What's happened to the forums?
Reply #11 - June 02, 2024, 06:12 AM
crumble:
I never said it wasn't a ghost forum, merely gave my thoughts as to why. I was not mentioning staff in the role of gatekeepers in the modern sense, as the understanding of gatekeepers has chanced in the last ten years. The CEMB mods/admins were actually the best I've ever come across. You could debate them, disagree with them, outright challenge them, and so as long as you weren't a cunt, they were fine with it.
They were gatekeepers in precisely the manner you seem to want. I'm sure you've browsed the forum and come across the exact same racists and right-wingers you decry, and seem exactly the response to them. I think it compliments the sentiments well with criticisms in your last post (racists and right-wingers). The staff (and regular posters as well) were very good at keeping this place exactly that, as well as offering role models that kept this site free from becoming a cesspit.
CEMB has always been very cliche, in a very good way. Discussion and debate has always been a thing, bigotry has not. The staff were excellent at drawing the line. Though that said, I can't reply to your twitter/facebook comment since I'm not on those sites.
As to your other comment, I do feel some nuance may be required.
Have you ever met a convert? If you have, I'm sure that you've noticed that they tend to be more muslim than muslim. It's like they're making up for lost time. And there's a reason for that. When you convert to a religion, it's like your eyes are open for the very first time. You feel you're actually seeing the world as it is for the first time, and it's so blindingly obvious, you just want to grab people by the shoulders and shake them and say "How can you not see this?"
The experience of leaving a religion is very much the same as joining one. Ex-muslims (and anyone else leaving a religion or ideology) are going through the convert experience. Everything suddenly falls into place, everything suddenly makes sense. This is the reason many fall into the "shit head" category. Eventually, you get over it.
Not that I'm condoning bigotry, mind. I'm actually in complete agreement with you here. We do need a platform, not because of hate, but for the need to change.
Though I hope this forum is never discontinued, if it is, I would like the posts/topics to be archived, as the information on CEMB is probably the best islamic information in the entire English speaking world. Probably beyond.
`But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
`Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: `we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'
`How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.
`You must be,' said the Cat, `or you wouldn't have come here.'
Topic: What's happened to the forums?