Christianity forum needs at least 1 Catholic mod!

Tom Dunne

hinault wrote: »

I have to say I was surprised that not one single moderator in the Christianity section is a RC.

Does my explanation above answer that question for you?

hinault

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Does my explanation above answer that question for you?

No it doesn't.

You're merely repeating the same answer as supplied to me by the mods on the Christianity forum when the issue was raised initially.

philologos

hinault wrote: »

Is it fair that no moderator who is a RC has been appointed, to a forum where the topic is Christianity?

I suggest that you use this as a starting point.

That has already been covered. There is no reason why the Christianity forum cannot be run fairly for everyone without an RC moderator.

Should we have an Anglican moderator, a Methodist moderator, a Baptist moderator, a Lutheran moderator, a Presbyterian moderator, a Greek Orthodox moderator, a Redeemed Church of God moderator, a Seventh Day Adventist moderator, so on or so forth, or are we to be happy that Christian moderators are delegated to mod the forum?

As JimiTime said, moderators should be selected on merit. I could be equally as sore that neither of the moderators identify with my denomination of Christianity, but facts are they are doing a great job.

Why should you get a mod and I not, is what it comes down to! :pac:

Tom Dunne

hinault wrote: »

No it doesn't.

You're merely repeating the same answer as supplied to me by the mods on the Christianity forum when the issue was raised initially.

Ok, why should we appoint somebody based on their beliefs? What if that person simply didn't get Boards.ie, had a load of infractions and a load of bans from other forums?

This is not a religious issue, this is a Boards.ie issue.

hinault

Jakkass wrote: »

That has already been covered. There is no reason why the Christianity forum cannot be run fairly for everyone without an RC moderator.

Should we have an Anglican moderator, a Methodist moderator, a Baptist moderator, a Lutheran moderator, a Presbyterian moderator, a Greek Orthodox moderator, a Redeemed Church of God moderator, a Seventh Day Adventist moderator, so on or so forth, or are we to be happy that Christian moderators are delegated to mod the forum?

As JimiTime said, moderators should be selected on merit. I could be equally as sore that neither of the moderators identify with my denomination of Christianity, but facts are they are doing a great job.

Why should you get a mod and I not, is what it comes down to! :pac:

I find it surprising given the demographic that Roman Catholicism is within Christianity, that not one moderator who is Roman Catholic has been appointed to the Christianity forum.

I have no scientific fact to back this next point up but on the basis of the demographic above, I would feel certain that the Christianity thread has a number of RC contributors.
Of whom it would appear, none are deemed suitable to be moderators.

philologos

hinault wrote: »

I find it surprising given the demographic that Roman Catholicism is within Christianity, that not one moderator who is Roman Catholic has been appointed to the Christianity forum.

How have PDN, and Fanny Cradock treated Roman Catholic posters unfairly? This might lead you to think that imposing moderators on denomination is not needed.

Bearing in mind, irrespective of the demographic in global Christianity, it appears that there are more non-Catholics posting than not on the forum itself.

hinault wrote: »

I have no scientific fact to back this next point up but on the basis of the demographic above, I would feel certain that the Christianity thread has a number of RC contributors.
Of whom it would appear, none are deemed suitable to be moderators.

At present, we don't need any more moderators there. You're asking for special treatment for Roman Catholics above other Christian denominations in this case.

hinault

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Ok, why should we appoint somebody based on their beliefs? What if that person simply didn't get Boards.ie, had a load of infractions and a load of bans from other forums?

This is not a religious issue, this is a Boards.ie issue.

Obviously a moderator has to be someone who respects the rules/regulations of the board and is someone who is prepared to interact in a respectful way with fellow members.
I am in complete agreement with you.

I am certain that there must be posters on this site who are RC and who fit this criteria.

(I am not volunteering my services incidentally:D)

hinault

Jakkass wrote: »

How have PDN, and Fanny Cradock treated Roman Catholic posters unfairly? This might lead you to think that imposing moderators on denomination is not needed.



At present, we don't need any more moderators there. You're asking for special treatment for Roman Catholics above other Christian denominations in this case.

I am not prepared to comment on the performance of the two mods that you have cited.
This would be unfair them and more importantly it would be unfair to me.

philologos

hinault wrote: »

I am not prepared to comment on the performance of the two mods that you have cited.
This would be unfair them and more importantly it would be unfair to me.

It would appear that if you haven't looked into how the moderation actually happens on the Christianity forum or observed how PDN and Fanny Craddock do their job that it is a bit gratuitous to suggest that another moderator is needed.

A moderator should not be just imposed for the sake of being a Roman Catholic, but should be imposed i) for having good stead on Boards.ie, ii) being knowledgeable about the Christian faith, iii) where needed.

old_aussie

PDN wrote: »

So you think that those threads have been moderated wrongly, or in a biased way?

Looks like it

Tom Dunne

hinault wrote: »

I am certain that there must be posters on this site who are RC and who fit this criteria.

No doubt there are. But two things have not occurred:

1: There has not been a requirement for a moderator on that forum.

We do not appoint moderators just because of certain demographics, we appoint moderators on a needs basis. If the forum was busy, if a mod was stepping down, or if there was a specific requirement, we would look at appointing a mod. If there are accusations of bias, or unfair moderating, I'm all ears. So far, I have not seen any evidence.

2: If the above were to happen, nobody has been recommended. If somebody was, religious beliefs would not be the overriding factor.

Tom Dunne

old_aussie wrote: »

Looks like it

So, do something about it.

Give me proof and I'll look into it.

ISAW

hinault wrote: »

I find it surprising given the demographic that Roman Catholicism is within Christianity, that not one moderator who is Roman Catholic has been appointed to the Christianity forum.

I have no scientific fact to back this next point up but on the basis of the demographic above, I would feel certain that the Christianity thread has a number of RC contributors.
Of whom it would appear, none are deemed suitable to be moderators.

i would have some sympathy for the view that there is anti Catholic forces at work in the media etc. Just as ther is anti fianna Fáil people in politics. But the question is whether boards.ie reenforces such a bias (int eh Christianity forum0
and whether just having a mod who is a Catholic will change that. I would say "no" to both questions.

ISAW

Tom Dunne wrote: »

No doubt there are. But two things have not occurred:

1: There has not been a requirement for a moderator on that forum.

We do not appoint moderators just because of certain demographics, we appoint moderators on a needs basis. If the forum was busy, if a mod was stepping down, or if there was a specific requirement, we would look at appointing a mod. If there are accusations of bias, or unfair moderating, I'm all ears. So far, I have not seen any evidence.

At the risk of being flippant I am reminded of "only the True Messiah would claim not to be the Messiah" or words to that effect

The problem with this particular mod issue is that some Catholics are claiming to represent the Catholic position, just as i have. in doing so they quote official Church documents just as I have. But the church position is vested in those with ordinary power and through Imprimatur and nihil obstat. None of the posters have such authority so I can't see what the point in having a "Catholic" mod is if similar "official position" posters 9 and i would include myself in this) could latter claim that that Catholic mod has not got the correct "official" position anyway.

How is appointing a catholic doing anything positive?

hinault

Jakkass wrote: »

It would appear that if you haven't looked into how the moderation actually happens on the Christianity forum or observed how PDN and Fanny Craddock do their job that it is a bit gratuitous to suggest that another moderator is needed.

A moderator should not be just imposed for the sake of being a Roman Catholic, but should be imposed i) for having good stead on Boards.ie, ii) being knowledgeable about the Christian faith, iii) where needed.

I have posted quite a bit on the Christianity forum.

Tom Dunne

ISAW wrote: »

But the question is whether boards.ie reenforces such a bias

Given the nature of the site, we will always be accused of being pro-this or anti-that. We are in a no win situation.

Only this week the site was accused of being pro-hunting. Recently we were anti-Chelsea. A while back we were anti-muslim. We can't win.

What we can do is investigate any accusations of bias and deal with them accordingly.

hinault

Tom Dunne wrote: »

No doubt there are. But two things have not occurred:

1: There has not been a requirement for a moderator on that forum.

We do not appoint moderators just because of certain demographics, we appoint moderators on a needs basis. If the forum was busy, if a mod was stepping down, or if there was a specific requirement, we would look at appointing a mod. If there are accusations of bias, or unfair moderating, I'm all ears. So far, I have not seen any evidence.

2: If the above were to happen, nobody has been recommended. If somebody was, religious beliefs would not be the overriding factor.

Who consititutes "we" in this instance?

Are you part of the decision making as to who is appointed as a modertor on the Christianity forum?

Tom Dunne

hinault wrote: »

Who consititutes "we" in this instance?

Are you part of the decision making as to who is appointed as a modertor on the Christianity forum?

Yes, as a site Admin, I am.

The Christianity forum is no different to any other forum on the site - Admins get the final say in who is/is not appointed a moderator. This is after consultation with the incumbent mods and the category moderators.

Plowman

This post has been deleted.

hinault

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Yes, as a site Admin, I am.

The Christianity forum is no different to any other forum on the site - Admins get the final say in who is/is not appointed a moderator. This is after consultation with the incumbent mods and the category moderators.

OK.

Thanks for clarifying that for me, Tom.

smurfhousing

ISAW wrote: »

More specific references would be helpful e.g. quotes from actual messages.

1. As I have pointed out in the above threads the "Catholic " posters post what they claim is the Catholic position.

Indeed I post what I claimed is the Roman Catholic position as I have posted what I claim is the Islamic position or the IRA position in other threads. I don't have to be a Catholic IRA member or Islamic to do so and I don't think having an "offficial" ( pununintended) IRA member will really assist a discussion about the IRA.

You misrepresented the Catholic position in at least one instance [ http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=66591841&postcount=221 ], and I corrected you. It was about Church teaching concerning AIDS and condoms. If you are going to quote the Church teaching, you need to make sure it is actually the Church teaching and not your own interpretation of it, which in at least one case was totally wrong.

The problem with having a Catholic moderator, if they aren't orthodox, is that they could be looked upon as some kind of mouthpiece for the Magisterium. The last thing we need is a liberal 'Catholic' moderator who distorts and misrepresents Catholic teachings.

smurfhousing

ISAW wrote: »

Th think is these people who post representing Catholicism as i have pointed out do not have "Ordinary power" in other words they claim that the local Church Authority must be obeyed but they themselves are not the local authority. they have no "Imprimatur" or pronouncement of "nihil obstat". To be in a strictly Catholic authoritative position, by their own claims, they would have to have that.

So the short version on 1 is - A "Catholic mod" of the level they claim would most likely be doing other things.

That's erroneous. Nobody has said anywhere what you are claiming. We can present the Catholic teaching by quoting the Catholic Catechism or other official Church teaching documents, without spin, without distortion. I don't need to be a Bishop to do that. I am watching out for those who do misrepresent Church teachings though... (see directly above post).

philologos

smurfhousing wrote: »

The problem with having a Catholic moderator, if they aren't orthodox, is that they could be looked upon as some kind of mouthpiece for the Magisterium. The last thing we need is a liberal 'Catholic' moderator who distorts and misrepresents Catholic teachings.

Wouldn't it then be much easier to leave things as they are. Most likely even if this were to go ahead, the Boards.ie admins wouldn't select a moderator that you'd be happy with. Would it really be better if this happened?

smurfhousing

Jakkass wrote: »

Wouldn't it then be much easier to leave things as they are. Most likely even if this were to go ahead, the Boards.ie admins wouldn't select a moderator that you'd be happy with. Would it really be better if this happened?

Of the Catholics who post here, those with a proven track record for orthodoxy could be considered. Otherwise, I'd forget it.

Orthodoxy being discerned simply by their faithful adherence to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Pope and the Bishops in union with him, and their acceptance of Magisterial Church teachings in full, without a shadow of dissent.

philologos

smurfhousing wrote: »

Of the Catholics who post here, those with a proven track record for orthodoxy could be considered. Otherwise, I'd forget it.

This isn't how moderation selection works on Boards.ie. I mean who has stopped you articulating your views on the Christianity forum at present?

me_right_one

Well either way, Catholic mod or not, the anti-Catholic bias on this site is rampant and I cant see it changing anytime soon

smurfhousing

Jakkass wrote: »

This isn't how moderation selection works on Boards.ie. I mean who has stopped you articulating your views on the Christianity forum at present?

The Catholic Church has a clear, definitive position. Liberals within the Church try hard and with great success (note the last 40 years of destruction for instance) to subvert the Catholic Faith. What I am concerned about is a liberal 'Catholic' who might use their position as moderator to distort and misrepresent Catholic teachings. I'm not saying it would happen but it could happen.

smurfhousing

me_right_one wrote: »

Well either way, Catholic mod or not, the anti-Catholic bias on this site is rampant and I cant see it changing anytime soon

Yeah I agree. Outside the relatively safe confines of the Christianity forum, anti-Catholicism is rampant on boards.ie. It's like walking through Dublin city centre on a Friday night in clerical garb!

Tom Dunne

me_right_one wrote: »

Well either way, Catholic mod or not, the anti-Catholic bias on this site is rampant and I cant see it changing anytime soon

And there it is.

And I can't believe it took until page 4 of this thread for the site to be accused of being anti-Catholic.

I'll add it to the list.

smurfhousing

Tom Dunne wrote: »

And there it is.

And I can't believe it took until page 4 of this thread for the site to be accused of being anti-Catholic.

I'll add it to the list.

There's nothing funny or shocking about it. Boards.ie is a hotbed of anti-Catholic hatred and vitriol. It is probably representative of Ireland at the moment, sadly. If boards.ie is trying to be representative, then perhaps they are doing a good job.:(

The site may not be anti-Catholic per se, but if it's a playground for anti-Catholics, in the absence of effective moderation, then one could conclude that the site itself is anti-Catholic.

They do say anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice.