Web address needed!

[Pastor Bill]

By the way, the reason everyone is tight lipped about it is that if you type the name of the old board, it changes it to that-other-forum-that-shall-remain-nameless

Very funny at the time, but for those that weren't there, I guess it may not make sense!

[Pastor Gary]

I will try to give a balanced explanation for the departure from and eventual demise of that forum.

That forum, we'll call it OuterAx for now, was started by a guy named Craig... he was a Lee grad who was, at that time, the network/internet guru at COGOP International Offices at a time when COGOP had several enterprises... a travel agency, an ISP, the book store. As part of Craig's build out of a web presence for COGOP, he included a threaded discussion forum on the official COGOP.ORG website. I was asked to serve as one of the original Moderators of that forum.

It opened a major can of worms on the North end of Keith Street.

This was during a period of great debate and more than a little divisive, heated controversy in our organization, and I understand that a lot of people were upset about the free-wheeling debate on that forum, and made phone calls calling for its shut-down.

Craig opted, wisely in my view, to remove the forum from the official site without killing it. He created a new domain, moved the forum there, and people followed, and it grew. I was the main Moderator there.

Time passed and, indeed, this person named Diana came in and - IMHO - issued pious, self-righteous, WAY-holier-than-the-rest-of-us pronouncements that were dripping in condescension. (The present-day ROOTist poster is a mere shadow of the same spirit Diana exuded.) I/we battled her influence daily ad nauseum.

Enter a good friend of Craig's: a church-planter in (if memory serves) Scotland? Friend was majorly into the WOF movement, one of the hot-button issues of the board. Craig was none-too-thrilled to have his buddy branded as one with heretical (or at least abberant) doctrinal views, and there was some behind-the-scenes discussion about backing off the heat on him. Craig and I reached somewhat of an impasse over these and a few less important issues, and it came to a head. I was removed/resigned as main Moderator (depending upon whose viewpoint you take).

We didn't divide with a lot of rancor, yet there were some hurt feelings all around, I am sure. A former employee of Craig's, now working elsewhere, offered to set up an alternative to "OuterAx" and in a late nite session we registered a domain, set up Jude2 and launched -- literally in a matter of HOURS. It was pretty amazing.

We spread the word via email to a few of the regulars, and word-of-mouth took care of the rest. People migrated from OuterAx to Jude2, leaving OuterAx pretty much a cobweb covered ghost town in days/weeks. The thing I think Craig might have underestimated was that there was more than just virtual community among the regulars here; there was genuine, real, flesh-and-blood connection between/among us that has intensified over the years.

[RamboPreacher]

I think I went from the COGOP forums, directly here, and skipped that intermediary step. I didn't post much, I was just starting to post there, I think towards it's end, as it went away rather quickly after I started posting. I didn't know about the other forum or it's existence until I got here.

(I was "warned" on, I think it was my second post there, when I was talking about "merging" and "sharing" services with the local COGOP, that had already begun process.

thanks PG, for a forum that will allow me to express myself, even if that means putting my foot in my mouth, now and again.

[Shellie]

Full Quiver wrote:

Diana

That's Reverend Diana to you. Pit bull with lipstick to Vande.

[Sherry]

Full Quiver wrote:

Diana

That's Reverend Diana to you. Pit bull with lipstick to Vande.

Oh the old days!!!

[Shellie]

Hey PG, you left out the part where Diana cuddled up to Craig and tried to tell him how to correct his message board problems....i.e. those that made Outerax what it was.

[Gerald Creasy]

I will try to give a balanced explanation for the departure from and eventual demise of that forum.

That forum, we'll call it OuterAx for now, was started by a guy named Craig... he was a Lee grad who was, at that time, the network/internet guru at COGOP International Offices at a time when COGOP had several enterprises... a travel agency, an ISP, the book store. As part of Craig's build out of a web presence for COGOP, he included a threaded discussion forum on the official COGOP.ORG website. I was asked to serve as one of the original Moderators of that forum.

It opened a major can of worms on the North end of Keith Street.

This was during a period of great debate and more than a little divisive, heated controversy in our organization, and I understand that a lot of people were upset about the free-wheeling debate on that forum, and made phone calls calling for its shut-down.

Craig opted, wisely in my view, to remove the forum from the official site without killing it. He created a new domain, moved the forum there, and people followed, and it grew. I was the main Moderator there.

Time passed and, indeed, this person named Diana came in and - IMHO - issued pious, self-righteous, WAY-holier-than-the-rest-of-us pronouncements that were dripping in condescension. (The present-day ROOTist poster is a mere shadow of the same spirit Diana exuded.) I/we battled her influence daily ad nauseum.

Enter a good friend of Craig's: a church-planter in (if memory serves) Scotland? Friend was majorly into the WOF movement, one of the hot-button issues of the board. Craig was none-too-thrilled to have his buddy branded as one with heretical (or at least abberant) doctrinal views, and there was some behind-the-scenes discussion about backing off the heat on him. Craig and I reached somewhat of an impasse over these and a few less important issues, and it came to a head. I was removed/resigned as main Moderator (depending upon whose viewpoint you take).

Odd to hear your view of it from your side.

I was waging a war against the WOF lunacy. I'd frequently expose their anti biblical teaching, call their teaching the dung that it was. And take no "shame on you" from anyone.

The Bull Dog and others pursuaded CT that I needed to be censored in order to form a "Christian" forum where people "loved one another."

I'd soon found that much of my posts were almost immediately removed, PG was forced out (which riled me even morer) and CT was soliciting money for A WOF ministry in return for upgading to new forum software (the software now used here)

I raised every kind of stink possible including drawing attention to the dastardly craven attempt to get money out of some one who WAS KNOWN to diagree with WOF in order to fund a WOF ministry.

I remember two people that stood by me: Joey and Kenya.

And I remember Cts condescending smarmy comment before it became a digital ghosttown: "Looks like we'e got a little rebellion going on."

[Pastor Gary]

Odd to hear your view of it from your side.

My version is the result of cobweb covered memories from what seems a lifetime ago in view of recent events, and I oversimplified and left out a myriad of details.

The rest of the old-timers can correct my memories and fill in the details.

[Gerald Creasy]

My version is the result of cobweb covered memories from what seems a lifetime ago in view of recent events, and I oversimplified and left out a myriad of details.

The rest of the old-timers can correct my memories and fill in the details.

Hey, I meant no slam. Being that you got the bulldg siced on you due to what was essentialy just me, I did not know if you were being polite by not saying "Gerald raised such a stink that the owner kicked me out and began to censor heavily." or if I was overestimating my part in the whole affair.

[Pastor Gary]

My version is the result of cobweb covered memories from what seems a lifetime ago in view of recent events, and I oversimplified and left out a myriad of details.

The rest of the old-timers can correct my memories and fill in the details.

Hey, I meant no slam. Being that you got the bulldg siced on you due to what was essentialy just me, I did not know if you were being polite by not saying "Gerald raised such a stink that the owner kicked me out and began to censor heavily." or if I was overestimating my part in the whole affair.

I'd say you were definitely a major factor, and probably the catalyst.

[DaJudge]

We spread the word via email to a few of the regulars, and word-of-mouth took care of the rest. People migrated from OuterAx to Jude2, leaving OuterAx pretty much a cobweb covered ghost town in days/weeks.

Ha, that's true. As I said, I was a lurker then, and as such, no one of course notified me of the change. I logged onto OuterAx and all of a sudden, NOBODY except Diana was there (well, every know and then Scooter would show up to poke the Pitbull with a sharp stick ).

I didn't know where everybody went. I thought I'd missed the Rapture or something (with apologies to Gerald who doesn't believe in the Rapture anymore). It took a month or two before I found out about Jude 2.

[Alan]

and CT was soliciting money for A WOF ministry in return for upgading to new forum software (the software now used here)

Strange to think he'd be trying to get money for him in return for upgrading to PHPbb. PHPbb is open source and very easy to install. I had it running on another site for some friends.

I was around "OuterAx" in the late 90's, I think I made it to it a couple of times after it moved, and then finally found my way here when I ran into Dwayne at the Ga. Men's Retreat a few years ago and he told me about it.

[Shellie]

Gerald wrote:

I remember two people that stood by me: Joey and Kenya.

Uhh, if I seem to remember, I backed you as well.

[EagerBeaver]

Yeah I never joined that-other-forum-that-shall-remain-nameless at all. I, like Rambo, was a member on the COGOP forums where we had a guy named BennyClarkson to deal with, and that was hilarious. I remember being part of a forum dedicated to the concerns and issues of the church, that was on the COGOP board.

I miss that old postnuke-based forum. They upgraded it to phpBB2 then killed it off completely and it wasn't any fun anymore.

[RuSKY]

My version is the result of cobweb covered memories from what seems a lifetime ago in view of recent events, and I oversimplified and left out a myriad of details.

The rest of the old-timers can correct my memories and fill in the details.

Hey, I meant no slam. Being that you got the bulldg siced on you due to what was essentialy just me, I did not know if you were being polite by not saying "Gerald raised such a stink that the owner kicked me out and began to censor heavily." or if I was overestimating my part in the whole affair.

I'd say you were definitely a major factor, and probably the catalyst.

Don't you guys forget to credit Vande for his help.
BTW, where is he I rarely see him post.

RuSKY