Forums to be closed

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po18guy

po18guy

Well-known member
A message upon signing in today:
A message from the President of Catholic Answers

Dear Members and Patrons of the Catholic Answers Forums,

On Thursday December 31 at 5pm PT, Catholic Answers will close the Catholic Answers Forums (CAF). I have made the decision to close the CAF after lengthy consultation with the Catholic Answers executive committee and board of trustees.

Because Catholic Answers has limited resources, we are always evaluating our programs to determine if they provide a good return on investment. I understand that the word “good” is interpreted subjectively. Opinions about the merits of the CAF range more widely than those concerning any of our other works. Some find them helpful, others contentious, others find them addictive, and still others find some of the content not suited to an apologetics apostolate and some of the content better suited to private spiritual direction and sacramental confession.

When we add to the inconclusive value of the forums, the significant cost in financial resources and personnel time to host, operate, and to what degree we can, govern them, Catholic Answers can no longer justify the effort. Our attempt to draw even a tenth of what they cost to operate through patronage was not successful. Some regular users of the Forums welcomed user fees. The vast majority wished to make use of the Forums for free. For our part, we need to make the best use we can of the gifts that donors to Catholic Answers give us to spread the Catholic Faith.

Recurring Patron donations will be discontinued on December 31. If you would like to continue supporting the work of Catholic Answers, you can donate here .

Thank you all for your support over the years and God bless.

Christopher Check
President, Catholic Answers
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Just one year ago, a cancer forum I was involved with (60,000 members) was summarily closed with two weeks notice. It seems like social media is trying to replace online forums.

It cannot, but the money is no longer here.
 
How very gracious of you to deign to join us filthy idiots.
 
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HoldFastTraditions said:
Catholic Answers is closing down beacause it is increasingly difficult for them to justify certain opinions which are in contradiction with Catholic Church Dogma.
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Such as? You keep spamming the same thing, and you don’t give an actual answer.
 
He’s a troll. He has nothing to say and isn’t interested in elaborating.
 
I guess that he did not see the disclaimer on each page:
“DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in these forums do not necessarily reflect those of Catholic Answers. For official apologetics resources please visit www.catholic.com”
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Unless…unless said poster was speaking of opinions which diverged from his opinions…
 
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Thank you for informing us, po18guy. I just caught that notice. Very sad but all good things must come to an end.

I made some good friends here, including those with differing views and even worldviews. It was so much fun and informative to boot. Going to miss the sharing and airing of ideas with good people.

What a year it has been! Happy holidays and good health to all.
 
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I’ve just got a few warnings. Which is weird. Sometimes, I let my temper get the better of me. Come on CAF, throw the book at me!
 
@ Jon_Sorensen @Christopher_Check

A modest suggestion: instead of closing down the Catholic Answers Forum completely, why not make it a service for paid subscribers ONLY.

I myself have been thinking about become a Patron but was undecided since I have some issues about the direction of this forum (a lack of content and focus in regards to the evangelization of our faith).

That said, I would more likely be willing to subscribe as a paid member to this forum if it only included paid members. I think the level of discourse would improve TREMENDOUSLY if this forum only included paid subscribers. (It would definitely flush out the trolls)

So Jon and Christopher, please consider what it would take (in a monthly subscription fee) and the amount of subscribers you would need to make this forum self-sufficient.

With a reduced amount of members in the forum (if it became a paid-subscriber only service), the costs of running and maintaining it should be less too.

Just a thought.
 
This is a sad day, but not unexpected. The writing has been on the wall for quite a while. I can’t quibble with one word of Chris Check’s explanation. I’m sad to see it go, but I appreciate that they are giving us 5 weeks after notification. It will interesting to see if they leave the threads up and archived, or if they all disappear. For years now I’ve been using the old threads as a great resource.

I made it 16 years with nary a suspension! 🥳

Edit: I would probably subscribe under @PeterT’s suggestion. The worthwhile contributors here are priceless. If the trolls and agenda posters were gone, the conversation would indeed improve tremendously. I was a monthly contributor for about 18 months some years ago and I’d do it again for that level of quality discourse.
 
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This is such very sad news. I come here every day and lurk about. I love the collection of regulars here, and this social interaction and insight here has really helped me with 2020. I hope they change their mind or have another option.

Is there somewhere else for us to go?
 
I’m somewhat surprised by this. I wonder if this decision had more than simply financial motives behind it.

There have been numerous times over the years where the forums were in danger of shutting down due to cost considerations. Then they would have a “Save the Forums” type of fundraiser, with one of those little goal thermometers.

But they didn’t do that this time. They simply said, “We’re done.” Kind of curious.
 
I have said that I would pay to use these forums IF my payment could be accepted by some other method that strictly online. I simply do NOT do financial transactions on the internet. I wouldn’t mind at all being able to send a check in the (snail) mail. Surely, a broader variety of payment options should be possible.

That said, I wish to convey that I have generally and specifically found these forums helpful, and I hope I have been helpful to at least some of the members here.
 
I’m sorry to see it go. I’ve enjoyed checking in. Does anyone know whether the Catholic Answers Facebook page will go away as well?
 
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