konceptual99

Joined

• started 166 topics
• posted 3,618 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by konceptual99

• 
  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  Check back a page cognac. I did it over the weekend.
• 
  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  I would like to think that the objective #1 is higher on the list. I'm personally not interested in having people running around, more on just creating something that catches attention and makes people think about going online later. I would have liked to have used jwfacts.com_thetruthaboutthetruth as it's a bit more serious sounding, but it does not fit. Perhaps the OP suggestion of just jwfacts.com is better. Perhaps it does not really make any real difference...

  As someone currently trapped in, this was a little bit of activism, a little nod towards some kind of rage against the machine. Maybe it's childish. Maybe it's pissing in the wind. What I do know is that buzz I got when I saw an obvious reaction was real. If there was one other person there who gains a bit of confidence knowing there is at least one other person around who is not mentally shackled, and perhaps takes the next step toward finding out more of TTATT then I would be over the moon.
• 
  70

  Any funny stories of when a"brother" giving a talk, said something "funny" or "questionable", and didn't even realize it?

  by Dunedain in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  there were always all types of speakers in the org.

  myself, growing up a "witness", must have heard all types of talks, and given by all manner of speakers, especially on sundays, when almost every week we would get a "visiting" brother giving the public talk.. sometimes, you would have a "great" speaker, all fluent and animated.

  other times we would get a comical speaker, one who would maybe purposelly get a few laughs outta the audience.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  The drama with the "Hi I'm Randy" line in it is a very memorable one for me and a number of others from back in the day. They really didn't think about how it would sound in the UK as well as Oz!
• 
  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  So a hotspot was put up today at the CA. jwfacts.com_thetruthaboutdatroof (character limits!)

  Most of the time it was closed to prevent too much data usage by third parties but there were at least 17 people on it when it was open for a while.

  There was a clear point where it became obvious that the top brass had become aware of it. Lots of scurrying around...
• 
  406

  Goodbye JWD/JWN (my last post)

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after some considerable thought i have decided that i will no longer post on this forum because i want to return to jehovah.

  thank you for all the kindness and many interesting discussions over the years.

  i wish you all well in the future and the decisions you make.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  Welcome back!
• 
  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  Even if they did, so what? They can't search anyone. They can't look at devices. They can't prove anything.
• 
  166

  Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  here is an idea i tested.

  works at both assemblies and conventions.

  i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  My ideas for hotspot names....

  • F*ckOffMorris
  • TheLightKeepsOnFlickering
  • IDontBeleiveItAnymore
  • TheFloodIsBollocks (for one session)
  • SoAreAdamAndEve (for the next)
  • AsForTheGeneration.... (for the next)
  • IfItWasNotForShunning (for one session)
  • WouldAnyOfUsBeHere (for another session)
  • IKnowTheTruthAboutDaTroof
  • GoToUniversityIfYouWant
  • IWantToGoHome
  • AreYouAnApostateToo

  I tried looking for an app that changes the SSID automatically but can't find one....
• 
  362

  No 'Tight Pants' policy is now official - classed as 'disturbing'

  by wizzstick in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in short:- tight pants is no longer just a am3 hang up (or is that a hang up on the well hung?

  )- brothers who have effeminate body language are flagged up- as are sisters with 'masculine' hair styles or dress- such dress is 'disturbing to the congregation'- the above must heed the (repeated) counsel from the elders...or they get stripped of the right to share on the ministry- however...this will not be revealed (announced) to the congregation.

  wow.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  Blimey Simon - I thought I was pretty much in agreement with you on your core points

  Yes, and in this scenario there is no real change - the society has always been against the latest fashion and trends or youths. All that has changed is that it's no longer mini-skirts or skirts with slits in them or long hair or beards ... now it's metro-sexual style which is today's fashion (apparently, I buy clothes from Costco ... what do I know!).

  Agreed - the principle of the society being against whatever the current trend is has always been the case.

  Again, local elders who enjoy and wield their power unjustly are nothing new and there is nothing in these instructions that encourages, promotes or excuses that behaviour, exactly the opposite - they are promoting the notion of patient counsel and private sanctions for people who stubbornly refuse to make the requested changes.

  Agreed - local elders doing it their way is nothing new. Private counsel has also been par for the course. The instructions are always worded to err on the side of reasonableness however we all know that culturally many elders find this a very difficult line to tread.

  The organisation has had decades of experience in providing instructions and direction to elders to know that elders need monkey see monkey do if they want any kind of consistency. Whoever put this together knows full well that by doing it verbally, with no warning, no written instruction and no transparent information to the congregation at large simply means that it will get implemented in a robust and agricultural way more often than not. Which is what they want.

  The WTS can write pages of instructions when it wants to. But not this time. Which is bizarre, given their insistence over recent years to promote principles, not set hard and fast rules but rather encourage spiritual maturity to guide people.

  There has not been such direct and specific counsel to elders on clothing or behaviour like this for years as far as I know.

  I can't recall any sanction where a baptised JW is not permitted to go on the ministry for anything else, and certainly not for something like clothing.

  Does it change anything about them being able to set the standards they wish? Does it change anything about them being anti-gay? Of course not.

  But this does hark back to top down rule making - something which has softened over recent years.

  The lack of benchmarks for what is acceptable or not acceptable, whilst not new, does reflect crude approaches to control from the past. It allows the organisation to claim they are promoting a reasonable view where only the worst of rebels are sanctioned, whilst permitting whatever implementation the local body sees fit, even if that goes beyond what might be reasonable. It's typical WTS disingenuous behaviour.

  It's the same old same old but a pattern that had seemingly diminished. And I find it hard to believe that the introduction of a sanction about ministry participation can be ignored as a fundamental difference.

  As with anything, if someone really wants to keep their style rather than their faith they can leave. Otherwise, like so many before them, they change to keep inline with the WTS standards on dress, grooming and behaviour.

  I am surprised you make it sound so straight-forward Simon, when it rarely is. Remember this is not some club where the dress code is published at the door (other than being well arranged and modest). These instructions are verbal, only to the BoE and have no guidelines. The news here is not the gnashing of teeth at fashion nor the homophobia. It's the resurrection of poorly defined instructions to groups of men who can't generally organise a piss up in a brewery on a matter that is potentially highly sensitive.

  I am with you in so many ways here:

  - implementing dress standards is not, in itself, the make or break defining behaviour of a cult

  - on it's own it's not something that is some game changer for apostate activists or for those who are trying to work out their sexuality whilst inside the WTS

  - trying to bash the WTS with this instruction as if they have tied their own noose is unrealistic.

  On the other hand, I think there are aspects of these instructions that do merit being highlighted and provided as food for thought for those waking up to the reality of da troof.

  To that extent, it's not a case of "move along, nothing to see here".
• 
  362

  No 'Tight Pants' policy is now official - classed as 'disturbing'

  by wizzstick in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in short:- tight pants is no longer just a am3 hang up (or is that a hang up on the well hung?

  )- brothers who have effeminate body language are flagged up- as are sisters with 'masculine' hair styles or dress- such dress is 'disturbing to the congregation'- the above must heed the (repeated) counsel from the elders...or they get stripped of the right to share on the ministry- however...this will not be revealed (announced) to the congregation.

  wow.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  This directive is unlikely to be used to start a witch hunt of gays still in living in the closet within the organisation. It makes no difference to the majority of people studying since the chances of them being openly gay and still wanting to join the Witnesses is virtually nil.

  For those people, particularly born-ins, who have contented with trying to square their natural feelings with their programming that homosexuality is a sin and not to be practised there are a few scenarios:

  1 - they acknowledge their feelings, come out as gay and leave the organisation

  2 - they acknowledge their feelings but stick the organisation and simply try to squash their natural tendencies

  3 - they kid themselves and try to live as a heterosexual witness

  Basically, the cream either rises to the top and leaves or is suppressed by the individual.

  I would suspect that it would only be the extreme case where someone who believes themselves to be gay stays in the organisation and fights against whatever intolerance is shown as a result of this directive.

  However, I still believe there is the question of how this is implemented. Although the notes suggest that counsel and the sanction on ministry would be provided only to one continually reflecting the extremes of the spirit of the world, we all know this type of poorly qualified direction is regularly interpreted in ways that go beyond the spirit and intent of the original instruction.

  Given it's inference to not just clothing but also mannerisms that could be construed as crossing the gender divide, I would not be surprised if we start to hear of cases where elders start wading into situations with their size tens, dragging their cultural knuckles on the floor behind them.

  I think Simon is correct to point out that this probably makes zero material difference to the genuine homosexual but the collateral damage is not going to be there. It's going to be in the young ones who like to be well groomed and enjoy expressing themselves sartorially. It's going to be on those that like to be a little different. It's going to be amongst those that are in congregations where one or two elders rule the roost and have no liberally minded foils (and they do exist) to temper the control they wish to exercise.

  In my opinion, this instruction does represent a resurgence of the sort of top down, prescriptive, rule based, unqualified, high control thinking and approach that typified times past.

  Aside from the ministry sanction, maybe little is actually that different to previous commentaries on clothing etc. however there is something more insidious about the way this is presented that may be more visible to the average joe witness, especially if they are the more professional and culturally aware type that are out there.

  To that end I would hope that the elders do act on this instruction and do it in a way that is ill conceived. That way, there is a chance that it may be catalyst for some to wake up.
• 
  15

  Following Links to JWT

  by konceptual99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just a wee warning on following links to jwtalk (jwt).

  if you are a member there then it is very easy for the mods to identify if you have come in from this site.

  they will then ban you.. so, if you are member here and trying to lurk there then don't click on any links to jwt, just copy and paste the link into a new browser tab..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  konceptual99

  I am sure there are wide awake people posting on there. Some stay under the radar, some don't.