H-F Damage Control.....

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Greetings Saints in Jesus name!

How did the holyday of the 4th of July (U.S.A. Independence day) treat
you?  Did you all have a good and glorious time off from work?  Did you
spend it with family not seen in a long time?  Did you use the time to
catch up on work around the house?  Whatever you did, I sure hope it was
productive and helpful in whichever measure it is measure.

Prior to the holidays.... (late Wednesday 7-3-96 before I left work for
the weekend).... I set the H-F list to UNMODERATED kinda as a treat while
I and Richard was away vacationing so that all of the saints can continue
their "party-line" type conversations without our intervention.  It seems
like the general tone of H-F was safe enough for us to allow this to occur.

So, from about 5 pm on 3-July-1996 to about 8 am on 8-Jul-1996 (Central USA 
time), I had no control on what was posted to Higher-Fire.  There was a time 
on late Friday evening, I dialed in from my mother's computer to check to see 
what was going on and send out questionairres to those requesting H-F 
subscriptions (as well as early Saturday evening).  Other than that, H-F has 
been on auto-pilot (UNMODERATED).  But, such is not the case right now, I've
taken back the reigns of the list and it is once again a MODERATED list that
will require a moderator to approve/discard the messages posted.

As far as the tempers flaring about the current tragedy of the churches that
have been burning in the south, let us refer back to the netiquette document
that was prepared some months ago:

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 4.  Would you say it to the person's face or at church sanctuary 
     or fellowship hall?
 
If not, don't say it on Higher-Fire.
 
 5.  Are you angry?
 
If the primary motivation for the post is vindication or revenge, 
cool off first. Go kick a file cabinet, bite your dog, grab a hamburger
and french fries and chocolate milk shake, eat some ice cream, have a
cup of coffee, and pray before you reply.
 
11.  Does your post repeatedly bash another's opinions, integrity, or 
     intelligence?

Such an action may result in an internalization of directed shame.  We're
all born in sin.  And shaped in iniquity.  And saved by grace.  We don't need
someone else (other than ourselves) heaping words that cause bad feelings.
In a world that is constantly picking and tearing down the saint with 
relentless fervor, do we need brothers and sisters of like faith to do the
same?

Does the casting down of another's belief system put you on the pedestal of 
a prizefighter that's just gone for the kill?  If you said it and later 
realized your error, would you willing and able to gather enough humility 
to apologize to that person and others on Higher-Fire? 

My pastor would quote scripture saying "Out of the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaketh."  In this case, "Out of the abundance of the heart,
the fingers type."  A man is defiled by what proceeds out of his mouth.
Does the potential poisonous post you're about to submit reveal something
that might show an inner condition of the heart that needs more attention
than the submission of the post?

E.  Are you posting an opinion on a topic, or have you become the topic?
 
F.  Are you being disruptive?

G.  Has the discussion ground to a halt?
 
Sometimes, a discussion reaches the point where it is clear that neither
person is going to convince the other.  It is often best, in these instances,
to bow out gracefully.
 
Finally, do not subscribe to the theory that "some things just demand a
reply!"  Nothing demands a reply.  Sometimes it requires restraint to keep
from replying, but there's nothing wrong with remaining silent.  I only
know of one time that Jesus got angry and started shouting, even though
there were many provocations.  And when he did, he wasn't defending
himself, he was defending the sanctity of the house of God.

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I think mostly, the main thing to determine (before posting) is to find out
why you're posting.  What are you answering?  Why are you answering?  Are 
you answering for your own motives?  Can the language contained therein
ignite an argument, fan the flames, or spark a friendly conversation?  
Especially with the heated discussions as we can engage, we need to examine 
the "cause" for our post.  For that reason, we have the netiquette document 
that allows a "quick" review of the document and motives for different 
sentence content and compositions.  From a fairly level point of view.

I realize that the Holy Ghost was at work while I wasn't able to when the
thread about the church burnings was being posted about.  Many moons ago,
a thread like this could errupt the passions and postings into a major 
bru-ha-ha that apostolics would be ashamed of.  Higher-Fire is a calmer and
friendlier place to hang out and exchange thoughts and ideas than before.

Let us continue in glorifying the Lord!

Bro. Tyler
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| Bro. Tyler Nally   ---[ Higher-Fire Co-Owner and Moderator ]---       |_| |_ 
| Email addr : tgnally@prairienet.org  tnally@csci.csc.com              |_   _|
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