It's about time somebody besides me posted on this thread. Thank you, Rogue.
The Bible talks about scorners, and it is pretty harsh.
Romans 2:1 tells us "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things."
Learning this verse helped me teach Christian school. When enraged parents would sit there accusing me, I would listen calmly because I realized that they were describing themselves. If a parent accused me of lying, I knew that the parent was aware that their child was guilty. I would then explain why I needed to keep order in the classroom. When a parent accused me of hating their child, I would give them ways to deal with the issues that were making them hostile to their own child. Did it work? The average Christian school teacher does not enter their third year--I taught for ten years.
Proverbs 14:6 tells us "A scorner seeks wisdom and finds it not..." Stupidity is not caused by a lack of intelligence; it is caused by sin. Scorners who post on the internet have no wisdom and are describing themselves.
After some thought and prayer, I felt God leading me to take on the scorners of the FFF.
You've shown a great amount of patience in dealing with parents.
Thank you, JrChurch.
The FFF at the time had two prominent scorners who travelled through the different threads postings insults and accusations. When I began explaining that people who judge are describing themselves, one of them took me on. The outpouring of hatred from him and his supporters was expected--the scorners had always done that. But for the first time, someone wouldn't back down. When I explained that I was the first person on the FFF to stand up to this scorner, a few readers went mad with rage. One wrote a vicious attack describing my activities as a child of the Devil. Using Romans 2:1, I showed that he is an unsaved man. The fact that he was lying about what both of us had posted didn't weaken my case any.
When the first scorner had enough, the second scorner weighed in. When I was accused of judging, I pointed out that I was quoting, not judging. None of my statements originated with me--they originated with the scorners.
Meanwhile, I was watching the numbers. About 60 people on this dying forum seemed to support me. About 40 more seemed to support the scorners. But as time passed, the other 40 would view the thread even when the scorners boycotted it. I would answer the scorner and then check the numbers. Then I would refuse to answer the scorner, and the numbers stayed the same. I explained that most of our readers were ignoring the scorner, so I stopped answering him. Two people responded with eyewitness testimony that I was lying about the numbers.
Eventually, the scorners gave up, and about a hundred people had learned about Romans 2:1.
Meanwhile, I post on various technology, military history, gaming, and Christian forums.
On a Windows 10 forum, I explained that there are no computers on the market designed from the ground up for Windows 10 (This will change, probably soon). If you buy a brand new Windows 10 computer, you are actually buying a Windows 8.1 computer with 10 installed at the factory.
And one technical writer went mad with rage. Insults, threats of revenge, etc. I calmly showed that I am correct, and he went madder.
After thinking and prayer, I set a clear-cut goal: I would calmly proceed in order to see what would happen. Remember that this was not a Christian forum. I wanted to observe this on a secular forum.
(05-19-2016, 07:23 PM)benutils Wrote: [ -> ]I try to avoid the word "stupid" when describing others.
I prefer to use the word "moron."
Sensing a mob, a couple of folks posted insults in support of the crazed writer, but they quickly dropped out when a mob failed to develop. But a couple of others weighed in on his side.
Since I could show that all new windows 10 computers are actually designed for Windows 8.1, they began challenging everything I said on the thread in order to discredit me. And, remaining calm, I was able to show that my statements were accurate. When I mentioned a neighbor using Linux on a Windows computer, one fellow posted eyewitness testimony that I was lying.
A couple people posted lengthy, complicated statements explaining that I was right, and I did appreciate it.
We would go a couple of days without any posts, and then someone would post about how upset he was.
When I explained that a computer's touchscreen is controlled by the Windows operating system, the three of them pounced, hollering that I was posting incorrect information. A few more joined in, and then I calmly cut and posted a statement from the Microsoft website confirming that I was correct.
That produced a courteous form letter (post) from the administrator, giving me an unjustified warning. Thinking it over, I realized that I had accomplished my goal (I wanted to see what would happen). I wasn't banned, the site was dropping in popularity, and I had learned a couple of things. I dropped it.
Getting back to the technology forum, the people who went berserk were older men who appear to be paid or seeking employment with the forum. They were skilled in obsolete technology and may have needed the money. They saw me as a financial threat, as I was answering questions for free.
"Fear" is a factor in people going mad with rage. We're told to judge nothing before the time, as we don't understand what problems people are experiencing.