Regarding the present status and future of Religious Discussion

There have been a number of complaints regarding the Religious Discussion forum in the last week. Several of those complaints have been posted outside of the RD forum, not only disrespecting Genesis as Lead Moderator of RD by posting in a forum where she may or may not have knowledge of or access to the thread in question, also but disrespecting me and all staff members by violating the Terms of Service.

I'd like to make a few points on this subject:

• Religious Discussion is not closing. Genesis feels strongly that it should remain open, so it will.
• Religious Discussion was moved to a fully moderated format only after some forum participants repeatedly violated the Terms of Service. The decision was not made with intent to stifle discussion or suppress unpopular opinions; it was made in order to prevent "flame wars" and other problems that kept recurring, despite repeated warnings.
• Genesis and I are in the process of re-evaluating the current status of Religious Discussion. We ask that all forum members have patience while we work behind the scenes to address complaints and determine the course for the Religious Discussion forum.
• Participating on these forums is a privilege, not a right. The term "freedom of speech" does not apply to private organizations. This means that no speech on these forums is protected. Please do not misunderstand a fervent desire to provide an environment for healthy debate as a license entitling you to post whatever you please. Please review the decision in the Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier for more information on this point.
• Christian Gamers Alliance staff members are volunteers, not paid staff. We all have lives away from these forums, including college careers, full-time jobs, and children. Time spent serving this community is time not spent playing games, watching movies, or enjoying other leisure activities. Writing addresses such as this one also pulls time away from other programs, such as the upcoming Bible study program. We do not serve for our own glory, but it is very discouraging when people are so quick to complain and so slow to compliment or volunteer their own time and skills.
• I do not expect all people to agree with the decisions I make. While I try my hardest to serve this community to the best of my ability, I can not please all people all the time. If you do not agree with my decision, you are free to contact me privately to express your opinion, but that does not guarantee I will change CGA policy to meet your expectations. I am a flawed human leading an organization of flawed humans, all sustained by the loving grace of a Savior without flaws. I and other staff members may make mistakes, but we love the members of this community and sacrifice our time and energy to serve them to the best of our ability.
• You do not have to be rude, hostile, or inconsiderate to express your opinion. Alternatively, you do not have to "water down" or "sugar coat" your opinion to write a civil reply. It's quite possible to express your opinion without using sarcasm or launching a verbal attack on another forum member. Members are banned from this forum not for the opinions they express, but rather how they express them. Members who post hostile replies to other forum members and are subsequently banned are not "martyrs" facing religious persecution; they are members who violated the rules to which they agreed when they joined these forums and are being disciplined according to those same rules.
• This has been a discouraging experience. I do not speak for Genesis on this point; I speak only for myself. I was hoping that a Christian community would work first to encourage and uplift, but instead members have complained, violated the Terms of Service, and disrespected staff members. There have been few people who have approached me with words of encouragement--far fewer than those who have publicly posted complaints before contacting me or Genesis privately. During such times, it is easy to believe that people do not appreciate the time and effort staff members put into developing this organization.
• Any forum member who publicly posts complaints without first trying to resolve the matter privately will have his or her thread locked and/or deleted and possibly receive a warning or temporary ban. This rule applies to both both public and private (staff) forums. I have had to post regarding this new rule several times now as people have continued to ignore it. This will be the last time I post it before I begin locking threads and banning users. It is now included in the Terms of Service.
• More specifically: Any member posting any complaints about Religious Discussion outside of Religious Discussion and before contacting Genesis privately and allowing a reasonable amount of time for her to reply will be banned from the forums.

With that said, I ask that all forum members review the Terms of Service before making their next post.