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FrankFletcher
Guest
I wonder what the percentage is. I see “patron” on so few accounts.
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Possibly, but I don’t believe it. The “business” is not only a business. They have also an apologetic mission, and was created to defend the Catholic position toward incisor evangelicals .
We can see and fear the high number of users who ended up suspended forever.
To be ban could create a strong feeling of rejection. It also excluded them from a virtual catholic place of socialization where they may have create special links with some others posters.
What becomes the suspended people? How are their spiritual life is going?
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I am sure that it is only a very small percentage. Many people are register but use the forum for only one thread and leave or only for a few months. So they will not pay. And for the regular users, we already see few patrons yet.
It may change in the future when the message will be better known.
I think the need to unblock the advertising will prevent some users to come back to the forum or new people to create an account.
Personally, the fact that I am aboard prevent me from contributing. I don’t want to engage myself to pay in dollars with inscructions in foreign language that I may not understand fully and with no possibility of asking someone if I have a problem. The fact that the contribution is montly and not a single time one is crippling. I am not sure that I will be able to stop, as I don’t master these procedures. And finally a montly contribution is really high cost on the end.
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Tis_Bearself
Patron
I suspect their spiritual life is going just fine, but we are the worse off for not havig the wisdom of many of the good posters like Don Ruggero, nunsense, angel and others who left after a suspension. I considered leaving after a past suspension myself, but decided against it for now.
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CRV
Guest
At the time of writing this there are 42 Patrons.
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CRV
Guest
I just installed Adblocker on my tablet (on now), but couldnt add the forum to the whitelist as I got a message popup that the url is invalid. 
So I turned it off, but still got the “Oops you’re using” popup. Couldnt even log in, as the only option I had was to click on the joining to be a patron in blue link. Tapping anywhere else etc had no other effect. So i had to uninstall it.
I just think this is almost like being held to ransom, co-operate and become a patron otherwise we won’t let you in. I dont have an adblocker on my phone due to the same issues.
So I turned it off, but still got the “Oops you’re using” popup. Couldnt even log in, as the only option I had was to click on the joining to be a patron in blue link. Tapping anywhere else etc had no other effect. So i had to uninstall it.
I just think this is almost like being held to ransom, co-operate and become a patron otherwise we won’t let you in. I dont have an adblocker on my phone due to the same issues.
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Pattylt
Guest
Seems that way…a kind of catch-22! I guess I really don’t know how my browser would work since I’m now a patron. Before this change to CAF, my pop up blocker worked like a charm…except for the video for catholic matchmaking. If I ever stop being a patron and yet the site becomes unusable if my blocker is on, I will have to bow out.
I realize the ads pay for free CAF and they probably are responding to pressure from the ad agency that pays them to show ads. My only freedom left, I. That case, would be to not use the site. I prefer to pay for patronage as I want to support the site…but not by watching ads! We all have a line in the sand somewhere…
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CRV
Guest
Personally, I so much prefer that it is run by a lay apostolate/organization than run by the Church!! At the speed at which the Church moves, in her wisdom, glitches, problems, formatting, moderating issues would take too long to be resolved generally. Have you ever been on a parish council? Sometimes due to personality conflicts, some things never “get passed or resolved or acted upon”!!
At least we have an active mod, Web Admin (when necessary) now, though we could do with some more active mods, I think.
At least we have an active mod, Web Admin (when necessary) now, though we could do with some more active mods, I think.
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Polak
Guest
I get a similar feeling. I am not going to give money to a website that has unjustly suspended me twice recently. I have also had quite long periods where I don’t post anything on here, so I’m not going to pay a monthly fee. It does however look like they are slowly trying to pressure people into becoming a patron. Don’t want to pay, then you’ll see some ads. Have an ad blocker, can’t read the website until you turn it off.
I know many websites have a similar ultimatum for readers, but I didn’t expect to see it here. I read various news websites, but for example I can’t read the Daily Mail websites anymore, because it’s so littered with ads on the page it makes reading articles intolerable.
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CRV
Guest
Yes, I know there are websites out there that are behind a paywall, as I’ve encountered those, but these are secular businesses. I just go to read the same story elsewhere.
I guess what annoyed me was even though I had my adblocker turned off, it still wasn’t enough to allow me to see the forums, read or even log in. I had to uninstall it!
And to me, that’s like dictating what apps/programs I can have installed on my devices.
Sure, by all means turn the adblocker off or add the forums web address to the apps whitelist so it is excluded from the ads being blocked, therefore they are seen, as this is how financial income is generated - which I have no problem with.
But this wasn’t an option in my experience as even with it off - I still got the majority of the screen blocked by the “Oops you’re using…” which didn’t go away until I uninstalled the app.
I’ll state for the record - I really cannot financially afford to become a Patron (monthly fee) as I only very occasionally support my own parish in $$ which is why I support it instead in time and talent.
I guess what annoyed me was even though I had my adblocker turned off, it still wasn’t enough to allow me to see the forums, read or even log in. I had to uninstall it!
And to me, that’s like dictating what apps/programs I can have installed on my devices.
Sure, by all means turn the adblocker off or add the forums web address to the apps whitelist so it is excluded from the ads being blocked, therefore they are seen, as this is how financial income is generated - which I have no problem with.
But this wasn’t an option in my experience as even with it off - I still got the majority of the screen blocked by the “Oops you’re using…” which didn’t go away until I uninstalled the app.
I’ll state for the record - I really cannot financially afford to become a Patron (monthly fee) as I only very occasionally support my own parish in $$ which is why I support it instead in time and talent.
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Wampa
Guest
Here’s one practical way you can avoid, or at least reduce, having your posts edited.
Following this rule from the ‘If You See a Problem, Flag It’ section of the FAQ:
“When you see bad behavior, don’t reply. It encourages the bad behavior by acknowledging it, consumes your energy, and wastes everyone’s time. Just flag it. If enough flags accrue, action will be taken, either automatically or by moderator intervention.”
I see people replying to obvious trolls all the time. When the mods eventually suspend the troll and remove their posts, I assume that they then go through the thread and remove the comments specifically referring to the troll, lest the thread no longer make sense.
If you simply report them and move on without replying, the thread will read nicely once the troll is removed and the thread can live out its normal lifespan without any reference to the troll.
Following this rule from the ‘If You See a Problem, Flag It’ section of the FAQ:
“When you see bad behavior, don’t reply. It encourages the bad behavior by acknowledging it, consumes your energy, and wastes everyone’s time. Just flag it. If enough flags accrue, action will be taken, either automatically or by moderator intervention.”
I see people replying to obvious trolls all the time. When the mods eventually suspend the troll and remove their posts, I assume that they then go through the thread and remove the comments specifically referring to the troll, lest the thread no longer make sense.
If you simply report them and move on without replying, the thread will read nicely once the troll is removed and the thread can live out its normal lifespan without any reference to the troll.
Yes or no… This flag rule had two sides. It prevents that one debate go on fire, to regret later what we had wrotten and ourselves to be edited or suspended.
But you are wrong in the sense that the more we flag, the more everybody including us will be censured. It is not just trolls who are flag. It is basically every post where someone feel offensed. I think the great majority of regular user had at least one post remooved or edited. When someone is punished, it does not mean they are automatically bad people, or bad Catholics
Every people has their more or less on control emotions, their bads , their trials.
Conclusion: we should be moderate when flagging, as well as when we answer to someone. It is difficult sometimes but need to keep a “civilized” place and preserve others people feelings and self-esteem.
But you are wrong in the sense that the more we flag, the more everybody including us will be censured. It is not just trolls who are flag. It is basically every post where someone feel offensed. I think the great majority of regular user had at least one post remooved or edited. When someone is punished, it does not mean they are automatically bad people, or bad Catholics
Every people has their more or less on control emotions, their bads , their trials.
Conclusion: we should be moderate when flagging, as well as when we answer to someone. It is difficult sometimes but need to keep a “civilized” place and preserve others people feelings and self-esteem.
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Wampa
Guest
I can’t quite follow what you’re saying, but I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing. I’m talking about really clear, obvious trolling. Stuff where any forum veteran can tell the person is going to be suspended as soon as mods get a look at their posts. I only flag extremely bad behavior. I read CAF every day and might do 1-2 flags per month.
For example, I’m talking about a scenario where a conversation is moving along just fine when suddenly a brand new account shows up posting over-the-top inflammatory replies that are obviously composed simply to rile up certain people. Those are the kinds of things that no one should reply to, but many do.
If everyone just flags those, then the moderation process in place works perfectly and the thread eventually returns to normal. And you don’t get your comment moderated, which is pretty much guaranteed to happen if you break the rule and respond to trolls.
For example, I’m talking about a scenario where a conversation is moving along just fine when suddenly a brand new account shows up posting over-the-top inflammatory replies that are obviously composed simply to rile up certain people. Those are the kinds of things that no one should reply to, but many do.
If everyone just flags those, then the moderation process in place works perfectly and the thread eventually returns to normal. And you don’t get your comment moderated, which is pretty much guaranteed to happen if you break the rule and respond to trolls.
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1Lord1Faith
Guest
That’s the single biggest problem with the entire internet. People are so quick to shot from the hip because there really aren’t any consequences for it on the internet. How did we go from Barney and participation trophies to this? I think someone out there needs a hug.
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RolandThompsonGunner
Guest
Serious question: what do you expect them to do? How are they supposed to pay to keep the place up and running if people don’t want to become patrons and don’t want ads?
I just don’t get where people think the money is supposed to come from.
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oldgraymare2
Guest
I was on a private forum for awhile that was meant to have very little moderation.
The members were expected to practice self-control.
It may seem like that may be a fun idea, where “anything goes,” in a sense.
It wasn’t fun, and I ended up leaving.
The atmosphere on the forum became very negative, and many people ended up leaving it.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
I was on an unmoderated forum on Facebook that started as a large community group for residents of a certain town. It was for discussion of local history and some current events, like fires, storms, lost pets, porch pirates, fun stuff to do in town etc.
The original moderator suddenly passed away. Unfortunately he did not designate any additional admins, and repeated requests to Facebook for help in naming a new admin for a group that had a few thousand people in it were completely ignored.
Eventually word got out there was no moderation, and the group was taken over by people who post political rants and memes all day, many of them offensive. It was literally nothing but angry political posts all day long. Those of us who wanted to continue the community discussion had to leave and start other moderated groups.
The original moderator suddenly passed away. Unfortunately he did not designate any additional admins, and repeated requests to Facebook for help in naming a new admin for a group that had a few thousand people in it were completely ignored.
Eventually word got out there was no moderation, and the group was taken over by people who post political rants and memes all day, many of them offensive. It was literally nothing but angry political posts all day long. Those of us who wanted to continue the community discussion had to leave and start other moderated groups.
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Polak
Guest
Well this forum has been around for a very long time, and they didn’t fill it with ads and try to persuade member to become patrons in the past. What has changed? Were they getting donations from generous people or something, and now that’s dried up? They were clearly able to run this place before, so now, I don’t know, perhaps they want to profit from it?
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