Important announcement

[Richard Johnson]

I'm cross-posting this for those of you who only read "Your Turn."

Your moderators have been in conversation with the ALPB board about the nature and future of this Forum. We, and they, are concerned about the toxicity of much of the recent conversation. We have discussed various options for improving the quality of interactions. There may be more changes in the future, but for now the following changes will be made effective January 1:
(1) We will no longer permit anonymous posters. You may include your real name (first and last names, please) as your user name, or, if you prefer, you may include your real name as a signature. If the moderators suspect that the name you provide is a pseudonym, we will be contacting you directly to assure that you are who you say you are. If you are currently posting anonymously, please see that you correct that prior to January 1.
(2) We will ask that you restrict your posts to matters related in some way to the purpose and ministry of the church or the challenges of the Christian life. There are plenty of other places to discuss the world of politics. We will allow some latitude here; there are obviously areas where politics and faith intersect, and that intersection is not always entirely clear. But we will not allow political sniping.
(3) As a matter of fact, we will not allow sniping at all. We will be moderating more aggressively. Any post that makes personal attacks on others will be removed, or at least heavily edited; any post that is removed will also lead to the removal of all responses to that post. Persistent violations of this rule will lead to removal from the conversation. Robust discussion is good. Personal attacks are not.
That’s how things are going to go in the new year. With your help, we hope to get this train back on track.

And while I've said the effective date is January 1, in fact some of these things will be happening sooner. We need to practice a little before we go full bore into it.

[Weedon]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[mariemeyer]

This is a wonderful Christmas present.

Marie  Meyer

[Commencement2020]

Would you be willing to noindex all the webforums to keep real names off Google?

https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/block-indexing

[SomeoneWrites]

I hope the changes are successful.  Thank you to the people who took time to discuss things with me.  I wish you all well.

SW

[J. Thomas Shelley]

Very fitting to inaugurate these needed changes on the Feast of the Circumcision

THE OLD YEAR NOW AWAY IS FLED

England, 17th Century
TUNE:  Greensleves

The old year now away is fled,
   The new year it is en-ter-ed;
Then let us all our sins down tread,
   And joy-ful-ly all appear.
Let's merry be this day,
   And let us run with sport and play,
Hang sorrow, cast care away
   God send us a merry new year!

Christ's cir-cum-ci-sion this day we keep,
   Who for our sins did often weep;
His hands and feet were wounded deep,
   His bless-ed side with a spear;
His head they crowned with thorn,
   And at him they did laugh and scorn,
Who saving our souls was born.
   God send us a merry new year!

And now with new year's gifts each friend
   Unto each other they do send;
God grant we may our lives amend,
   That truth may now appear.
Snake-like cast off your skin
   Of evil thoughts and wicked sin,
And pure this year begin --
   God send us a merry new year!

[Rev. Edward Engelbrecht]

A word of thanks to the moderators and the ALPB board.

[Richard Johnson]

Would you be willing to noindex all the webforums to keep real names off Google?

https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/block-indexing

We'll look into this, thanks.

[Charles Austin]

As one who has been in this forum for many years, I welcome these changes.

[Chuck]

Good decision, Mods

[pastorg1@aol.com]

This makes good sense for the quality of debate here on this forum
Thank you.

Peter (I. M. Anonymous Pfenffinfifer) Garrison

[John_Hannah]

I'm cross-posting this for those of you who only read "Your Turn."

Your moderators have been in conversation with the ALPB board about the nature and future of this Forum. We, and they, are concerned about the toxicity of much of the recent conversation. We have discussed various options for improving the quality of interactions. There may be more changes in the future, but for now the following changes will be made effective January 1:
(1) We will no longer permit anonymous posters. You may include your real name (first and last names, please) as your user name, or, if you prefer, you may include your real name as a signature. If the moderators suspect that the name you provide is a pseudonym, we will be contacting you directly to assure that you are who you say you are. If you are currently posting anonymously, please see that you correct that prior to January 1.
(2) We will ask that you restrict your posts to matters related in some way to the purpose and ministry of the church or the challenges of the Christian life. There are plenty of other places to discuss the world of politics. We will allow some latitude here; there are obviously areas where politics and faith intersect, and that intersection is not always entirely clear. But we will not allow political sniping.
(3) As a matter of fact, we will not allow sniping at all. We will be moderating more aggressively. Any post that makes personal attacks on others will be removed, or at least heavily edited; any post that is removed will also lead to the removal of all responses to that post. Persistent violations of this rule will lead to removal from the conversation. Robust discussion is good. Personal attacks are not.
That’s how things are going to go in the new year. With your help, we hope to get this train back on track.

And while I've said the effective date is January 1, in fact some of these things will be happening sooner. We need to practice a little before we go full bore into it.

Well done, Mr. Moderator. Clear, firm, and gentle.   

Peace, JOHN

[D. Engebretson]

Thank you.  The 'toxicity' has, indeed, been disconcerting at times. 

I understand the need to distance from anonymity, but know that some on the forum, who have done it for personal reasons of concern, did engage in reasonable conversation.  For those who did, my thanks as well. 

[Randy Bosch]

Thank you Moderators, and Board!
I'm certain you agonized over those who used pseudonyms because of genuine concerns over safety - many directly related to Forum exchanges, and have not yet arrived at a resolution to that chimera.  I share in thanking those among that number who were truly "contributors" in the best sense of the mission of this Forum.

Christmas Blessings!

[Norman Teigen]

Yes.  A nice surprise on Christmas Eve.