Originally Posted by RickBin
Allen:

I very much appreciate your post. I have read it once, and will read it carefully again and contemplate.

Please note: Many of the sentiments behind the origination of the CATC were what inspired me to create it years ago. It didn't just appear from out of the ether.

Also, some of you must understand the behind-the-scenes angst and inner turmoil much of the content of CATC caused me ... again, for years.

I did not come to this decision lightly.

1] Anyone who has interpreted my actions as a personal or denominational slight is adding their own slant to the issue. The fact remains that I nuked CATC because I was tired of the anti-Catholicism. End of story.

If some of you feel that that is an arbitrary or capricious indulgement on my part, then I truly apologize.

Again: I will not sponsor anti-Catholic bigotry on a forum on which I have the power to avoid it. I'm not talking one post, or one thread. I'm talking years of pervasive anti-Catholicism. I challenge anybody here to have refrained from interceding for almost three years were their own denomination pervasively maligned.

2] This is a hunting and shooting forum, and Jesus has blessed it. If some of you knew the background and the road that led me to create 24hourcampfire in 1999 and 2000, you'd undoubtedly agree. That is the primary reason I created CATC ... to allow Christians of ALL denominations to fellowship.

Unfortunately, that is not what panned out. As the [bleep] now swirling demonstrate, and as I finally accepted, an interdenominational open forum is a flame war waiting to happen.

You have all seen what types of flames accompany caliber discussions and optics discussions, etc. As irrational as things get there, when somebody's religious beliefs are involved, things are ratcheted up to new levels.

We have three choices here:

a] Open forum. Doesn't work.

b] Moderated forum. Yeah right. See Sanlen's, (the guy who has NEVER had a post pulled, changed, or otherwise affected) gratuitous gripe about censorship, complete with borderline attacks on my character. Suuuuuure this one is viable.

c] No forum. Seems to win by elimination.

The truth is, CATC was a wonderful, inspired concept in theory.

In practice, it simply did not work.

rb(quote)

Rick,
Very well said, everything doesn't have to be about religion. I understand that to some people everything is about their faith, all the power to them. It is not an evil act for this forum NOT to be about religion.

Martin





Last edited by martinbns; 08/14/07.
Life's too short to hunt with an ugly gun.