Describe the Nature of the FFF as you have seen it through its various forums

[FSSL]

We are on the 4th (?) permutation of the FFF. How would some of you old-timers describe the differences?

 

[Bob H]

That's a tough one. I'd have to put some thought into it. We were a "tad bit" meaner back then. Also skin was a little thicker back in the day....except for...nevermind 

 

[ALAYMAN]

The original incarnation (which I barely missed) was apparently just a Jack Hyles lampoon-fest.  The second iteration was a wild slug-fest of folks fighting out similar issues that you hear about on this one, but the depth of it was much richer (Phil Johnson, Edwards, etc).  The third form of it (FFF.net) became a slimepit, and Barry (our illustrious OP starter) brought us this jewel, which is shallow as the Kardashians.

 

[Fresh Air]

The original incarnation (which I barely missed) was apparently just a Jack Hyles lampoon-fest.  The second iteration was a wild slug-fest of folks fighting out similar issues that you hear about on this one, but the depth of it was much richer (Phil Johnson, Edwards, etc).  The third form of it (FFF.net) became a slimepit, and Barry (our illustrious OP starter) brought us this jewel, which is shallow as the Kardashians.

What he said, roughly. My favorite is still the second. What was that, 15 years ago, give or take? Good times...

 

[Ransom]

The first iteration was freewheeling. It had minimal rules and minimal moderation - just enough to keep things generally civil, if heated. Lots of traffic, and lots of good theological discussions thanks to a number of thoughtful posters (e.g. Phil Johnson, Edwards, Coyote, CorpseNoMore, and others) who brought a counterpoint to some of the extremes of the psycho-fundies and Jack Hyles worshippers.

The second iteration happened when Don finally rebooted the forum on phpBB instead of the obsolete Miva platform it had been on. The character of the forum was pretty much the same, until Katrina happened, and with Don trying to rebuild his destroyed church and town, the trolls and spammers moved in and it became anarchic. Finally Don shut it down.

The third iteration, Andrew's, was somewhat tamer since he moderated a bit more strictly. Unfortunately, when he sold it to owners that couldn't care less about it, it turned into a haven for link spam, I Am Am Angel's spew, and so forth.

This iteration is much like the first apart from the updated software, only a little tamer, perhaps. Not as many weirdos and psycho-fundies around anymore.  I don't know what to blame for that. Perhaps with the demise of Hyles and the subsequent decline of FBCH in influence, there aren't as many around. Traffic is considerably lower, too, but I figure social media is responsible for that. Still lots of people around, but they're spending more of their time in other places, too. That's probably true of forums of this kind, overall.

 

[praise_yeshua]

All the forums have been freewheeling. Andrew was a pain. He was far too selective in how he governed. Which is pretty much evident in his primary focus on his "other" forum.

Quality is all about the posters. Some are gone. Some don't participate and others were never as good as they thought they were.....

Overall. I agree with Ransom. Social media has pretty much left the "forum" behind. Its not entirely left behind. Just suffering a little. There is so much information to capture the mind anymore........

That..... and the fundies have pretty much self destructed. Lies pretty much live for a lifetime...... in this digital age.

 

[praise_yeshua]

All the forums have been freewheeling. Andrew was a pain. He was far too selective in how he governed. Which is pretty much evident in his primary focus on his "other" forum.

Quality is all about the posters. Some are gone. Some don't participate and others were never as good as they thought they were.....

Overall. I agree with Ransom. Social media has pretty much left the "forum" behind. Its not entirely left behind. Just suffering a little. There is some much information to capture the mind anymore........

That and the fundies have pretty much self destructed. Lies pretty much live for a lifetime...... in this digital age.

From what I see on Facebook - lots of folks self-publishing their brand of ideology with more control. My guess is that the forum was their platform in the past and they have moved on ...

They have more control over such content. They can endless edit what they write and even be selective in who sees what they say. You don't get that level of control in this environment. Which is one of the reasons I like this environment much better. Others don't. There is a reason they don't....

 

[Tim]

All the forums have been freewheeling. Andrew was a pain. He was far too selective in how he governed. Which is pretty much evident in his primary focus on his "other" forum.

Quality is all about the posters. Some are gone. Some don't participate and others were never as good as they thought they were.....

Overall. I agree with Ransom. Social media has pretty much left the "forum" behind. Its not entirely left behind. Just suffering a little. There is some much information to capture the mind anymore........

That and the fundies have pretty much self destructed. Lies pretty much live for a lifetime...... in this digital age.

From what I see on Facebook - lots of folks self-publishing their brand of ideology with more control. My guess is that the forum was their platform in the past and they have moved on ...

They have more control over such content. They can endless edit what they write and even be selective in who sees what they say. You don't get that level of control in this environment. Which is one of the reasons I like this environment much better. Others don't. There is a reason they don't....

I always viewed a forum kind of like a dinner party. Though - I viewed it more like a masked dinner party for awhile. LOL

 

[Walt]

The first iteration was freewheeling. It had minimal rules and minimal moderation - just enough to keep things generally civil, if heated. Lots of traffic, and lots of good theological discussions thanks to a number of thoughtful posters (e.g. Phil Johnson, Edwards, Coyote, CorpseNoMore, and others) who brought a counterpoint to some of the extremes of the psycho-fundies and Jack Hyles worshippers.

The second iteration happened when Don finally rebooted the forum on phpBB instead of the obsolete Miva platform it had been on. The character of the forum was pretty much the same, until Katrina happened, and with Don trying to rebuild his destroyed church and town, the trolls and spammers moved in and it became anarchic. Finally Don shut it down.

The third iteration, Andrew's, was somewhat tamer since he moderated a bit more strictly. Unfortunately, when he sold it to owners that couldn't care less about it, it turned into a haven for link spam, I Am Am Angel's spew, and so forth.

This iteration is much like the first apart from the updated software, only a little tamer, perhaps. Not as many weirdos and psycho-fundies around anymore.  I don't know what to blame for that. Perhaps with the demise of Hyles and the subsequent decline of FBCH in influence, there aren't as many around. Traffic is considerably lower, too, but I figure social media is responsible for that. Still lots of people around, but they're spending more of their time in other places, too. That's probably true of forums of this kind, overall.

I like this summary; I think I found FFF 7 years ago, or thereabouts.  Stopped doing much for a couple of years when the board wasn't responding.  I'm getting back in the habit these days.

 

[Bob H]

........... Lots of traffic, and lots of good theological discussions thanks to a number of thoughtful posters.....

I thought about adding that also. "Friends" and "enemies" were a "tad bit" smarter back then.

 

[Ransom]

I thought about adding that also. "Friends" and "enemies" were a "tad bit" smarter back then.

However, that was a reaction to the then-current state of the FFF. It was before my time, but as I heard it from CNM and/or Coyote, the resident fundies were discussing nothing deeper than tattoos and body piercings, so they and others decided to step in and raise the bar a little.

 

[PappaBear]

A sucker's game
What a shame
Could have been so much more
Lots we should explore
Instead it was a trap
Characters running all over the map
jackHyles.net was the bait
Not someone to appreciate.
Under the innocent guise of discussion
It devolved into more than just fuss'n
It became way too personal for many
Who had to get the scoop and the skinny
They exposed and bedeviled
They divided and disheveled
Till all that was left
Was one big mess

 

[Jim Jones]

Don deserves all the credit.

 

[Bob H]

Don deserves all the credit.

We'll figure out who you were. Ya might as well fess up 

 

[HeDied4U]

All the forums have been freewheeling. Andrew was a pain. He was far too selective in how he governed. Which is pretty much evident in his primary focus on his "other" forum.

Quality is all about the posters. Some are gone. Some don't participate and others were never as good as they thought they were.....

Overall. I agree with Ransom. Social media has pretty much left the "forum" behind. Its not entirely left behind. Just suffering a little. There is so much information to capture the mind anymore........

That..... and the fundies have pretty much self destructed. Lies pretty much live for a lifetime...... in this digital age.

If I may go off-topic for a sec, if you're referring to the BB, I believe he sold it. If you're not referring to the BB, then carry on.

 

[PappaBear]

Don deserves all the credit.

We'll figure out who you were. Ya might as well fess up 

Ya reckon it could be a guitar-wielding charismaniac from the olden days? Or perhaps one of his relatives?

 

[Izdaari]

Yes, forums are a dated format these days.  Some of our user base has migrated to Facebook.

But this is still a pretty good place, though there is a tendency to wangle endlessly over minute points and beat dead horses. That always seems to be the case when a post gets several pages long. It's not coincidental that I've usually bowed out by then.

 

[Smellin Coffee]

Don deserves all the credit.

We'll figure out who you were. Ya might as well fess up 

Ya reckon it could be a guitar-wielding charismaniac from the olden days? Or perhaps one of his relatives?

Hmmmm...interesting....

 

[ALAYMAN]

]
Ya reckon it could be a guitar-wielding charismaniac from the olden days? Or perhaps one of his relatives?

Memory fails me, what was it that G always used to shout?  Was it "staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanderdz"?

 

[ALAYMAN]

I thought that was Escapee.

Yes, that's right. 

Maybe it was "Preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeach!"