(Auto)biographical Reflections on MDB/DM
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2024 5:13 pm
Greetings, fellow denizens of DM!
This board has had a long and storied existence, as online discussion venues go, and I think it is worthwhile for us to commit more time and effort to preserving and promoting its memory. To that end, I am proposing that we compile an (Auto)biographical Dictionary of MDB. This project would be a dictionary composed of (auto)biographical blurbs on the members of the forum, past and present, organized by online handles. Entries might say something about what led you to this forum, what made you stay, other things about your MDB experience, and a little something about how it has impacted your life. Those who have for the most part ceased to be active on the board could say something about where they are now in their thoughts about the time they spent on MDB.
Now, there are people who have passed on not only from the board but also from mortal life. In these cases, I think we should have groups of volunteers sympathetic to the poster who would would put together an entry for that person. There would then be an informal review process to see whether more people thought it did the memory of the person in question justice. Here I am thinking of people like Johnny and gramps, but there may be others as well.
We would also seek out contributions from people who have posted here in the past but have moved on. If they decline, then we will follow the procedure for those who have passed on, except that we might send them the entry to see if they approve of it. Some, especially the apologists, may object to the content because they don't want to see the board flourish in any way, and such objections would not be allowed to hamper the project.
Naturally, the more people we can get to write their own entries, the more we will learn. Entries written on behalf of others will be more limited in the scope of information, but we can do our best to fill out such entries. It is important to note that we have been fortunate to see a lot of interesting people here, some of whom are important within the fishbowl of Mormon Studies and apologetics. Entries on such people would add interest to the end product. My view is that we should be as even-handed and fair in covering apologists who have posted here as we can be, even to the point that we feel we are being too nice. In the end, no entry should be a lampoon of a poster.
The end goal will be to produce a book that can be electronically published and even printed on demand, the proceeds of which would go toward supporting the upkeep and hosting of this board. I look forward to reading your thoughts about this suggestion.
This board has had a long and storied existence, as online discussion venues go, and I think it is worthwhile for us to commit more time and effort to preserving and promoting its memory. To that end, I am proposing that we compile an (Auto)biographical Dictionary of MDB. This project would be a dictionary composed of (auto)biographical blurbs on the members of the forum, past and present, organized by online handles. Entries might say something about what led you to this forum, what made you stay, other things about your MDB experience, and a little something about how it has impacted your life. Those who have for the most part ceased to be active on the board could say something about where they are now in their thoughts about the time they spent on MDB.
Now, there are people who have passed on not only from the board but also from mortal life. In these cases, I think we should have groups of volunteers sympathetic to the poster who would would put together an entry for that person. There would then be an informal review process to see whether more people thought it did the memory of the person in question justice. Here I am thinking of people like Johnny and gramps, but there may be others as well.
We would also seek out contributions from people who have posted here in the past but have moved on. If they decline, then we will follow the procedure for those who have passed on, except that we might send them the entry to see if they approve of it. Some, especially the apologists, may object to the content because they don't want to see the board flourish in any way, and such objections would not be allowed to hamper the project.
Naturally, the more people we can get to write their own entries, the more we will learn. Entries written on behalf of others will be more limited in the scope of information, but we can do our best to fill out such entries. It is important to note that we have been fortunate to see a lot of interesting people here, some of whom are important within the fishbowl of Mormon Studies and apologetics. Entries on such people would add interest to the end product. My view is that we should be as even-handed and fair in covering apologists who have posted here as we can be, even to the point that we feel we are being too nice. In the end, no entry should be a lampoon of a poster.
The end goal will be to produce a book that can be electronically published and even printed on demand, the proceeds of which would go toward supporting the upkeep and hosting of this board. I look forward to reading your thoughts about this suggestion.