The cancer afflicting CAA

[Sheenar]

I have noticed these issues as well --it's one of the reasons I'm not on quite as much as I used to be (the other reasons are mostly school-related).

Guys, we are called to sacrifice our own wants and our own pride and lay down our lives for each other --consider others better than ourselves. Before you post, think "will this edify or encourage my brother/sister? Or will this bring them down?" What picture of Christ are you painting with your responses?

Christ prayed in the garden for unity for all believers. Now, this doesn't mean uniformity --we are all different and all have different gifts and interests. But it does mean that we shouldn't argue to the point that it hinders unity and causes division in the Body. Choose your battles wisely --and be willing to back down if doing so will preserve unity and fellowship. Don't quarrel needlessly.

I pray that everyone (myself included) will paint a beautiful picture of Christ with our words --because the world is watching us.

[Lilac#18]

Thread right on.:jump:

[goldenspines]

I agree 110% with the contents of this thread. Thanks for posting, Nate.









[SIZE="1"]You're my hero.[/SIZE]

[Stephen]

This thread is getting too serious. Too much hugs and pats on the back.


Nate I hate you.

[Tsukuyomi]

This thread is getting too serious. Too much hugs and pats on the back.


Nate I hate you.

I HATE YOU TOO, NATE <333






[SIZE="1"](I see alot of memebers not coming around as often. Or, even leaving because things have changed (for the bad). If that is so, then why not stick around and try to get things on track? I don't know, there's my little bit of seriousness.. Sorry )[/SIZE]

[Nate]

Nate I hate you.

In the immortal words of Crow T. Robot,

"You know you want me, baby."

[Shiningmonk_e]

This thread is serious business.
I see what you mean though, humor only makes life more fun.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Couple things I'ma point out that I've wanted to point out for awhile. First, I both agree and disagree with everything in this thread. Yeah, you heard me!

First, agreementos: There is much to be said about the attitude floating around people. I myself amd a very snarky person, both in real life as well as on the internet (see? It's not just anonymity), but in addition to snark I also like to be the center of a crowd. I like people to think I'm a funny guy. Give me a crowd and the self control I've (not) so carefully cultivated. I can more than a few of us being the same way. So yeah. watch your mouth.

Second disagreementos: Yeah, this place isn't the same place that it was when I joined, or when many others join. I doubt it's gonna be the same place even six months from now. But here's the thing. We've got a wide group of people that is always shifting, so the tone and the atmosphere are going to constantly change. Of the communities I have belonged to over the years only one is static now, and it has all of five people regularly contributing. This is a good thing. It means the forum is growing. Now, keeping in mind what I said prior (and, according to the post counter, 30 people said before me) we should kind of watch what we say but also joke around.

Oh, and I totally vote for the image macros.

[Tsukuyomi]

Awwwwwwww, how come we don't have all those flavours of Mentos 8( We only have the mint ones 8(

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Lucky, seriously. They're the freshmaker. You're already too fresh.

[Tsukuyomi]

Lucky, seriously. They're the freshmaker. You're already too fresh.

Awwwwwww, Etoh.. <33

[KumaruRockz]

Time for some srs bzness from Kumaru!

Something I've noticed. Many people here are totally intolerant to younger members (no names). They seem to disregard the 5-6 or more age difference and seem to think they are going to be just as mature if not more then them. They don't realize that some of us younger members are going to be a little more immature because it's natural. Yeah, we will try to be funny. Yeah, we will post some ridiculous threads. But you don't have to talk about us behind out backs or exclude us from conversations in the Chat. Honestly, I also agree with GeneD. I have been a little "un-included" from the group. People might disregard your posts or just ignore them :/ We younger people are sorry for a small lack of maturity and will try to be more mature and think about what we say but honestly sometimes we can't help it. We're just kids.


And now for silly words with KumaruRockz where Kumaru comes out and says some funny words:

Googenheimer. What does that mean?

[ADXC]

Good job Nate! I approve of this thread as well.

There have things on CAA that have gone down-hill since I joined(I know Ive been a part of some of those things.) as far as what's been discussed. Im not going to stay here and say what is wrong about CAA because well obviously others have nailed it on the head.

I am however going to speak about something positive about CAA that has never really decreased. When I came to my first forum(Not here.), it was a secular anime/sheetmusic forum. I enjoyed that forum alot of the time, but there was a major problem I had with it. It was secular. There were many threads in which I wanted to say my christian opinion(I did it sometimes and got bashed for it by some secular people.), but I couldn't because of the pressure to keep God out. During the time I left that forum, I found CAA. Blessed be to God that I did. Now I could freely talk about God in any of my posts as long as it was relevant to an opinion of mine or in the Prayer Room.

Recently I was wondering just why I left that forum(I still remembered, but I needed confirmation.), so I headed back there. In the discussion forum there was a thread about some kid trying to help his friend from committing suicide. They mentioned they were thinking about trying this whole "Christian" thing and praying to God as a way to help the situation. Immediately one of the mods, who was also one of the older members of the thread whom I remember, said first off to leave God out of it, that He had nothing to do with it, and that He does not exist. Wow, my respect for him totally went down the tube. Well I continued to read the thread and saw another older member asking why the h? he was asking strangers for advise on how to stop his friend from committing suicide.

Then I saw it, the reason I love this forum so very much. On a secular forum, -yeah- why would you ask for some random strangers help. However on a Christian forum like this, why would you not ask some random strangers help and prayer. This is truly where we can all bring our own troubles and not have to worry about what people will say about it. There have been many a help thread such as the General Lust Prayer Thread that deals with helping people get over lust. There was no harsh criticism(If there was it was only attacking their lifestyle that was unhealthy, not the person.) and yelling as far as I saw, there was only loving people ready to help out another Christian who had fallen into a rut.

Please people do not forget that God blessed us to be able to find such a great forum as this where we can discuss anime and also ask for prayer and help when we need it. There people is what CAA is and always has been doing right.

[LadyRushia]

Once again, I think it's a two-way issue, XD. I know I easily get annoyed with immaturity even though I was just there like 4-6 years ago. Even now I'm still not mature in some areas and probably never will be, XD. I will admit that it's much easier to get annoyed with these sorts of things on the internet, and I know in my case I have a very short fuse for certain attitudes and stuff. I think most of us slightly older members aren't used to dealing with the immaturity that the younger ones naturally have. By that I mean that we've only just started looking in from the outside because when we were that age we didn't notice it at all. I know that's true for me and I'm glad you reminded us of that, Kumaru.

As for the chat thing, I honestly don't think that anyone intends to leave anyone out. Yes, we get mad and we may vent to other members in the chat. Again, I've done this before too, XD, and it probably has to do with my lack of maturity for dealing with people of an age group I just grew out of. But what I did as a new member is I went in the chat all the time and was there even when the core group was making jokes that I didn't understand and having all sorts of fun. Sure I felt left out, but each time I was able to join in more and more. Now I've made some really good friends from that group. Basically, it's just a matter of getting to know people and talking to them. I used to feel slightly intimidated by the very people I'm now on friendly terms with, so I just want the younger members to know that even though we may act like jerks sometimes we still want to make people feel welcome and included.

EDIT: ADXC posted before me, so this top part is in response to Kumaru, but ADXC speaks trufax. This place showed me that it's possible and okay to be a Christian and an anime fan, which is something I don't think I could find on any other site.

[Tarnish]

Gahh. I know a big chunk of this is my fault. I just lose it when people insult me, personally, you know? And of course, I end up making myself look stupid, and by extension, the whole forum. I'm working on it, but it's a big problem for me.

[Tsukuyomi]

Honestly, I also agree with GeneD. I have been a little "un-included" from the group. People might disregard your posts or just ignore them :/

I don't think that's due to an age thing ^^; Sometimes, people just overlook post. I've had that happen to me many times and I'm an older memeber (date wise and age wise) XD It's not that you're disliked or anything like that. Like in any big place, things will be overlooked sometimes >8)

Hmmm, I'm not sure if that was any help or if that came out right, but yeah.. ^__^

[~darkelfgirl~]

Amen! *organ jingle*

[rocklobster]

And I thought Nate didn't know how to be serious anymore.
But I digress, good thoughts Nate. I know I fell into this trap a few times myself. I'll try harder in the future.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Good post Nate. Though, I haven't really noticed things were getting that bad- but then, I haven't been as active as I used to be.

[Benn]

hey nate, i tend to disagree to an extent. people being a smartarse can be annoying.

take for instance this thread
http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=52118

you though you'd be funny which in turn fueled more "funny" remarks which basically hijacked the thread. in essence made it FAIL because i posted it to find others who like movies but thanks to you and your three R's it didn't happen.

don't know if it's an inside joke to reply to peoples threads "oh i thought this thread was... " but as others have commented don't do it to fairly recent newbies.

kthnx

[ShiroiHikari]

Please don't bring srs bzns into this thread. If you have a problem with something Nate said, maybe you should take it up with him via PM or something.

[Dante]

Any political/theological thread - Yes

Thread about Tianenmen Square - No

All threads in the Prayer Forum - No

90% of threads Savannah posts - Yes

Any thread in Goof Off - Yes

But what if Savannah posts a thread in the prayer thread asking others to pray for her win over Temulin in Goof Off politics, while Savannah is sitting in Tiemnamin Square with dancing Chinese Soldiers in the background kicking their feet into the air... while all the while she is being watched by the ever plotting ever watching Hat? THE HAT.

[Htom Sirveaux]

How dare we commit such unforgivable errors as common misunderstanding and miscommunication? Once again, Nate has shown us poor mindless sheep the error of our ways.

No, really, I can see a valid point here. But still, neither can we expect ourselves and each other to respond the correct way every time. So while I do agree that we should be serious when we really ought to and for gosh sakes have a sense of humor all other times, it's simply not gonna be that way as much as we'd like.

Oh wait. Stop. I'm taking things way too seriously here.
Nevermind.

[Radical Dreamer]

Okay guys, ease off the caustic remarks. We're all admitting to error here, and we could all learn something from this thread. If you have an issue with Nate and not the thread, then make it private and take it to PM, please.

hey nate, i tend to disagree to an extent. people being a smartarse can be annoying.

take for instance this thread
http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=52118

you though you'd be funny which in turn fueled more "funny" remarks which basically hijacked the thread. in essence made it FAIL because i posted it to find others who like movies but thanks to you and your three R's it didn't happen.

don't know if it's an inside joke to reply to peoples threads "oh i thought this thread was... " but as others have commented don't do it to fairly recent newbies.

kthnx

I'm sure none of that was against you, personally. Refer to this thread to understand a bit of what goes on here at CAA, and how you can become a member of the community here.

[Nate]

I'd like to point out I'm including myself in all this. Remember I mentioned that the things I do also reflect poorly on myself. I'm not lording this over everyone else saying I'm great and you all are the problem. I'm part of the problem too sometimes. Most of the time.

[Htom Sirveaux]

Okay guys, ease off the caustic remarks. We're all admitting to error here, and we could all learn something from this thread. If you have an issue with Nate and not the thread, then make it private and take it to PM, please.

I'm sure none of that was against you, personally. Refer to this thread to understand a bit of what goes on here at CAA, and how you can become a member of the community here.

Sorry. I can get a bit snarky sometimes. Perhaps it was out of line, or at least a bit too caustic. Everything's cool, and after this post I'm out of the thread. But I won't take back the comment.

[Zarn Ishtare]

I can't help but feel differently from Nate; though we are from the same general time-frame of joining, perhaps we recall things differently or merely stood in different spots in CAA...but I cannot help but feel that the "lol" factor, the frivolousness, has made its way out of the Goof Off forum and into the larger body of CAA.


I understand it's not a popular thing I'm saying; but I think a greater part of the forum has dissolved into fun and escapism. That isn't what I came here for, and it's not something I believe should take a place ahead of what CAA was for me since I joined; a sanctuary, a safe haven, a church-without-walls. Many times I have been away from any contact with believers, rejected from cliche-churches, and generally stood alone in my walk. CAA was my church, my "Body Of Christ", if you will. While there is no harm at all in fun and happiness in the Church, there are certain behaviors one doesn't indulge in. If everyone wants to make CAA a "Christian Hangout Spot" instead of the fellowship that I felt it was, that'll happen regardless of my opinion.


Perhaps its the fault of those of us who were here earlier; perhaps its just one of those things. It's not 04, 05 anymore; and we have a larger membership base than we did back then. But some of those problems have been ongoing since I started, and have regularly come up since that time; I for one don't feel perverted jokes have any place here. I don't like the image macros and the "lulz" of outside internet sites, and I don't feel that just because you happen to be popular or well liked you should be any more or less wrong/right when judged for your actions.


I'm a Christian; I came here because I desperately needed that fellowship, and found a large group of others that felt the same way. We have kept the feelings of a haven and a sanctuary for a long time, and I can't seem to figure out where we lost that. Perhaps it was after I started roleplaying and got away from the "Serious" boards, or when I stopped rping and just stayed in my little Writing thread listening to polite reviews and fellow writers. Either way, I don't like it and I don't support it. There used to be a beautiful balance of positive Christian seriousness and good, home-grown fun.


It isn't all sadness on my end though; I'm so proud of the people who are in Prayer. Rev.Doc, all the old and new members who constantly supported the "Christian" portion of Christian Anime Alliance, who have been consistent prayer-warriors for every cause imaginable, are truly the heart of Christ. I thank you all for the prayers which protect me, my fellow members, and ultimately the Body Of Christ.


That's it from me.

[goldenspines]

With all due respect Zarn, isn't "hanging out" at a "Christian hangout spot" considered fellowship?
Please correct me if my definition is wrong though.

While it's true we shouldn't be irresponsible with our time online(or elsewhere for that matter), I think the fun and non-serious parts of CAA are some of the best. It gives us, as christians who are anime fans, a chance to relax and have a great time with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. During this, I think a lot of us grow in our relationships with God by encouraging one another in Him.

No one is perfect, as you may know. You can't expect this site to be an ideal model of a christian fellowship, because it's the members that make it what it is, and we all mess up from time to time. Therefore, the site can't become something unless the members make the effort to contribute their time and hearts into it.
This is mainly why I stick around CAA, even when things get messed up from time to time. Because I know that the site won't magically change if I just go away long enough and give up on the site. I want to help make CAA the best it can be for everyone because I believe in its potential, and its members should want that as well.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

While I agree you can find a body of believers here, and fellow travelers to share your road, I'm not sure that this forum should ever be a church for anyone. Like most communities, though escapism may not be the goal the goal is to enjoy one-another's company and share like-interests. While I believe this community was constructed with a mind to supplement one's spirituality, I don't think it was ever intended provide the sole basis of one's fellowship.

That said, christian life should be a joy. We should be able to crack jokes and laughs (within consideration for others' feelings). Personally being of a melancholic demeanor myself I've found that light heartedness and frivolity have done much more for my spirit than constant gravity ever did.

[Zarn Ishtare]

While I agree you can find a body of believers here, and fellow travelers to share your road, I'm not sure that this forum should ever be a church for anyone. Like most communities, though escapism may not be the goal the goal is to enjoy one-another's company and share like-interests. While I believe this community was constructed with a mind to supplement one's spirituality, I don't think it was ever intended provide the sole basis of one's fellowship.

That said, christian life should be a joy. We should be able to crack jokes and laughs (within consideration for others' feelings). Personally being of a melancholic demeanor myself I've found that light heartedness and frivolity have done much more for my spirit than constant gravity ever did.

I'm afraid you may be mistaking joy for frivolity. Joy is a God-given experience, Fun is a pleasure that he allows us, Frivolity is silliness and chaotic humor. In balance, all these things are fine; but I don't see a balance here. I see heartfelt statements met with a lolwut pear, for example. I see sex jokes and "insinuations" tolerated and in some cases encouraged. Obviously I don't own anything in CAA other than my experiences, but the CAA I was brought into (That I once tried to make more like the rest of the internet; happily failed at that task) said keep that kind of stuff out of here, we are a haven and a place of gathering and rest. Ashley's ministry here has been a blessing and a joy to my heart; the commonness now entering into it, the arguments and the frivolous humor, are absolutely not apart of anything I was brought into CAA believing or asking for.

I'm not among the oldest of CAA; sadly, most of those are gone. But I would hope that they would agree with me. I doubt I'd see people like Rev.Doc approve or condone the general mood that now pervades the forum.


I'm suprised to find myself the conservative old fogey here; once I was the guy saying CAA had to get to know more people and reach out to more sites. Now it's happened and I can't feel that anything but ill is going to come of it.