On Forums

Hi Troy,

Although I closed my site's Forum a couple of months ago, I wish to give you some feedback and observations. I saw the same things that you did when I was working forums, which is one of the reasons I no longer do forums and cancelled the one I attempted to start. They appear to be a big waste of time and one has to put up with a lot of self righteous know-it-alls that only want to either argue or brand you as a heretic if your views are different from their's. I also found myself having to repeat the same arguments, and starting from scratch, each time a new know-it-all joined the thread. This is a syndrome not unique to Discussion Forums, but also to mailing lists and news feeds.

Seven years ago I began publishing the Bible doctrine I have learned up on the Internet. At the time I did it because I was tired of debating by e-mail and news feeds and resolved that I would just publish the pages and let folks take it or leave it. I was tired of arguing. As the site grew, and I added new pages, and as the Internet expanded and Christian Forums began to pop up, I thought those would be a great place to share what I had learned with others. Boy, was I disappointed! But it took me several years to RE-LEARN my lesson. It was only after I attempted to sign up my own forum at yours, and was rejected because it was not Holy enough to suit you, that I came to my senses again and took down my attempt at a forum. I even took your advice about having too many TopSite listings on my Website pages and reduced the number to only two: My own Topsites list and one for a Home School List. And guess what?..As you said it did not seem to affect my traffic and it made the site look less 'desperate' for visitors. For this latter advice I certainly thank you.

So now I have come full circle again. My website is up (without a forum) and I spend all of my available time studying the Bible and keeping those pages updated, instead of wasting time arguing. Presently over 200 unique visitors per day visit my pages. They can take it or leave it; I've said what the Lord has led me to publish. And those that want to argue, and send me emails, I simply ignore. Don't get me wrong, I read all of them, the good and the bad, but I no longer feel compelled to fire back at some hateful, self righteous know-it-all because he or she does not agree with me, because it is a no-win situation. If I did I would be accused of being hateful or unchristian, and they would only feel justified in their own eyes. It is better to just give back silence; it is better for your blood pressure (smile). There is no victory in engaging in a battle of wits with a half-armed opponent.

Warmest regards.

Anonymous