Joshley Madison Pt 7: O Smuggar Where Art Thou?

[Themiscyran]

I believe there were several from FJ that were on last night. The rum was flowing so I may not remember correctly.

I read through again later and LOVED Muffy's "my hand often offends me when I'm online" comment. Well done to whoever Muffy is! :dance:

Zach Miri just might have been one of them, ahem. Sinning with both hands!

[chris]

I just checked out the RU livefeed link and saw the stills. Is it normal for Baptist churches to include an American flag and no cross or crucifix at the head of the church? I grew up WELS Lutheran (super conservative, super crazy) and those churches always had a cross prominently displayed above the altar as well as on the altar itself. Then again, I left the Christian faith a long time ago, so is the flag thing more prominent in churches now a days?

I also think the live feeds are an invasion of privacy. I wonder if they'll continue to do that, after yesterday's popularity.

I go to a LCMS church and I remember having the American flag and the "Christian cross" flag on either side of the alter area since at least the mid-1990s..but I wouldn't be surprised that the flag gained more prominence in the churches after 9-11

[Jessa's Feet]

If you're here to merely check in for updated gossip on Smugger, I find it's rather easy to just scroll through pages and just gloss through looking for any key things that might stick out. If I don't have the time or not up for reading through several pages to find if there's an update that's what I'll do until I can go through and read when I have the time.

It's not that hard? You don't have to actually read every single post to see if it contains an update. Just quickly scroll through a page and gloss over every other post reading the first line or two. Then move to the next page. It takes seconds. If that's all you're looking for at that moment.

Because I've found that if there is, indeed, something new to talk about you'll catch it in that quick gloss over because you'll realize that there's a theme in the posts and a general buzz/excitement. That's when you know you hit pay dirt and then you stay and read. You can even move back a page if you're afraid you've missed something when you've hit the goods. But it's generally very easy to sense when you've hit the goods without spending much time or giving much thought going through pages. Heck, sometimes you can read the first post and last post of each page and that's enough.

[Themiscyran]

I go to a LCMS church and I remember having the American flag and the "Christian cross" flag on either side of the alter area since at least the mid-1990s..but I wouldn't be surprised that the flag gained more prominence in the churches after 9-11

Pretty sure they had the Christian flag up there on the stage. My liberal American baptist college has used that for years, so it's not just a fundie thing.

[Mr.Bowie]

Zach Miri just might have been one of them, ahem. Sinning with both hands!

Haha!

And its just a gut feeling I have but I think Danica D'hillonsen may have a few more stories to share. I guess we'll find out next Friday. :stir-pot:

[gustava]

The live feed was just an RU meeting and Josh was not seen there. There is a link somewhere if you want to watch the service.

If I miss a large section of a thread I tend to just hit randomly along the page numbers to see if there seems to be a big hoohaa about anything interesting, But this particular thread is doing exactly what it says on the tin - talking about nothing because nothing is happening.

My 2 cents on the summary thread idea: in order for a summary thread to work, someone would have to take responsibility for it, and if they dropped the ball, it would roll to the already overstretched admin.

It's just not reasonable for members who don't have time to be here to expect recaps from everyone else, IMO. Unless individuals want to do so at times that suit them.

[tcach]

Long time Duggartrainwreck watcher, short time poster to FJ, and non-computer programmer here. Would it be possible/feasible for people posting with real new news to post the text in a different color? Perhaps the helpmeets would receive notification that there was a new post in the alert color and lock it in the appropriate color. Once changed it would be permanent.

Alternatively to not increase the workload of the helpmeets if something was not really new news anyone in the community could change the text color back to black and the helpmeets would be notified that there was a difference of opinion. They could then make the determination and lock it in.

[Seren Ann]

Why is it disingenuous to point out that other people, and the admin in particular, simply don't have time to make summary threads for the benefit of people who don't have time to read here?

Seriously, I think I understand what you would like to happen, and the reason why you would like it but, as it stands, Happy Atheist already makes a summary at the start of each thread. What else can or should she (or anyone else) do about the fact that you have a job, family and life to take care of?

I was as confused as hell by the last thread. I went out for a family party and came back unable to work out who was manicure manouvreing whom! But it didn't occur to me that I was being "left out" because my absence started when I went out of my own volition.

I think there is a comprehension issue here... I never said that it was disingenuous that people don't have the time to do threads etc. What I find disingenuous is the prevalent attitude where before you post you have to read every single thread in its entirety and woe betide you if you missed something and dare to speak up. Some people simply don't have the time, yet they can probably still contribute and they do deserve to be able to follow what's happening too.

As for the threads business, it would definitely have to be broken up between many people otherwise it would be too time-consuming. And it would take a lot to organise. It was the first idea I had a couple of days ago, but now I've thought more on it, I don't really think it's feasible... hence I didn't talk about it this time (another poster brought it up), I was thinking more along the lines of a blog-type thing. Pickles is not too bad at centralizing information if you filter out her political posts, but she only does the Duggars. The All About Bateses tumblr used to be great, but quality really took a nosedive when it changed hands. WTFfundiefamilies is pretty good too, she's just not always up to date on the latest, and doesn't follow all our fundie families. See, it's not a ridiculous or unfeasible idea. It would just need to be a collective effort, because it is indeed too much for one or two people to take on.

I am not asking to be catered to personally. Judging by the interest in the aforementioned facebook page and tumblrs, I think there would be a decent readership.

Happy Atheist does a great job with her summaries, they are really useful and I make a point to read them whenever she starts a new thread. But (this is not criticism, I understand very well why she can't) it is not very detailed, often the most recent news article or whatever is missing from the post and if you only read that you do miss quite a lot. There are also a few really good family summaries also in SOTDRT, but they are not always very up to date, and some families are missing.

Again, I never talked of feeling left out. That is not the case at all ! I understand that I manage my time (how very Maxwellian of me :lol: ), I make choices of how I want to or must spend it.

What I was talking about is simply that for people who are short on time, it would be great to have a place where the latest news, links etc. are centralized so that people can catch up quickly before they dive into the threads (or not, if they are really pressed for time). Also, it's a bit of a shame that there is little understanding of the "2nd type of poster" that cannot go back and read everything.

I like your idea tcach ! That could work if members are disciplined.

[blessalessi]

I don't think anyone should have to read all the threads before posting. That's not something I can manage myself either.

I just don't think it is feasible for new rules to be implemented for people who don't feel like reading all the threads, including for me, when I can't read all the threads.

I understand why others may want those things. If this were a pay site, I could imagine Curious might well want to pay staff to run new initiatives, in order to generate income and expand. But what we have here for free already is pretty awesome IMO. The summaries at the start of each thread part are a highlight for me. :)

[iweartanktops]

In my first year of college as I went to attend a fundy church with a friend (it was her home church), she nonchalantly whispered to me before entering to "oh and don't be worried about the speaking in tongues thing. it's no big deal, it's just that we're not allowed to get drunk with alcohol so if we want to let loose and act crazy we just kind of call it talking in tongues".

I found it bizarre because she just shrugged as if it was common knowledge and no big deal, but somehow she enjoyed and identified with the church herself. Just seemed a bizarre disconnect to me for an actual church member to say that aloud.

First time poster here! I *purposed* to read through the entire thread before posting, but I just couldn't get past this without responding re: visiting your friend's church. Wow! I grew up in a non-denominational and nowhere near fundy, church, and while I know many churches make a show of speaking in tongues, I find what she said absolutely horrifying! I'm sure it was a JOY to visit that church! Damn. "Since we can't get drunk..." I can't get over that!

[Snarkangel Gabriel]

Can someone please do me a summary of the discussion about the advantages or disadvantages of a summary of the discussion so far? Or maybe someone could start a separate thread which summarises every ten pages of the main thread? I think that everyone should also post any genuine updates in a different font and colour. Then, obviously someone else would have to summarise these (in a further font and colour) and maybe start another thread updating any updates in the main thread. Right now it seems I am expected to skim read posts myself to get a sense of what has happened and whether there are any updates on Josh or whether discussion has meandered off topic or whatever. This seems an awful lot to ask.

Another thing - since I am in the UK a lot of posting tends to happen in the evening US time which is when I am asleep. So when I wake up there can be a lot to review and it really isn't on. Can someone do a summary at about 2am EST every day so that, again, I don't have to do any of that terribly difficult skim reading?

;)

[blessalessi]

Another thing - since I am in the UK a lot of posting tends to happen in the evening US time which is when I am asleep.

;)

I'm glad it's not just me. Do you want to cosign a letter I'm sending to the RU Church, to ask them to hold next week's session at a better hour for us in the UK to troll the live feed? It's so inconsiderate of them to leave us out. :lol:

[alyciamc]

I'm a fairly new poster (new poster, long time lurker) and I find it impossible to keep up with things at times. Especially when it comes to smaller details. I don't always have time to sit and read through pages upon pages of posts.

However, generally, it is pretty easy to get the jist of what people are talking abou by skimming the last 3-4 pages of a thread. But like I said, it's still easy to lose little details.

Also, when somebody knew comes on, (speaking as the new person) there is no harm in being gracious, even if they're out of the loop, and answering their questions and getting them up to speed. It only takes two minutes and it only makes the board more inviting and informed. It also prevents people from feeling defensive, etc. Just my two cents.

[2manyKidzzz]

I do not mind doing a quick summary to get someone up to speed/clear up a question. I might not always catch on to all that is being said, but that's okay I guess.

[MakeItSo]

I cannot believe how many of the sarcastic comments are still up on that RU feed...I wonder if they leave them up because at first glance it looks like "oh wow! We had a lot of people watching last night! Look at all the response!" Little ego boost there? I cannot imagine them being so thick as to not get that many of those comments are blatantly snarkerific :lol:

[ArmchairTurnip]

It's my experience that fundies and sarcasm are sort of mutually exclusive. I'm not surprised at all that some of those posts slipped through.

[QuestioningQuivers]

I cannot believe how many of the sarcastic comments are still up on that RU feed...I wonder if they leave them up because at first glance it looks like "oh wow! We had a lot of people watching last night! Look at all the response!" Little ego boost there? I cannot imagine them being so thick as to not get that many of those comments are blatantly snarkerific :lol:

It would be hilarious to see them delete all but the " PTL!" and "JESUS" comments, so it looks like everyone was really loving what the speakers were talking about.

[VTSleeper]

A lot of the comments apply to what was happening at the time. Some don't seem snarky on their own. So there is even more snark than you realize at first blush.

[blessalessi]

I didn't see the live feed but the comments definitely look like FJ bombed the event.

Amateurs. Steve Maxwell would have edited all your usernames, and swapped your heathen comments for bible verses in almost real time. :lol:

[grandmadugger]

Some evangelical protestants will re-baptize people, esp if they were baptized as infants. Many of them don't regard infant Baptism as legit. It's not like RC or Episcopal or similar churches where you're baptized once and that's it, and it doesn't matter what denomination you were baptized into. I know the IFB says you need to be re-baptized if you were baptized as an infant. Some baptists call infant baptism "alien baptism," which always sounds a little X-Filesish to me, lol. The IFB also reject sprinkling as unBiblical, so it has to be full-immersion (thus a permanent baptistry is very handy b/c you need a pretty big pool.)

I don't see for sure that North Love is IFB, but even my alma mater's liberal American Baptist church building has a baptistry, and the Southern Baptists where I live now do re-Baptism for "aliens". I think those are pretty common.

I can't tell if that's a baptistry, though; you're right it looks like one of those weird interrogation windows. Maybe a cry room instead?

(edited for typos and clarity)

My local IFB won't take any baptism not done by anyone but a Baptist church. I was sprinkled as a kid in our Methodist church and later "rededicated" as a young adult with a full immersion. My pastor would not call it a baptism because "the first one took, it's not like Jesus up there going 'Well, she didn't get wet enough for me'" But when I started going, just a short time 2 months maybe, to the IFB church they told me I needed to be re-baptized for them. I kept hearing my old pastor's word, "the first one took" and promptly left that church.

[EmCatlyn]

I go to a LCMS church and I remember having the American flag and the "Christian cross" flag on either side of the alter area since at least the mid-1990s..but I wouldn't be surprised that the flag gained more prominence in the churches after 9-11

My husband says that in the High Church Episcopal church when he was an acolyte during the 1960s, the flag was part of the procession at the beginning of the service. He often complains that we don't value the flag as much any more. I find the idea of the flag in the procession rather too much and think it is just fine in the corner near the altar.

But I agree that the whole country, after a period of being rather hohum about the flag became really attached to it after 9-11. It probably made it more prominent in some Churches.

Do all fundies accept the cross in churches or are some of them worried about seeming to worship the cross--inanimate object-- instead of spiritual God?

[Mr.Bowie]

Can someone please do me a summary of the discussion about the advantages or disadvantages of a summary of the discussion so far? Or maybe someone could start a separate thread which summarises every ten pages of the main thread? I think that everyone should also post any genuine updates in a different font and colour. Then, obviously someone else would have to summarise these (in a further font and colour) and maybe start another thread updating any updates in the main thread. Right now it seems I am expected to skim read posts myself to get a sense of what has happened and whether there are any updates on Josh or whether discussion has meandered off topic or whatever. This seems an awful lot to ask.

Another thing - since I am in the UK a lot of posting tends to happen in the evening US time which is when I am asleep. So when I wake up there can be a lot to review and it really isn't on. Can someone do a summary at about 2am EST every day so that, again, I don't have to do any of that terribly difficult skim reading?

;)

I LOVE YOU, O' GREAT GOD MASTER OF SNARK !!!!!

[blessalessi]

We already have "lurking since YUKU" which I think covers it.

May I just say, for clarity, that I totally love the user titles, and I am currently using the dedicated "user title list" thread to work my way through FJ history. :D

So when I [constantly] make requests for new titles, I don't really expect you to leap into action, I am just massively enjoying the way that the slightest comment someone makes can become a part of FJ history, and am joining in the fun. :)

[happy atheist]

I like your idea tcach ! That could work if members are disciplined.

Our members are not disciplined. :lol:

[2manyKidzzz]

I am surprised that there have not been twit pics of JBoobandChellie out and about. Or they shop/go out in disguise. Just the one of JBoob coming out of a store.

I am shallow and would like to see more pics. Perhaps the stress would have caused JBoob to fall down on his hairstyling techniques. I don't mean to be cruel, but I guess I would like to see him with his hair amess. Maybe J'Chelle with a pony tail.

Who is shopping for them, or is the town protecting them? I do wonder.