r/lds gives up

[_Sammy Jankins]

On Reddit there was the r/lds subreddit which was moderated by an orthodox TBM. Which apparently has now been closed. Before it was closed the orthodox moderator was struggling against ex-mormons and liberal Mormons.

http://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/173nh0/end_of_rlds/

Open discussion of Mormonism with Mormons seems to be non-existent on the web these days. Only places with strict pro-lds moderation seem to be able to retain active LDS participants. It seems that even just a few years ago apologists tried to directly address criticisms on more or less neutral message boards, but that in the last couple years they have retreated to boards controlled by themselves.
I feel like I missed the boat as it seems there was a time when there was more of an open collision between critics and apologists.

[_emilysmith]

It is religion, in general. The world has a new way to answer questions and Google trumps a warm feeling in your bosom. "Non-religious" is on a rapid rise.

Reddit, in particular, has a very evidence based approach, even in the midst of the super storm of bickering.

Years ago, the collision seemed to result in a exodus of apologists from the faith. The reason the dialogue forum went through so many drastic changes is because the only people left were, for one, fewer, and, for the most part, more obnoxious. Their approach elicited a more negative response in the rising tide of criticism. The anti-climax was the changes to the board in which the activity is now a shadow of what it once was.

My opinion, based on what I witnessed.

The same is occurring in religious forums all over the Internet. From Christendom to Islam, the world is shifting more towards a cultural view of religion, slowly removing its teeth to tame its bite. The next 10 years should be very interesting.

[_moksha]

On
I feel like I missed the boat as it seems there was a time when there was more of an open collision between critics and apologists.

Sounds like the Golden Age of Mormon Apologetics, before those so called scholars announced that all apologetics bases "are belong to us".

The rebel alliance simply needs time to regroup at the Farside of the Moon Donut Shop in Orem.

--------
by the way, an R/LDS board run by a TBM makes sense in a mixing the streams kind of way.

[_KevinSim]

Open discussion of Mormonism with Mormons seems to be non-existent on the web these days. Only places with strict pro-lds moderation seem to be able to retain active LDS participants.

Is this forum a place "with strict pro-lds moderation"? I'm an active LDS participant, albeit more moderate than your typical conservative Latter-day Saint.

[_The Erotic Apologist]

Open discussion of Mormonism with Mormons seems to be non-existent on the web these days. Only places with strict pro-lds moderation seem to be able to retain active LDS participants. It seems that even just a few years ago apologists tried to directly address criticisms on more or less neutral message boards, but that in the last couple years they have retreated to boards controlled by themselves.
I feel like I missed the boat as it seems there was a time when there was more of an open collision between critics and apologists.

As was pointed in an earlier post, it's not just the Mormon-based forums that resort to heavy-handed moderation in an attempt to retain active, believing participants. Many Christian forums, In point of fact, are guilty of the same shenanigans. Here, for example, is how Christianforums.com goes about stifling free discussion in their "Exploring Christianity" forum...

The Exploring Christianity forum is a place where non-Christians can come and ask Christians about their faith. Non Christians are welcome here.

HOWEVER,

This is NOT a debate forum.

Here is how the forum works: A Non-Christian member may start a thread. Only Christians can respond to the the thread. The person who started the thread CAN ask follow-up questions.

If you are not a Christian, do not post in an existing thread. Start your own.

If you are a Christian, please do not start threads here.

If you have had a thread or post removed for review and don't know why, please re-read the above. And please, be patient during the review process. You WILL hear something eventually.

Thank you!!!

In other words, only one "non-Christian" at a time is allowed to participate in any given thread, but any number of Christians are allowed to post any number of replies these threads. What emilysmith said in an earlier post bears repeating...

It is religion, in general. The world has a new way to answer questions and Google trumps a warm feeling in your bosom. "Non-religious" is on a rapid rise.

Reddit, in particular, has a very evidence based approach, even in the midst of the super storm of bickering.

Years ago, the collision seemed to result in a exodus of apologists from the faith. The reason the dialogue forum went through so many drastic changes is because the only people left were, for one, fewer, and, for the most part, more obnoxious. Their approach elicited a more negative response in the rising tide of criticism. The anti-climax was the changes to the board in which the activity is now a shadow of what it once was.

My opinion, based on what I witnessed.

The same is occurring in religious forums all over the Internet. From Christendom to Islam, the world is shifting more towards a cultural view of religion, slowly removing its teeth to tame its bite. The next 10 years should be very interesting.