Due to (1) a continued increase in busyness as far as the eye can see and (2) a growing uneasiness with the value of interacting on social media in any format other than my own posts, I will be withdrawing from any such interaction. The present acceptable norms for social media debates tend to do more harm than good. Even participating and having one’s name mentioned often creates all sorts of misunderstandings as to one’s views.
Far better to let my own media platforms stand for my official views and place those clear boundaries around them. Nothing personal to anyone. Neither is it meant to be “fool proof.” However it makes a far clearer conscience in the art of “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone” (Phi. 4:5).
None of this means withdrawing from Facebook, much less the wider arena of related ideas, as I will actually be stepping up one form of media teaching. But we are all called to different things. My own calling is positive education from the Reformed perspective. Anyone is welcome to chime in to my posts and, yes, one can even disagree with me on whatever subject you like. But in the interest of those good fences that make good neighbors, I would ask anyone who does interact on my posts to observe the following 10 rules.
Rule 1. No demands for further debates.
Rule 2. No demands for quicker (or more frequent) responses.
Rule 3. No “outing” other people for bad behavior on other people’s threads.
Rule 4. No criticisms of institutions for whom I am employed.
Rule 5. No name calling.
Rule 6. No obscenities.
Rule 7. No tone-policing.
Rule 8. No demands to take sides or answer for other people’s views. Mine are fine.
Rule 9. No complaints that I will not participate beyond already suggested limits.
Rule 10. No complaining that I am the judge of all of the above on my posts.
Any minor transgression of these rules will be met with a friendly warning via private message—a major transgression met with a public link to these rules (which I have now put in blog form)—and then unfriending or blocking should such warnings be ignored. Nothing publicly belittling. Just good stewardship. Thank you for your understanding.
(#socialmedia #tonepolice #divisive #charitabledisagreement #Reformedblogger #slander #winsome)
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