What is the point of “this question is for…..”

[JayP]

What I mean is on the one hand I understand there is a situation where a person wants to ask a question of people “really on that group” (as though that is not debatable itself) as opposed to some other dude that knows little about it.

On the other hand, given the vagueness on what constitutes “qualifying” to be part of the group I wonder how effective that is.

And finally, even membership does not equate to knowledge. What I mean by that, is I know Lutheran ministers that are trained academics that know FAR more about Catholicism than the Irish guy next door that identifies as Catholic but hasn’t a clue about his churches beliefs.

I am no longer an Anabaptist. But 8 suspect I know more about Eastern than an German River Brethern guy living his whole life in CA

SO I am confused by expectations on who should and should not comment in many of these threads.

[temporal1]

Coincidentally ..
i stumbled on this 2020 topic/post this morning. it might be helpful. it’s a fun read.
i think oj explains the forum well, its informal, subjective nature .. personal opinions, not encyclopedic reference, which can be found elsewhere, and is often part of discussion here.

But they should curate the forums and remove posts that violate the established community standards for this forum. I assume they exist somewhere but I couldn't find them in the 30 seconds I poked around the FAQ. If they don't exist then perhaps some agreed-to community standards should exist.

Practically all conservative Mennonite churches have "agreed-to community standards" and curate their membership rolls based on violations thereof. Much time and effort has been employed in attacking and defending the concept; I've heard countless sermons (mostly pro) and discussions (mostly con) on the subject. I would have expected you to argue the other side, actually. Maybe you think more like a conservative Mennonite than you think.

The FAQ is just generic phpBB stuff. The basic ground rules for MN are here. We do expect y'all not to be too disagreeable, and most of the time y'all do a reasonably good job of that, all things considered.

But the bottom line is, this is not a democracy, it's a somewhat-benevolent dictatorship janitorship.

[Josh]

What I mean is on the one hand I understand there is a situation where a person wants to ask a question of people “really on that group” (as though that is not debatable itself) as opposed to some other dude that knows little about it.

On the other hand, given the vagueness on what constitutes “qualifying” to be part of the group I wonder how effective that is.

And finally, even membership does not equate to knowledge. What I mean by that, is I know Lutheran ministers that are trained academics that know FAR more about Catholicism than the Irish guy next door that identifies as Catholic but hasn’t a clue about his churches beliefs.

I am no longer an Anabaptist. But 8 suspect I know more about Eastern than an German River Brethern guy living his whole life in CA

SO I am confused by expectations on who should and should not comment in many of these threads.

I think your input in the Catholic/Orthodox thread is very helpful.

The idea is to ask someone who is in such a faith (or claims to be), and presumably is not opposed to it and is willing to answer questions to best of their knowledge. As opposed to asking an ex-Catholic, as such a person could have a very different point of view.

[Ernie]

What I mean is on the one hand I understand there is a situation where a person wants to ask a question of people “really on that group” (as though that is not debatable itself) as opposed to some other dude that knows little about it.

On the other hand, given the vagueness on what constitutes “qualifying” to be part of the group I wonder how effective that is.

And finally, even membership does not equate to knowledge. What I mean by that, is I know Lutheran ministers that are trained academics that know FAR more about Catholicism than the Irish guy next door that identifies as Catholic but hasn’t a clue about his churches beliefs.

I am no longer an Anabaptist. But 8 suspect I know more about Eastern than an German River Brethern guy living his whole life in CA

SO I am confused by expectations on who should and should not comment in many of these threads.

I think your input in the Catholic/Orthodox thread is very helpful.

The idea is to ask someone who is in such a faith (or claims to be), and presumably is not opposed to it and is willing to answer questions to best of their knowledge. As opposed to asking an ex-Catholic, as such a person could have a very different point of view.

Yes, Josh's answer is mine as well.

[ohio jones]

I believe things like 'propriety, decency and good manners' can be had without restrictive access to forum threads. This is a forum where 'Mennonites and others connect' as the main screen states. How we are to conduct ourselves can be read in the ' Board Guidelines' thread. I don't see anywhere that we are to isolate anyone from participating in a thread. But if there is, it can be pointed out to me. Either this is an open forum or it is not. I can't 'connect' with others if I am being restricted beyond the rules and calling it keeping order. Thats my view.

And in this particular subforum on Christian Denominations, propriety, decency, and good manners are subject to the restriction in the red bar at the top of the page:

Discussion in this section is to be informative not combative. Ask questions and accept answers. No challenging of others faith or beliefs will be tolerated.

You may complain and campaign (if you must) for changes to the general policy of "restrictive access" in other threads.

[temporal1]

Bunny Trails p.144-145
viewtopic.php?t=209&start=1440

[ohio jones]

Bunny Trails p.144-145
viewtopic.php?t=209&start=1440

Several more posts have joined them. This subforum is not for general discussion; it is for asking and answering specific questions about denominations. That is the point of "this question is for ... ."