MennoNet Posts Impact Survey

[steve-in-kville]

I am not a really strong political person, but I love watching it as I study humanity and culture. This means I do discuss it and current events since they are something I can see a new perspective on.

If the politics would stay in its respective sub-forum, I wouldn't mind it so much. When it bleeds into everything else, I get frustrated.

That said, its one thing to have a civilized discussion about politics and another to argue and hate on each other.... especially when the vast majority here on MN claim to pray for our politicians instead of voting for them.

[Robert]

If the politics would stay in its respective sub-forum, I wouldn't mind it so much. When it bleeds into everything else, I get frustrated.

Yep, and culture bleeds over into other sub forums too. Some cMs have left because they can not accept people from other cultural positions to discuss.

MennoNet has degraded to a place to prove ones position as right instead of a place for people to gather to connect. Some like the battle, but it does turn off others. The challenge is who do we limit speech from? Of late, I have found I had to limit my own speech. I have strong views and feel free to express them, for the most part. Lately, I have started to limit my responses and speech. I choose not to continue down a path of argument. I am working on not always having the last word. It has been hard, but I am finding my way.

[Sudsy]

If it was the year 1995 when I was a young seeker, and I stumbled across this website (internet really wasn't a thing then), I would be really misled. I just did some math... we have 25 topics on the "most active" page. A strong five topics may have something to do with Mennonites and/or Anabaptism. The remainder are current events, politics or anything but. Not saying this is totally a bad thing, but... just sayin'.

I have often wondered what the originator of this forum was thinking when he set up the guidelines on the 'Home' page and in many categories referred to looking at things from an Anabaptist perspective.

Was he guiding Anabaptists to share how they regard certain topics more from a spiritual, Anabaptist, Christian perspective or just to give opinions on subjects if one is attending an Anabaptist church and therefore many posts will have little to do with Christianity but more to do with the unsaved world in how it is or should function.

If this was meant to become a place to express how Anabaptists and sometimes other Christians should respond in a scriptural way then it would seem to me to be quite different than what it has become.

YMMV but I think Steve makes a good point here regarding how many threads there are in certain categories that don't reflect a unique Mennonite/Anabaptist perspective.

One way to work on changing this is not to be drawn into debating posts that one does not regard as following the Home screen guidelines regardless of how one disagrees or supports a post by others.

That is what I was trying to get at in this survey is what we posters really think about how Anabaptism and Christianity is being displayed to the 'not yet saved' readers. But to-date the survey does not appear to be a way to bring this out.

[Robert]

But to-date the survey does not appear to be a way to bring this out.

Drop it in Politics section and add Trump in there somewhere. You will get a ton of discussion.

[Sudsy]

If the politics would stay in its respective sub-forum, I wouldn't mind it so much. When it bleeds into everything else, I get frustrated.

Yep, and culture bleeds over into other sub forums too. Some cMs have left because they can not accept people from other cultural positions to discuss.

MennoNet has degraded to a place to prove ones position as right instead of a place for people to gather to connect. Some like the battle, but it does turn off others. The challenge is who do we limit speech from? Of late, I have found I had to limit my own speech. I have strong views and feel free to express them, for the most part. Lately, I have started to limit my responses and speech. I choose not to continue down a path of argument. I am working on not always having the last word. It has been hard, but I am finding my way.

I was making up my previous post before being able to read those last posted.

Thanks Robert, I think these are good suggestions that I will try to follow also.

[RZehr]

I am working on not always having the last word.

But we can't all do that. Someone will always be stuck with the last word.

[Josh]

I decided that this is a place where liberals should not control the debate and narrative on everything (as they have in many other public places of discussion). It is interesting to see the strong reaction the forum’s resident liberals have to being challenged.

Many conservatives and cAs have a mindset of simply being quiet in the face of evil. I disagree with this mindset.

[Sudsy]

The Holy Spirit reminds me of this -

There is no doubt disagreements we will have with each other but in these the fruit of the Spirit should always be shining through. LB -

But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws.

I admit I need more of the Holy Spirit's control and submitting to Him and not my fleshly nature - AMP

For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do

.

[temporal1]

S:
.. I have often wondered what the originator of this forum was thinking when he set up the guidelines on the 'Home' page and in many categories referred to looking at things from an Anabaptist perspective. ..

i wasn’t present to begin, but i’m glad i joined before many of the early ones grew up and moved on. i hope the forum’s beginnings are remembered for what they were, not what any of us following wish they were.

Some of the early ones are present and active, if i get it wrong, please correct.

From what i understand, this forum was started by a CM teen and some of his friends, experimenting with the internet.
They hoped it might last 6 months or a year .. i.e., they didn’t expect it to last very long, at all.
To begin, it was young CMs who knew each other, often related, it was an experiment that was mostly light-hearted and fun.
They enjoyed making up games, it was social and inviting. It was not some sage old guy out to evangelize the world.

A few “older” CMs joined in, mostly to see what it was all about (i think). This was normal, not viewed as intrusive.

By the time i entered, the young ones were getting ready to move on, FB became a big deal.
i was obviously older, still a recent widow, the young ones were welcoming, not put off by age or not being Anabaptist.

It reminded me so much of the world i grew up in, big families, everyone at the kitchen table, infants to great-grandparents.
After years of isolation with terminal illness, it represented LIFE. No one intends to isolate those with terminal illness, but it’s common. Today’s world is not conducive to mixing ages much. That’s an all-around cultural loss.

i was impressed with the Biblical literacy of the young ones, and their interest in discussion of scriptures!
i loved that. there was depth and enthusiasm. some crazy debates. a couple of scoundrels now+then.

Eventually, the forum average age increased. It’s not the same. Almost no games. More grouchiness.
Different ideas about what the forum “should be.” None of these ideas reflect what (i understand) was the actual beginning.

i’m relying on others to correct. i’m just glad i arrived when i did. i have warm memories.
many have left. i’m sad to say.

possibly, in future, when the original young ones find their nests empty, they’ll return.
some were great writers and thinkers, it would be nice to read more.

The forum is fortunate to have Robert, and faithful mods.
i can’t imagine any others would have “the right touch” to keep members active, not entirely running away.
They make it look easy. i don’t buy that!

This forum was never imagined to last years+years, or to morph into an adult hangout. Of any vision.

[Neto]

S:
.. I have often wondered what the originator of this forum was thinking when he set up the guidelines on the 'Home' page and in many categories referred to looking at things from an Anabaptist perspective. ..

i wasn’t present to begin, but i’m glad i joined before many of the early ones grew up and moved on. i hope the forum’s beginnings are remembered for what they were, not what any of us following wish they were.

Some of the early ones are present and active, if i get it wrong, please correct.

From what i understand, this forum was started by a CM teen and some of his friends, experimenting with the internet.
They hoped it might last 6 months or a year .. i.e., they didn’t expect it to last very long, at all.
To begin, it was young CMs who knew each other, often related, it was an experiment that was mostly light-hearted and fun.
They enjoyed making up games, it was social and inviting. It was not some sage old guy out to evangelize the world.

A few “older” CMs joined in, mostly to see what it was all about (i think). This was normal, not viewed as intrusive.

By the time i entered, the young ones were getting ready to move on, FB became a big deal.
i was obviously older, still a recent widow, the young ones were welcoming, not put off by age or not being Anabaptist.

It reminded me so much of the world i grew up in, big families, everyone at the kitchen table, infants to great-grandparents.
After years of isolation with terminal illness, it represented LIFE. No one intends to isolate those with terminal illness, but it’s common. Today’s world is not conducive to mixing ages much. That’s an all-around cultural loss.

i was impressed with the Biblical literacy of the young ones, and their interest in discussion of scriptures!
i loved that. there was depth and enthusiasm. some crazy debates. a couple of scoundrels now+then.

Eventually, the forum average age increased. It’s not the same. Almost no games. More grouchiness.
Different ideas about what the forum “should be.” None of these ideas reflect what (i understand) was the actual beginning.

i’m relying on others to correct. i’m just glad i arrived when i did. i have warm memories.
many have left. i’m sad to say.

possibly, in future, when the original young ones find their nests empty, they’ll return.
some were great writers and thinkers, it would be nice to read more.

The forum is fortunate to have Robert, and faithful mods.
i can’t imagine any others would have “the right touch” to keep members active, not entirely running away.
They make it look easy. i don’t buy that!

This forum was never imagined to last years+years, or to morph into an adult hangout. Of any vision.

I was a "lurker" from near the beginning of MennoDiscuss, but it was, as you say, more of a social interaction site, like maybe MennoMeet would have been a better name. (I looked, and I see that there actually IS one called that, as well as "MennoMatch". Help the poor and the needy!)

Anyway, I was already participating (along with Sudsy) on a Canadian MB forum when MD started. As I said, I read stuff there, but it was geared to young people, and there wasn't the type of deep discussions I found on MBForum.CA.

MD & MN have gone through phases where there is first this, then that, person with a very specific agenda, a unique doctrine (sometimes a heresy) to push out on everyone else. Usually they are not here to discuss, but to "teach", and are also not teachable. (We are probably all guilty of that on one issue or another.) At first, I fell into the category of those who felt that any thing that didn't express an anabaptist attitude (what ever stripe if Mennonite that happened to be) should be challenged, or corrected. My idea in doing that was that I didn't want non-Mennonite people who had only heard about us from this site to think that these other views were common anabaptist ones. Eventually, however, I realized (through forum searches) that these issues had already been discussed, and very often the same non-Mennonite participants had started up the same topic or issue after a period of silence - long enough for the previous rounds to have slid down into the deep recesses of the forum. And, the responses I was giving had ALSO already been given by other participants, using the same Scripture texts as I was using. In other words, it had already all been said before. So I stopped responding to those topics that were just bringing up the same nonsense. (Another reason I have backed off is because too often what should only be controversy slides into conflict. I enjoy the first to an appreciable degree, being challenged to think things through in ways that I haven't before. But I avoid conflict where ever I can, to a fault, I suppose.)

I have basically stopped looking for fellowship here, and began to work more on that with a small group of men in our congregation, basically the men with whom I attend SS. (But I still have a good ways to go on that, as well.)