Posted on 05/28/2009 8:06:49 PM PDT by Dinah Lord
I've been a proud FReeper since 2005, but haven't posted before because I've been intimidated by the whole process. Okay, I admit it - I'm lame.
But I just got banned from LGF. I know there are other FReepers out there who have been banned.
Care to commiserate?
His big kick is evolution and he is crazy about it. The best part is the link section at the top. Oh, yeah I got banned and have no idea why. I would post may be once every two weeks or so, nothing really heavy and not combative but I am banned. Sent a couple of emails asking why but no answer. Oh well.
As my father was fond of saying ask a silly question get a silly answer.
Just kidding.
Anybody looking at Grace Kelly studying her thumbs has a real problem!
Two months ago, after I made a post that disagreed with one of Charles's statements I was suddenly blocked from posting. I assumed that I had been banned, which felt like a punch in the stomach. Perhaps I have not actually been banned, but I have stopped my frequent visits to the site. I don't like what it has become.
Charles Johnson is a smart guy, and I appreciate his contributions to the blogosphere, from his Rathergate "throbbing memo" to his exposes of fauxtography to his excellent musical posts, and more.
However, LGF has changed in the past year. It now seems to be largely devoted to promotion of the "Republican War on Science" meme and Christian Republican bashing. While I am not particularly Christian, and I believe that some of these complaints have merit, too often Charles and his posters descend into what seems to me to be irrational anti-Christian bigotry. Also, Johnson's posts frequently have a snarky, nasty tone, that is copied by his posters. Last, he is very quick to ban posters, apparently just for disagreeing with him. This has reduced the range and quality of posts. LGF has become less a battleground of ideas and more an echo chamber of ugly voices.
As for Johnson's endless references to the "nirth certifikit," that is an example of the tone I mentioned (and yes, I know where he got the term.) I wish he had used his talents to answer the questions surrounding Obama's failure to release his long-form birth certificate. Perhaps has done this, but I have not seen it.
If for some reason you want to rejoin the site under another name, you should be aware that Johnson monitors the IP addresses of his posters, so he may just re-ban you as a "sock puppet" you unless you post from a different IP address. You can get around that by using Tor.
Or you can just do what so many readers of the site have done, and stop visiting:
Thanks for your perspective on the matter, TChad. I couldn’t believe it when I got banned/blocked - whatever you want to call it. It was like being kicked in the stomach - I was so surprised.
I’ve been a longtime LGF reader and even when it seemed to be going off the rails, I continued to stop by every day. I even gradually stopped commenting on the posts, except for the live threads. I never was one of the in crowd.
I continued to read Mr. Johnson even after he started his hissy fit blogwars with the likes of Pamela Geller, Fjordman etc. which I considered more of a vanity exercise for him (and them) than anything else.
I ignored his constant bashing of the Creationism business pretty much by and large - even though it seemed an odd topic for him to fixate on given everything else that is going on in the world. But I really enjoyed his link thingy - it provided quick access to a lot of interesting stories that wouldn’t see the light of day otherwise.
Oh well, I won’t be back and judging by the stats at your link - it looks like a lot of other people have made that same decision.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond and share your experiences.
Cheers - Dinah.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha. Loved the Viking Kitty gif! You are my overlord, 50mm!
You are amazing! Talk about a master of the links. Have loved reading the saga of LGF from your perspective. Thank you!
Thanks, Bokababe. Sorry for my tardy reply, trying to get caught up this morning.
Has your blog been so honored?
No, Dinah Lord, it hasn't. I never hung out at LGF, but I noticed that Gates of Vienna blog was, and that's a great blog.
I also recall that Julia Gorin said something about LGF "changing" a couple years ago and not for the better.
Your kind words are appreciated- thank you.
Who knew.
Anyone emitting that "don't wish for Obama to fail crap" is an Obamaton, a good German, a lobotomoid, a pod person.
I eschew LGF as a matter of course anyway, but you have provided a public service.
Johnson may actually approve of the Obama-Odinga Christian Barbecue in Kenya in 2006.
Obama is off-limits but Christians are fair game.
Got it.
I couldn't help myself. You sort of "invited" the VK's. It also gave me an excuse to post the new animated GIF. There hasn't been a ZOT thread lately.
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