Your views and ideas on forum areas and organization?

by Simon 147 Replies latest forum announcements

• 

  Terry

  A splash page with a simple boiler plate might help:

  ATTENTION JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES!

  We believe believe in FREE EXPRESSION of

  1.CURIOUSITY about the history of the Organization of the Watchtower Society without censorship.

  2. CHANGES in JW doctrines and the story and reasons behind those changes

  3. PERSONAL free thought about the pros and cons of remaining inside the Kingdom Hall in the JW religion.

  4. FREEDOM to challenge other viewpoints, question authority, demand honest answer

  This forum does not embrace THOUGHT CRIMES as a valid christian leadership technique.

  WHO IS WELCOME HERE?

  A. Jehovah's Witnesses who are active but very inquisitive about what goes on AFTER Disfellowship or who has "Faded" into non-member status.

  B. Ex-Members who are trying to work how they could have succumbed to mind control.

  C. So-called Apostates who put forth facts and evidence which expose dishonest practices in the Governing Body's methods, statements and polices.

  D. People who are hurt and angry from abuse by Elders, child molestation, blood policy coercion.

  E. Anybody with News or Information or Opinions about any other topic which may interest or inform or amuse a community of free thinkers.

  WE WELCOME and PROTECT YOUR ANONYMITY

  WE WELCOME your thinking, your reasoning, your rational honesty in establishing dialogue between members and ex-members.

  Enter without Fear and leave with something to think about in the privacy of your own mind!
• 

  nugget

  is there any way the mail symbol could indicate if you have a new message, thus alieviating all the "you have a message" threads. And could the mail show more recent first.

  Just my two pennath
• 

  Giordano

  I've wanted to share some investing ideas for ex JW's. There's a big difference in how one used to live anticipating Armageddon coming at any moment and then realizing that you no longer have to be guided by that nonsense. Your investment horizion has now changed. How those of us who have been out for a long time have fared may be very helpful.
• 

  Terry

  We need a special Fire-Walled DEBATE ( PANKRATION) arena for serious arguing over Evolution, Trinity doctrine, Politics, etc. so that

  neither the children nor the horses will be frightened!

  This could be called THE HOT ZONE! So that no delicate JW granny who is on the edge of fading will wander into a shit-slinging free-for-all and

  form a negative opinion about the entire Discussion group.
• 

  Terry

  We also need a special section JUST FOR CRACKPOTS and IDIOTS.

  This will eliminate the need for censorship but will alert newbies they are about to step on an I.E.D. if they enter!

  I think we all know who will end up in the CRACKPOT and IDIOT section, don't we?
• 

  Terry

  We need a SIMON SAYS section where our own administration can communicate special bulletins, updates, break news or weigh in without

  a sense of intrusion as a heavyweight in a bantam weight division.
• 

  Oculos Aperire

  @ slimboyfat: Yes sir. Iv'e been working in graphic design, web design, bulletin boards, online communities , forums, I.T. and network engineering since the late 80's. The net is my second home. :)
• 

  Nosferatu

  Is there still a "best of" section? I vote that there be a section where incredibly interesting and/or noteworthy topics be moved.
• 

  Marvin Shilmer

  -

  Simon,

  Like Max Divergent, I typically go directly to “active topics” because it puts the most current subject matter together with the more interesting discussion. Otherwise the layout does not make much difference to me.

  Having subject categories to place information has a value, but in a digital forum people tend to browse with a search engine. Hence my suggestion would be to prioritize improving the site’s search engine so it contains advance options to, for instance, search titles only or to search all text including titles. It would also be helpful for advanced search options to include chronology features such as searching for topics started before X date or after X date or between X and Y dates.

  My main recommendation is to have this forum’s policies and guidelines published and available in a prominent location. Recently an issue was raised of my participation in relation to policy and when I went looking for those policies I was unable to find them. When I asked where they were located I got no response. I was looking for some explanations, definitions and position statements and could not find them. If this long-time participant could not find these I’m sure new members will have a similar experience.

  Thanks again for building and maintaining this place. It has helped so many.

  Marvin Shilmer
• 

  laverite

  How about for Scandals & Coverups have something like Scandals, Coverups and Controversies? Or, have another area for controversies?