Originally posted by Digi
Realistically, we probably did him a huge favor. What was he accomplishing here?
mmm
Tallying up the viewership numbers of his threads, and parrying that number down to even 1%, just one- one hundredth of that total number, JesusIsAlive effectively preached to an audience of over a thousand people during his time here.
That's more than many ministers reach in some communities -- if you're keeping track of such things.
Now, whether or not, depending on your persuasion, JIA was preaching what he ought to preach as a Christian is another matter. I've seen various sources, Jewish, Catholic, Mormon, CoC, Adventist, Muslim, etcetera, that would suggest a person truly interested in being a follower should study the book of the faith he's interested in (the fairly big book known as the Authorized King James Bible in the case of the expressly Christian faiths, of course), from cover to cover.
And, ideally, WITH someone who has likewise read their book from cover to cover and demonstrates good understanding and can explain some of the most natural questions that arise.
But, in terms of giving people a starting point ... ?
I think JIA accomplished quite a lot.
😂 😂
JIA was not a preacher.
He didn't have the right kind of communication skills. Most of the time he just posted links, and never said anything. When he did say something, he was judgmental and offensive. He wouldn't answer questions, and everyone ignored him. I was trying to get him to come out and talk, but I think he was a little unstable, because he would just go off the deep end.
I truly doubt that JIA brought anyone to Christianity. More likely people who read his posts were turned off to Christianity.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Lol at "preaching". There's a difference between a large number of people listening to your preaching, and a large number of people tolerating your "preaching".
Which is why I pared it down to 1%.
Laugh if you want, JIA's top thread, "Can you handle the Truth?", has nearly a quarter of a million hits.
You've got to assume more than 240,000 people ignored JIA before you can get away with thinking he didn't achieve at least a portion of his goals.
I doubt even Digi is cynical enough to believe that.
Originally posted by bluewaterrider
mmmTallying up the viewership numbers of his threads, and parrying that number down to even 1%, just one- one [b]hundredth
of that total number, JesusIsAlive effectively preached to an audience of over a thousand people during his time here.That's more than many ministers reach in some communities -- if you're keeping track of such things.
Now, whether or not, depending on your persuasion, JIA was preaching what he ought to preach as a Christian is another matter. I've seen various sources, Jewish, Catholic, Mormon, CoC, Adventist, Muslim, etcetera, that would suggest a person truly interested in being a follower should study the book of the faith he's interested in (the fairly big book known as the Authorized King James Bible in the case of the expressly Christian faiths, of course), from cover to cover.
And, ideally, WITH someone who has likewise read their book from cover to cover and demonstrates good understanding and can explain some of the most natural questions that arise.But, in terms of giving people a starting point ... ?
I think JIA accomplished quite a lot. [/B]
Numbers alone doesn't cut it. What did he accomplish? I've been active in this forum for almost a decade. I can't recall a single time he "reached" anyone with his message. He didn't understand the medium. His time will be better spent elsewhere.
Originally posted by NemeBro
Real nice to see mods making fun of banned members. 👆
Oh, relax. The laughter was more shock at Shakya admitting to something that's a bit petty. JIA did what he did, and ultimately earned his ban. It's not rubbing it in, just a fact. Besides, I was a global for years and had a few conversations with JIA about curbing the behavior that eventually got him banned. I was, if anything, more tolerant of him than some other mods. And I ignored requests on a couple occasions to close threads of his or ban him, instead deciding to merge threads and/or discuss the problematic behavior via PM. I generally ignored him in-thread (it was never fruitful discussion) but had nothing against him otherwise. I realize as mods, we have a target on us, but try not to extrapolate too far without full knowledge.
Anyway, I'll be happy to talk to you via PM if you'd like to continue this.
But the rest of my post was a serious question...what did he accomplish?
Originally posted by bluewaterrider
Which is why I pared it down to 1%.Laugh if you want, JIA's top thread, "Can you handle the Truth?", has nearly a [b]quarter of a million
hits.You've got to assume more than 240,000 people ignored JIA before you can get away with thinking he didn't achieve at least a portion of his goals.
I doubt even Digi is cynical enough to believe that. [/B]
A lot of the hits were just because of his posting habits. He'd ensure that a dozen of his threads remained pinned atop the forum from constant posts (often bordering on spam). People will look at anything new, especially on a relatively slow forum like this. It doesn't mean he was effective.
Cynical isn't the right word. I just don't see evidence for it. I don't think he ever did anything for anyone that didn't already agree with him to some extent.
srug
Originally posted by TzeentchCuz we didn't like him.
Why are we talking shit about a banned member who can't defend himself?
Originally posted by bluewaterriderYou're aware of course that the counter doesn't tally individual member views. It's just views total. 240 people could click on that thread 1000 times each and it would rack up the same. The same several hundred members who frequent this subforum continuously clicking on that thread to read bumped posts (bumped, I suspect, by JIA himself if not another Christian already devoted to the gospel) is going to take its toll. Nevermind the countless people who click on them and only skim the posts--especially those disinclined to read the wall posts of incessant proselytizers (read: JIA and ennin). That he named it after a famous quote from a famous movie won't help with the Google search results. Ditto that his username invokes a certain religious market.
Which is why I pared it down to 1%.Laugh if you want, JIA's top thread, "Can you handle the Truth?", has nearly a [b]quarter of a million
hits.You've got to assume more than 240,000 people ignored JIA before you can get away with thinking he didn't achieve at least a portion of his goals.
I doubt even Digi is cynical enough to believe that. [/B]
And if view counts is all you care about, then it's worth noting that JIA's top viewed thread has 240,000 views with over 430 pages of posts... while a thread in the GDF with comparable views is titled "kids..nude..beach" with only 6 pages of posts.
No reason I'm bringing that up. I'm certainly comparing JIA's viewership to the people who make that Google search.
Views are also probably affected by Google search bots, etc. In any case, I have to agree with Digi; JIA didn't 'win' anyone over and he alienated himself and made his position come under fire by repeatedly reasserting it over and over again. JIA had something like 15+ threads he bumped on his last day here, in some kind of bizarre furor, each of which was yet another attempt to preach Christian rhetoric in another way.
Then you have winner stuff like this:
Originally posted by JesusIsAlive
No, you are mistaken.I don't have to prove anything.
Neither do you have to prove anything.
But if you want me to prove anything then you first prove to me that George Washington existed.
No clue why upstanding and moral members in NemeBro and Blax would protest his removal.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
... we didn't like him.
You told me differently, just a few days ago:
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
You're linking to other posts as an answer... there's someone else here who used to do that a lot. A delightful fellow whom everyone loved.
Are you in the habit of saying things you don't mean?
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
... we didn't like him.
Your "we" does not include me, Lucien.
I liked, and like, JesusIsAlive just fine.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
You're aware of course that the counter doesn't tally individual member views. It's just views total. 240 people could click on that thread 1000 times each and it would rack up the same. The same several hundred members who frequent this subforum continuously clicking on that thread to read bumped posts (bumped, I suspect, by JIA himself if not another Christian already devoted to the gospel) is going to take its toll. Nevermind the countless people who click on them and only skim the posts--especially those disinclined to read the wall posts of incessant proselytizers (read: JIA and ennin). That he named it after a famous quote from a famous movie won't help with the Google search results. Ditto that his username invokes a certain religious market.
There have been cases of people who have seen exactly ONE Bible verse and had their lives changed.
One.
A good example?
Ravi Zacharias:
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Zacharias was born in Madras, India. Zacharias claims descent from a woman of the Nambudiri Brahmin caste and Boatman caste. Swiss German missionaries spoke to one of his ancestors about Christianity and his family was converted. Zacharias grew up in a nominal Anglican household, and was an atheist until the age of 17, when he unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by swallowing poison. While in the hospital, a local Christian worker brought him a Bible and told his mother to read to him out of John 14. Zacharias says that it was John 14:19 that touched him and caused him to commit his life to Christ.
In 1966 Zacharias immigrated with his family to Canada earning his undergraduate degree from Ontario Bible College in 1972 (now Tyndale University College & Seminary) and his M. Div. from Trinity International University.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Zacharias
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Princeton University Open Forum Q&A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8XSa79sU0M
(1 hr 28 sec; 1st 4 minutes is pretty good ...
16 min 4 sec to 20 min 33 sec range is partial answer to the problem of evil)
Originally posted by bluewaterrider
Are you in the habit of saying things you don't mean?
Oh good God. Tone, context, etc. Let's not drag this into a flame war over a couple stray comments.
Your other points are fine - people being changed with only a single verse and whatnot, but it doesn't change the situation with JIA. He wasn't banned because of his views, but because of his posting habits and blatant, repeated disregard of verbal and official warnings.
Originally posted by Tzeentch
Because Quanchi is still here.
Lol. But lest this be taken seriously, It should go without saying that being liked isn't a prerequisite for forum existence. I suppose it doesn't hurt when you get down to some subjective distinctions concerning rule violations, but even then we usually discuss things so that it's a consensus rather than an individual decision. In either case, being disliked is hardly grounds for any official action.
No. 👇
You can not even begin to condemn JIA's actions while condoning quanchi's.
I frankly don't care whether or not quan gets banned, but to even imply he hasn't violated the rules on a consistent basis is so blatantly bullshit that it doesn't even warrant debating.
JIA was kicked because he both broke a few rules and, more importantly, he had unpopular opinions. Were he an atheist, I seriously doubt he would have been banned or as derided, because members like Shakya and Stealth Moose are every bit as arrogant and far more insulting to others with their beliefs. And yes I did just name drop you both. 👆
I frankly just wish the moderators would just admit that they are biased in who they take action on, lol. No one cares if you flame the shit out of Dolos, but you flame, I don't know, Bardock, suddenly there's mod action.
Originally posted by NemeBro
... because members like Shakya and Stealth Moose are every bit as arrogant and far more insulting to others with their beliefs. And yes I did just name drop you both. 👆...
This is so stupid.
JIA was my friend. We talked on PMs, but on the forum, we would go at it. JIA could not only take it, but he could give it out. I am disappointed that he is gone. But I would rather talk to him than people like you. You were never on this forum before now.