churchistrue Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Terrible idea. What's to gain? People there already know about FairMormon. FairMormon comes up in about every tenth post in that forum. I clicked on one ad that was the response to cimeters. I understand the frustration the author has on this issue. But the article was just so snarky and unnecessarily combative, I kind of was shocked someone thought that was a good idea. All you are doing is making people more angry and more motivated to fight back. And I would suggest that when FairMormon and Exmormons fight online, the Mormon Church loses big time. Best to avoid that. Or if you enter, try to model the high road, try to alleviate the pressure not explode it. My $0.02, sorry for the judgemental nature of this post. I've personally come a long ways in my view of FairMormon/FARMS/Mopologetics from feeling like it was the enemy to being sympathetic to now feeling like I want to join the effort somehow if possible. Keep doing what you're doing, but please be less adversarial. 1
USU78 Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 There's precedent: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865561906/LDS-Church-buys-ad-space-in-Book-of-Mormon-musical-playbill.html 2
churchistrue Posted March 21, 2019 Author Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) 53 minutes ago, USU78 said: There's precedent: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865561906/LDS-Church-buys-ad-space-in-Book-of-Mormon-musical-playbill.html Right. What the Church did there was classy and they got justified kudos for it. Imagine the church took out ad in the BOM Musical program that ripped on the creators of the play and was snarky and defensive. Regardless of how right it would have been, that would have been a disaster, PR wise, and in the end done more harm than good for the church. Edited March 21, 2019 by churchistrue 3
webbles Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 How do you know that fairmormon paid for the ads? There was a group of people that purchased ads on Facebook that linked directly to the lds website for the purpose of "destroying the faith". You can read about it at https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-secret-facebook-war-for-mormon-hearts-and-minds It is possible that someone other than fairmormon is purchasing these ads. 2
mapman Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) It seems to me that resources are better spent on reaching out to people more likely to be open-minded. Arguments could be made that the subreddit provides a space for venting or whatever, but from what I've seen it is more of cesspool that just tends to make people angry instead of working through their pain. The community seems pretty similar to the atheism subreddit in a lot of ways, and neither are particularly interested in considering alternative views that contradict their narratives. r/latterdaysaints actually has some pretty good discussions, and a variety of viewpoints represented, so maybe they would be better (r/dankchristianmemes is my favorite religion-themed sub though). Edited March 21, 2019 by mapman 4
churchistrue Posted March 21, 2019 Author Posted March 21, 2019 4 minutes ago, webbles said: How do you know that fairmormon paid for the ads? There was a group of people that purchased ads on Facebook that linked directly to the lds website for the purpose of "destroying the faith". You can read about it at https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-secret-facebook-war-for-mormon-hearts-and-minds It is possible that someone other than fairmormon is purchasing these ads. Good point. We don't know who paid for the ads.
Popular Post cinepro Posted March 21, 2019 Popular Post Posted March 21, 2019 23 minutes ago, churchistrue said: Good point. We don't know who paid for the ads. We also don't know how the ads were placed. A lot of online advertising is done by algorithm, so depending on the parameters specified, that subreddit may have been included unintentionally. 5
Robert F. Smith Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 5 hours ago, churchistrue said: Terrible idea. What's to gain? People there already know about FairMormon. FairMormon comes up in about every tenth post in that forum. I clicked on one ad that was the response to cimeters. I understand the frustration the author has on this issue. But the article was just so snarky and unnecessarily combative, I kind of was shocked someone thought that was a good idea. All you are doing is making people more angry and more motivated to fight back. And I would suggest that when FairMormon and Exmormons fight online, the Mormon Church loses big time. Best to avoid that. Or if you enter, try to model the high road, try to alleviate the pressure not explode it. My $0.02, sorry for the judgemental nature of this post. I've personally come a long ways in my view of FairMormon/FARMS/Mopologetics from feeling like it was the enemy to being sympathetic to now feeling like I want to join the effort somehow if possible. Keep doing what you're doing, but please be less adversarial. Reminds me of the plethora of Trump ads showing up on non-Trump sites on YouTube. Very annoying.
Scott Lloyd Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Robert F. Smith said: Reminds me of the plethora of Trump ads showing up on non-Trump sites on YouTube. Very annoying. Showing up on non-Trump sites or on anti-Trump sites? And annoying to whom?
Scott Lloyd Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) I don’t know the background behind the placement of the FairMormon ads, and I don’t presume to know how effective or ineffective they might be. But it’s not self-evident to me that they would do any substantial harm or that they wouldn’t do some good. I don’t know that each and every person who frequents those sites is a hot-headed, dogmatic antagonist. It’s conceivable some might go there out of curiosity who are not of the mind-made-up-don’t-confuse-me-with-facts mindset. In that case, they ought to be offered the opportunity to explore the other side, and the placement of the ads seems a good way to do that Also, I don’t accept the negative view of FairMormon content that is given in the OP. That is not consistent with my experience. Edited March 21, 2019 by Scott Lloyd 2
DBMormon Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 Of course anyone from FairMormon could step in here and respond as several of them lurk and even participate here. When a similar one was brought up in a thread regarding me, everyone went dark on it. here it is again for a jog of the ole memory i sure would love to know their perspective regarding such
Robert F. Smith Posted March 21, 2019 Posted March 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said: Showing up on non-Trump sites or on anti-Trump sites? And annoying to whom? I just don't like ads, but I don't know how people felt coming out of "The Book of Mormon: The Musical," and finding all manner of LDS ads on taxis and buses, and missionaries offering them Books of Mormon. Maybe they thought it was all part of the show. 😎 See BMC, "Is the Book of Mormon Musical? (Ether 6:9)," KnoWhy #500, Jan 31, 2019, online at https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/is-the-book-of-mormon-musical .
provoman Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 10 hours ago, churchistrue said: Terrible idea. What's to gain? People there already know about FairMormon. FairMormon comes up in about every tenth post in that forum. I clicked on one ad that was the response to cimeters. I understand the frustration the author has on this issue. But the article was just so snarky and unnecessarily combative, I kind of was shocked someone thought that was a good idea. All you are doing is making people more angry and more motivated to fight back. And I would suggest that when FairMormon and Exmormons fight online, the Mormon Church loses big time. Best to avoid that. Or if you enter, try to model the high road, try to alleviate the pressure not explode it. My $0.02, sorry for the judgemental nature of this post. I've personally come a long ways in my view of FairMormon/FARMS/Mopologetics from feeling like it was the enemy to being sympathetic to now feeling like I want to join the effort somehow if possible. Keep doing what you're doing, but please be less adversarial. Ever heard the phrase "Ya'll need Jesus"... I wont mention where I have seen adverts for the Church. Secondly, not every on ex mo reddit is exmo, many of the morning posts seem to be from seminary students, other posts are from people who do not know which way to go. Some people don't like fair response, some people Fair response are exactly what is needed.
provoman Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 2 hours ago, DBMormon said: Of course anyone from FairMormon could step in here and respond as several of them lurk and even participate here. When a similar one was brought up in a thread regarding me, everyone went dark on it. here it is again for a jog of the ole memory i sure would love to know their perspective regarding such I thought you were Bill, are you John Dehlin?
churchistrue Posted March 22, 2019 Author Posted March 22, 2019 24 minutes ago, provoman said: Ever heard the phrase "Ya'll need Jesus"... I wont mention where I have seen adverts for the Church. Secondly, not every on ex mo reddit is exmo, many of the morning posts seem to be from seminary students, other posts are from people who do not know which way to go. Some people don't like fair response, some people Fair response are exactly what is needed. Hmm, I have a seminary age boy and come to think of the snarky bravado in that cimeters article actually might appeal to him and his buddies.
Calm Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 8 hours ago, cinepro said: We also don't know how the ads were placed. A lot of online advertising is done by algorithm, so depending on the parameters specified, that subreddit may have been included unintentionally. Points to cinepro for being closest, no big conspiracy involved. 4
Scott Lloyd Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said: I just don't like ads, but I don't know how people felt coming out of "The Book of Mormon: The Musical," and finding all manner of LDS ads on taxis and buses, and missionaries offering them Books of Mormon. Maybe they thought it was all part of the show. 😎 See BMC, "Is the Book of Mormon Musical? (Ether 6:9)," KnoWhy #500, Jan 31, 2019, online at https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/is-the-book-of-mormon-musical . No, I was wondering about your objection to Trump ads showing up on “non-Trump sites.” Did you mean to say “anti-Trump sites”? That’s not the same thing. And I suppose it’s your personal prerogative to be annoyed at anything, but you say “very annoying” as though a typical person would have standing to be annoyed. That puzzles me. We have freedom of speech in a free-market economy, and I tend to regard advertising, whether I find it personally appealing or not, as a fact of life under our circumstances. It’s not something I ordinarily get upset or annoyed over. I just ignore it generally. Finally, I’ve never seen anyone complain about Church advertising related to the Book of Mormon Musical whether or not they liked the musical. I’ve only heard of positive or indifferent responses. 2
Wiki Wonka Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Calm said: Points to cinepro for being closest, no big conspiracy involved. I've never seen any ads from FairMormon posted to the ex-Mormon subreddit. I have only seen them there when people on that subreddit reposted them from somewhere else that they saw them. Edited March 22, 2019 by Wiki Wonka 4
Calm Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, DBMormon said: several of them lurk and even participate here. I don't think anyone now with FairMormon hangs out here besides me, though posters like Brant and Wiki might pop in every couple of months or so for a special topic if they become aware of it. Between turnover and loss of interest in message boards, most FM members don't have a clue what the board is (the vast majority of them didn't even hang out here when it was originally connected with FAIR...apparently they didn't like the formatting) and I have to explain what it is if I try and find an answer for someone/do research on a topic that interests me through them. I am just grateful when Wiki shows up so I don't feel like a lone voice in the wilderness, lol. Edited March 22, 2019 by Calm 4
Scott Lloyd Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 13 minutes ago, Calm said: Points to cinepro for being closest, no big conspiracy involved. This makes sense to me from what I understand about the automatic procedure for ad placement in internet content. But even if the ads had been deliberately placed, I still wouldn’t see anything wrong with it, as I have explained. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, Calm said: I don't think anyone now with FairMormon hangs out here besides me, though posters like Brant and Wiki might pop in every couple of months or so for a special topic if they become aware of it. Between turnover and loss of interest in message boards, most FM members don't have a clue what the board is (the vast majority of them didn't even hang out here when it was originally connected with FM...apparently they didn't like the formatting) and I have to explain what it is if I try and find an answer for someone/do research on a topic that interests me through them. For one thing, this board is no longer as apologetics-friendly as it once was. More’s the pity. 4
Calm Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 19 minutes ago, Wiki Wonka said: I've never seen any ads from FairMormon posted to the ex-Mormon subreddit. I have only seen them there when people on that subreddit reposted them from somewhere else that they saw them. Now why would they repost them if they just make themselves angry?
Wiki Wonka Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 18 minutes ago, Calm said: I don't think anyone now with FairMormon hangs out here besides me, though posters like Brant and Wiki might pop in every couple of months or so for a special topic if they become aware of it. Between turnover and loss of interest in message boards, most FM members don't have a clue what the board is (the vast majority of them didn't even hang out here when it was originally connected with FM...apparently they didn't like the formatting) and I have to explain what it is if I try and find an answer for someone/do research on a topic that interests me through them. I am just grateful when Wiki shows up so I don't feel like a lone voice in the wilderness, lol. I check this board probably once a month at best, but most of the time I don't really think about it, and even then I usually just skim the subject headings and move on. To my knowledge, Calm is the ONLY person affiliated with FairMormon that consistently participates on this board. 3
Calm Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 12 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: For one thing, this board is no longer as apologetics-friendly as it once was. More’s the pity. A lot of people have moved on to more specialized projects and honestly there isn't really that much new out there to discuss besides the various news controversies and the occasional new book. The stuff that needs scholarship gets discussed elsewhere. I am just grateful chamspatch, Clark, and others are discussing the EModE data here as that is informative. The use of podcasts to share new info without a transcript kills the discussion process that occurs here as well, imo. 3
Robert F. Smith Posted March 22, 2019 Posted March 22, 2019 58 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: No, I was wondering about your objection to Trump ads showing up on “non-Trump sites.” Did you mean to say “anti-Trump sites”? ...................... I understood very well what you meant, Scott. Just wasn't taking the bait. 58 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: And I suppose it’s your personal prerogative to be annoyed at anything, but you say “very annoying” as though a typical person would have standing to be annoyed. That puzzles me. We have freedom of speech in a free-market economy, and I tend to regard advertising, whether I find it personally appealing or not, as a fact of life under our circumstances. It’s not something I ordinarily get upset or annoyed over. I just ignore it generally. You're right. The price we have to pay for a relatively free internet. 58 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: Finally, I’ve never seen anyone complain about Church advertising related to the Book of Mormon Musical whether or not they liked the musical. I’ve only heard of positive or indifferent responses. Same here. I have always thought it rather clever.
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