Perhaps the 'LIST' was NOT pinged initially; but some poster, down the line, makes a STATEMENT that may appeal to us; THEN we get pinged.
Yesterday? Or the day before? Pardon my poor memory, it's as old as I am. Anyway, I pinged 4 names of people who I know to be Christians and "F.I.s . It was on a thread where a new member was being pounded for expressing his Christian views.
The club that was being used against him was his newness to Free Republic, the poster who was doing it had an '05 sign up date and I pinged you and a few others, after expressing my own 100% agreement with the noob and daring the name caller with the '05 date to "suspect" my motives. I knew you and the others I pinged would agree with the noob and let him know that he was not about to be zotted for expressing his Christianity in the respectful way he was doing it.
The agitator who was using his "seniority" to club the noob with, slunk away.
There are good and valid reasons for pinging other Christians, there are no valid reasons for using someone elses newness to Free Republic to threaten him/her with a zot for expressing his Christian beliefs in the manner that he did.
I try to not let someone's sign up date effect what I interpret what someone is saying, remembering my own experiences as a noob. The person I am engaging in conversation may have signed up yesterday but just possibly could have been forming their political and religious beliefs long, long before I joined F.R. and if he feels the urge to tell me I'm off base, I just gotta live with it and try to convince him of how wrong he is, without resorting to calling him "troll" or something equally odious.
I've been on the F.I. ping list since its inception for a reason, I don't always comment but the other F.I.s know me and know what I'm interested in and that I want to be pinged.
Note - I do not use the word "noob" disparagingly, it's just something we've all been through, except for J.R.
HMMmmm...
Kinda like the same thing when asked, "Well; just who created GOD?"