geeky to be interesting, but please take a look and consider ...

Do_Go_Be_Man — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:45:06 GMT

One of our conventions in the forums may be working against us in terms of hits by web search engines. I suggest we drop the shortcut forms of Christian Science terms like CS, CSists, MBE, S&H, TMC, etc. and spell them fully.

Each time we abbreviate Christian Science, Christian Scientists, Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health, The Mother Church, etc. we forfeit an opportunity for the Christian Way forums to rise higher on search engine results. I see Google, Yahoo, and MSN scanning our forums all the time (Who’s On), but they don't include us as much in Christian Science related search results because their robots don't see the right words in the content.

Once upon a long time ago we could have improved results by just adding keywords to the web page metadata (geek stuff too boring for ordinary mortals), but the search engines rarely use that data any more. Instead they look for keywords in the text of the page. They want to include pages that actually discuss the topics they classify.

It may appear to be an artificial, contrived method of increasing our visibility, but we legitimately discuss these topics. We shouldn't keep our lights hidden under the basket of shortcuts.

Do Go Be Man
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Spam filters and forum registration

Linda — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:36:08 GMT

If you register with the forums and have a spam filter, please let your filter know that it's OK to accept mail from contact@christianway.org. Otherwise, we may have a difficult time letting you know when your account has been activated.

Thanks,

Linda

Request for feedback: What do you want from the CWay forums?

Linda — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:59:16 GMT

We intend that The Christian Way forums be a place where people freely talk about issues related to their involvement in Christian Science. Many participants repeatedly state how much the forums help them in their post-CS journeys and how they feel a sense of community here.

Recently, though, it seems that many people posting on the forums focus on doctrinal debates not related to CS or on trying to discredit the Bible. People read the forums, but don't even welcome people who introduce themselves in the "New to Forums" category. Something's going on that inhibits participation. Maybe it's too much moderation or not enough. Maybe it's something else.

This thread requests your feedback. Please help us understand how these forums can better serve you. We hope that you will consider responding with answers to questions like:

-- Why do you visit the forums?

-- Do you post regularly? If not, is something keeping you from feeling comfortable making posts?

-- Did you post regularly in the past? If so, why did you stop?

-- What would you like to see discussed on the forums?

-- Should we allow an area of the forums where "free-for-all", "gloves-off" discussions can take place such as the interdenominational and Bible debates?

-- How can we improve the forums? What would you do if you were a moderator?

You get the idea.

We look forward to hearing from you by responding to this thread, private messages, or e-mail (contact@christianway.org).

Your moderators,

Linda and Do Go Be Man

We will be archiving many threads. Your input is welcome.

Linda — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 13:39:15 GMT

The Christian Way forums have had over 13,600 posts since being launched in February 2002. It's time to archive many of these posts in order to keep the forums current and manageable.

The Moderators will soon begin the process of deciding what to archive and what to keep visible. Please let us know if you would like to keep a particular thread or threads available. You can contact us privately or simply post the thread names below. We reserve the right to make the final decision regarding what to keep visible and what to archive.

Linda and Do Go Be Man

There's an elephant in the room...

Do_Go_Be_Man — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:19:24 GMT

There's an [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_elephant_in_the_room]elephant[/url] in the forums that I would like to address. A few contributors have recently and over time charged the moderators with censorship. Claims have been made that we remove posts based on doctrinal disagreements.

Some will strongly disagree; however, no post on these forums has ever been blocked or edited due to doctrinal content. The only reasons any post is ever subjected to moderation are extreme deviations from the forum's terms, conditions, goals, and scope. Very few posts have been thus affected. Essentially, if a post demonstrates respect for other contributors, it stays.

Reasons that some posts have been edited or blocked ([url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_moderator]moderated[/url], not [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship]censored[/url]) include:

[li]Repeated false, unsupported claims[/li]
[li]Personal attacks (slander and libel)[/li]
[li]Misrepresentation of the contributor's identity (anonymous or otherwise)[/li]
[li]Use of foul language[/li]
[li]Spam and other advertising[/li]

As you browse through these forums, you will see many doctrinal discussions representing diverse points of view. Mutually respectful explorations of doctrine are often beneficial even if the contributors disagree. We draw the line, however, when debate includes personal attacks or threats. That's when the plug gets pulled, regardless of what other content such posts may contain.

We also draw the line when contributors try to use the forums as a platform for promoting their particular branch of Christianity as "the only true church". Labeling legitimate challenges to other perspectives and opinions as prejudice and hatred falls far short of mutual respect and represents an abuse of the forums. Requests for proof or clarification should be welcome opportunities for discussion not motivation for personal attacks or threats.

Occasionally, we notice that a contributor posts anonymously while signing different names and pretending to be more than one person. Such behavior is inappropriate and an invitation to have the posts deleted.

Linda and I welcome feedback and may be contacted using the private message feature of the forums. We cannot, however, respond to non-registered contributors using private messages. You may also contact us via e-mail:

Linda - [email]contact@christianway.org[/email]
Do Go Be Man - [email]do-go-be-man@nc.rr.com[/email]

Do Go Be Man
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Expectations regarding Christian Way forum content

Linda — Sun, 27 May 2007 19:17:36 GMT

Several recent threads focused on issues that fall outside the intended scope of the Christian Way forums. While many of these discussions have been interesting in their own right, they distracted from the overall goals of these forums which are intended to focus on issues related to Christian Science. Our expectations regarding forum content have always been indicated in various areas. The recent threads, however, highlighted a need to clarify them and to post them in a more prominent location.

With this need for clarification in mind, we revised the description for the Forum Announcements and Updates forum to include a description of our expectations for the forums. We plan on locking a few threads to discourage further discussion in these areas and to help the focus of the forums return to issues related to Christian Science.

We also posted the Terms & Conditions as a thread pinned to the top of the Forum Announcements and Updates forum to keep them easily accessible.

Thank you for your patience as we seek to improve the forums and better fulfill our goal of serving Christian Scientists, former Christian Scientists, and their loved ones.

Should you have comments or questions on these updates, please respond to contact@christianway.org.

Linda and Do Go Be Man

Terms & Conditions

Do_Go_Be_Man — Sat, 26 May 2007 15:12:51 GMT

Although we attempt to moderate all messages we cannot be held responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message. You agree that neither these forums, nor any person or entity associated with them will be held responsible for any content.

You agree that you will not use our forums to post any material or links to any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threaten, invasive of a persons privacy, or otherwise in violation of any law.

You agree that you will not post copyrighted content without the express permission of the copyright holder. Advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes and solicitations are also inappropriate in this forum. We reserve the right to remove, edit, close or move any post for any reason at our discretion.

Please address any concerns you may have regarding conduct on the forums to the Forum Moderator at the following address: [email]contact@christianway.org[/email].

Anonymous posting

Linda — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 09:46:18 GMT

Anonymous posting has been enabled again. Hopefully the four month break has gotten rid of some of the spam and other problems we were having.

If you post anonymously:

1- Please sign some sort of nickname at the bottom of your post so that people can keep track of which anonymous poster you are. This will minimize the confusion created by having multiple people named "anonymous."

2 - You will not be able to edit your comments once they have been posted (people who register can edit their messages).

3- I will not hesitate to delete anonymous posts that I feel are disruptive to the forum.

Welcome back, Anonymous!

Some posts are now being moderated

Linda — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 22:58:07 GMT

Until further notice, the following posts will be moderated:

- All anonymous posts

- All posts in the following categories:

Forum Announcements and Updates

New to Forums -- Introductions and Personal Stories

Recovery and Health Issues

This means that, if you post anonymously or in the above categories, your post will have to be approved by a moderator before appearing on the forums. We are making this change because of some inappropriate posts that have recently been made.

Quoting from other people's posts

Linda — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:13:08 GMT

When you quote someone's remarks from another post, PLEASE highlight the quoted material in some way so that it will be clearly distinguished from your own comments.

Here are some suggestions for highlighting a quote:

Use quotation marks like "this."

Use highlighting, bold print, or italics by enclosing the quoted text in the appropriate commands:

For bold text: [bold]text[/bold] (NOTE: use b instead of the word bold in the brackets)

For highlighted text: [highlight]text[/highlight] (Use h instead of the word highlight in the brackets)

For italics: [italics]text[/italics] (Use i instead of italics in the brackets)

Thanks,

Linda

New forum co-moderator

Linda — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:18:39 GMT

I am pleased to announce that Do Go Be Man has become a co-moderator with me on the Christian Way Discussion Forums. He has been a valuable contributor to the forums since 2002, and I deeply appreciate his willingness to volunteer as a moderator.

Linda

Welcome to the new Christian Way forums!

Linda — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:19:45 GMT

Hi all. As you can see, the Christian Way forums were transfered to their new software today. Our web host has transferred all the existing posts to the new forums, so none of our great discussions have been lost!

You have probably been assigned a new password. If you have not received it yet, you can request it by clicking the Login button and then clicking on the "Request password" option near the bottom right corner of the page.

No coarse language in posts, please

Linda — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 20:08:10 GMT

Hi all,

When posting on the forums, please avoid using words and expressions that even border on being crude. This includes expressions like "that sucks" and "we went through hell." A couple of participants have used these kinds of expressions this week, so I thought it might be useful to remind everyone of my policy against even "soft" cursing and crudeness. Here's a message I posted on another thread that explains my reasoning:

I have a zero tolerance policy regarding swear words and the like. I do that because, if I didn't, people would start using marginal words and then I would have to keep a kind of vigil, evaluating whether the context in which the words were used was "appropriate enough" to make them acceptable. I don't have time for that, nor do I think I should be put in that kind of postion.

I know of a couple of other CS related discussion groups that were finally disbanded. My understanding is that people got really nasty with each other and that, on at least one of them, became rather crude. I don't want that to happen here, as incivility and crudeness could destroy this forum the way they distroyed the other forums. My zero tolerance policy is for the protection of the forum as well as for the protection of people who come here -- not to mention the fact that this forum is hosted by a Christian organization that doesn't appreciate coarse language.

Regardless of how emotionally charged our discussions become, we can all find ways to remain civil with each other and to use words that are clearly appropriate.

Thanks,

Linda (Moderator)