daved (daved)
06-30-2005, 08:26 PM
Dear FACTNet User,
Against all odds, FACTNet has survived.
In fact, the website content is growing at an enormous rate. The website
is now transferring almost 600 gigabytes of FREE healing and empowering
educational information a month to victims of cults and mind control all
over the world!
When we installed the new and upgraded discussion board we did not
realize that we were grabbing a tiger by the tail. We thought that, if
we provided a forum for discussion, it would be a great proactive step
in getting people to assist each other. Boy, are they talking!
The FACTNet discussion board now has a total of more than 153,000 posts.
New posts are accruing at the rate of about 450 posts per day.
The discussion board has become a great resource for people who want
expose malpractices, for people who want healing, for researchers to
find information and last – but not least - for those who want to defend
their organizations from perceived attacks. We have allowed all parties
to have their say. We have kept moderation to a minimum.
We get thanks from both sides of the spectrum. This gives us hope. It
implies that even the die-hards are beginning to understand that the
only way forward is for organizations to become more transparent.
Dialogue and transparency are intrinsically good. These values benefit all.
What also gives us hope is that people are learning how to use the
internet to disseminate information. They are learning about the
technologies available to them. They are learning how to present their
case. They are learning how to communicate.
This is not to imply that everything is rosy. The more that information
penetrates into new regions, the more abuse is brought to light. In this
regard, the FACTNet discussion board is morphing into new territories.
In the past year, we have seen an enormous growth of Christians
disenchanted with their organizations making their way to the discussion
board. Some have lost their faith because they were burnt. Some have
rediscovered their faith once they left abusive organizations. Now they
are talking. And this is a good thing. FACTNet respects the fact that
all people are on a journey of discovery.
Necessary Important Policy Improvements for Our Discussion Boards:
Originally, FACTNet tried to keep discussion group moderation to a
minimum. We did this in the hope that guided by the FAQ - which is at
http://www.factnet.org/FAQ_Discussion_Board.htm - people might be able
control their behavior.
We have found this not to be true. Consequently, we have instituted a
more radical approach to solving this problem. We are blocking IP
Addresses and User Accounts of those people that have continued to:
1) spam the discussion board,
2) attempt to disable the discussion board,
3) attempt to hack into the discussion board or
4) relentlessly harrass or intimidate members of the discussion board,
or violate our other policies designed to keep the discussions safe and
informative.
It is with regard to #4 above that we are becoming less understanding.
People who are trying to intimidate other users, and thereby "shudder
them into silence", unfortunately have had a chilling effect on some
individual discussion board users and are attempting to "re-victimize"
people who have left cults and other toxic organizations.
This is abuse. The abusers are going to be blocked relentlessly in the
future. To see a list of banned IP Addresses and Users, please go to
http://www.factnet.org/Blocked_and_Banned_Users_and_IP_Addresses.html
The primary purpose of the FACTNet discussion board is to provide a
voice to victims. We will now enforce their right to have a voice.
We are not interested in the claims that abusers and harassers and
intimidators also have a right to Freedom of Speech. There is a distinct
difference between rational debate, discussion and hostile flaming.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming
We hope that, in future, people take this message seriously and moderate
their behavior. If not, we will enforce our right to protect the FACTNet
Discussion Board and the victims that have a right to speak on it.
The Future of FACTNet:
We have once again experienced another tremendous surge in growth. We
need to add more staff hours to stay up with it and keep our discussion
boards running well. We are now up to using 600 gigabytes of bandwidth a
month and that costs money too.
We are still preparing to upgrade much of the FACTNet website with many
new self empowering software support tools. But, to complete these
upgrades and keep us online we need your financial help now.
Our costs are doubling because of our growth. Please send any donation
you can afford today to do your fair share and help us support you and
the many other victims of cults all over the world. Please use one of
the following methods to make your donation:
a.) Donations by Check: Checks may be made payable to FACTNet, Inc. and
mailed to:
FACTNet, Inc.
P.O. Box 3135
Boulder, CO 80307-3135
(Please include your return address so we can mail a receipt for your
tax records.)
b.) Donations via PayPal: Our PayPal account number is the same as our
e-mail address: manage@factnet.org
Thank you in advance for your donation.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Wollersheim
Director
This editorial opinion provided by FACTNet, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive
Tactics Network.) Since 1993 a 501(c)(3) non-profit that defends our
basic freedoms of mind from all forms of unethical influence tactics and
mind control. For breaking news, information, personal stories, support
groups, expert referrals, message boards, newsletters and books relating
to mind control, cults and unethical psychological influence go to
http://www.factnet.org .
To comment on this editorial opinion go to http://www.factnet.org/discus/.
F.A.C.T.Net, Inc.
PO Box 3135
Boulder, CO 80307-3135 USA
* Web site http://www.factnet.org/
* E-mail mailto:manage@factnet.org
* Donations http://www.factnet.org/donation.htm
* Donations by PayPal. Account = manage@factnet.org
* Subscriptions to Newsletters
http://lists.factnet.org/mailman/listinfo/factnet-news
F.A.C.T.Net is a non-profit 501(c)(3) news source, referral service, and
archive protecting freedom of mind from harms caused by psychological
coercion.
Re-distribution and proper re-posting of this document is appreciated.
Please use proper net etiquette when doing so.
_______________________________________________
factnet-news mailing list
factnet-news@lists.factnet.org
to unsubscribe send email to factnet-news-unsubscribe@lists.factnet.org
Against all odds, FACTNet has survived.
In fact, the website content is growing at an enormous rate. The website
is now transferring almost 600 gigabytes of FREE healing and empowering
educational information a month to victims of cults and mind control all
over the world!
When we installed the new and upgraded discussion board we did not
realize that we were grabbing a tiger by the tail. We thought that, if
we provided a forum for discussion, it would be a great proactive step
in getting people to assist each other. Boy, are they talking!
The FACTNet discussion board now has a total of more than 153,000 posts.
New posts are accruing at the rate of about 450 posts per day.
The discussion board has become a great resource for people who want
expose malpractices, for people who want healing, for researchers to
find information and last – but not least - for those who want to defend
their organizations from perceived attacks. We have allowed all parties
to have their say. We have kept moderation to a minimum.
We get thanks from both sides of the spectrum. This gives us hope. It
implies that even the die-hards are beginning to understand that the
only way forward is for organizations to become more transparent.
Dialogue and transparency are intrinsically good. These values benefit all.
What also gives us hope is that people are learning how to use the
internet to disseminate information. They are learning about the
technologies available to them. They are learning how to present their
case. They are learning how to communicate.
This is not to imply that everything is rosy. The more that information
penetrates into new regions, the more abuse is brought to light. In this
regard, the FACTNet discussion board is morphing into new territories.
In the past year, we have seen an enormous growth of Christians
disenchanted with their organizations making their way to the discussion
board. Some have lost their faith because they were burnt. Some have
rediscovered their faith once they left abusive organizations. Now they
are talking. And this is a good thing. FACTNet respects the fact that
all people are on a journey of discovery.
Necessary Important Policy Improvements for Our Discussion Boards:
Originally, FACTNet tried to keep discussion group moderation to a
minimum. We did this in the hope that guided by the FAQ - which is at
http://www.factnet.org/FAQ_Discussion_Board.htm - people might be able
control their behavior.
We have found this not to be true. Consequently, we have instituted a
more radical approach to solving this problem. We are blocking IP
Addresses and User Accounts of those people that have continued to:
1) spam the discussion board,
2) attempt to disable the discussion board,
3) attempt to hack into the discussion board or
4) relentlessly harrass or intimidate members of the discussion board,
or violate our other policies designed to keep the discussions safe and
informative.
It is with regard to #4 above that we are becoming less understanding.
People who are trying to intimidate other users, and thereby "shudder
them into silence", unfortunately have had a chilling effect on some
individual discussion board users and are attempting to "re-victimize"
people who have left cults and other toxic organizations.
This is abuse. The abusers are going to be blocked relentlessly in the
future. To see a list of banned IP Addresses and Users, please go to
http://www.factnet.org/Blocked_and_Banned_Users_and_IP_Addresses.html
The primary purpose of the FACTNet discussion board is to provide a
voice to victims. We will now enforce their right to have a voice.
We are not interested in the claims that abusers and harassers and
intimidators also have a right to Freedom of Speech. There is a distinct
difference between rational debate, discussion and hostile flaming.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming
We hope that, in future, people take this message seriously and moderate
their behavior. If not, we will enforce our right to protect the FACTNet
Discussion Board and the victims that have a right to speak on it.
The Future of FACTNet:
We have once again experienced another tremendous surge in growth. We
need to add more staff hours to stay up with it and keep our discussion
boards running well. We are now up to using 600 gigabytes of bandwidth a
month and that costs money too.
We are still preparing to upgrade much of the FACTNet website with many
new self empowering software support tools. But, to complete these
upgrades and keep us online we need your financial help now.
Our costs are doubling because of our growth. Please send any donation
you can afford today to do your fair share and help us support you and
the many other victims of cults all over the world. Please use one of
the following methods to make your donation:
a.) Donations by Check: Checks may be made payable to FACTNet, Inc. and
mailed to:
FACTNet, Inc.
P.O. Box 3135
Boulder, CO 80307-3135
(Please include your return address so we can mail a receipt for your
tax records.)
b.) Donations via PayPal: Our PayPal account number is the same as our
e-mail address: manage@factnet.org
Thank you in advance for your donation.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Wollersheim
Director
This editorial opinion provided by FACTNet, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive
Tactics Network.) Since 1993 a 501(c)(3) non-profit that defends our
basic freedoms of mind from all forms of unethical influence tactics and
mind control. For breaking news, information, personal stories, support
groups, expert referrals, message boards, newsletters and books relating
to mind control, cults and unethical psychological influence go to
http://www.factnet.org .
To comment on this editorial opinion go to http://www.factnet.org/discus/.
F.A.C.T.Net, Inc.
PO Box 3135
Boulder, CO 80307-3135 USA
* Web site http://www.factnet.org/
* E-mail mailto:manage@factnet.org
* Donations http://www.factnet.org/donation.htm
* Donations by PayPal. Account = manage@factnet.org
* Subscriptions to Newsletters
http://lists.factnet.org/mailman/listinfo/factnet-news
F.A.C.T.Net is a non-profit 501(c)(3) news source, referral service, and
archive protecting freedom of mind from harms caused by psychological
coercion.
Re-distribution and proper re-posting of this document is appreciated.
Please use proper net etiquette when doing so.
_______________________________________________
factnet-news mailing list
factnet-news@lists.factnet.org
to unsubscribe send email to factnet-news-unsubscribe@lists.factnet.org