[sitetest]

Dear Religion Moderator,

“Why don’t you negotiate among yourselves what the guidelines for the Religion Forum ought to be and then get back to me?”

Why would we bother?

“I cannot make any promises, because I do not make decisions in a vacuum - “

But that's what you're asking from us - to negotiate, essentially in a vacuum.

I'm reminded of the quip that one shouldn't expect to negotiate successfully with another party if one is negotiating amongst one's own party.

The problem here isn't that we need to negotiate among ourselves, but that you haven't really demonstrated much interest in the underlying problem. When the moderation here becomes interested, then it's possible that it might be resolved.

Until that time, we're just shoveling against the tide.

And folks like pgkdan, who is thinking of no longer contributing financially to this site, are more common than one may realize.

sitetest

[Judith Anne]

Well said. If the RM can’t tell a troll post from a regular post, no negotiation on our side will help.

[Religion Moderator]

The problem here isn't that we need to negotiate among ourselves, but that you haven't really demonstrated much interest in the underlying problem.

Ok, then. Define the "underlying problem" as clearly and specifically as possible.

[pgkdan]

I think a big part of the problem is that when the RM says "don't get personal" he/she doesn't understaand that when someone says the Catholic Church practices idolatry that is a very personal insult. The poster just called ME an idolator...not some vague theological construct, not some foreign corporate entity that owns the Vatican...but ME. That's personal. To allow anti-Catholic posters freedom to post all sorts of lies and slander against Catholics is simply wrong.

I'm not particularly interested in having anyone banned...I'd just like to see a little more even handed treatment and some attempt to understand where Catholics are coming from when we complain about these abuses.