ZLMB Cause of Death

[_Jersey Girl]

There have been some comments/speculations made regarding the outcome over at ZLMB which is now, by the looks of it, a slow moving graveyard.

MG: I was active over on ZLMB for quite a while as mentalgymnast. I think ZLMB closed up shop because the powerhitters left, on both teams. There weren't any star players or even pinch-hitters in the dugout ready or willing to step up to bat.

Regards,
MG

MG,

I remember you from Z. One thing I noticed during my whole time there is the lack of interest and participation in the higher level of discussion forums. They seemed to lay there without activity for very long periods of time. I think it may have been different in the early days of Z when I wasn't around but that is my observation of the time I posted there.

Jersey Girl

[_Jersey Girl]

We all know what happened at ZLMB: WAzing.

No really. It's true. WAzing was singlehandedly responsible for bringing down Zion's Lighthouse, according to those in the know. And we can blame WAzing on Josh Skains. If he'd kept his fingers out of the Folk of the Fringe, WAzing would never have found ZLMB. So there you have it, the Reader's Digest version: WAzing is responsible for the demise of civilization as we know it. It's only when you get into the rest of the story that understanding happens.

(I think they give me too much credit...)

harm,

Though I did not witness it, I've heard the story of WAzing. I also remember some sort of lengthy thread that went on for weeks on end. Main Street Plaza? I don't know what that was about. Something gory, I'm sure.

Jersey Girl

[_Jersey Girl]

beastie,

I don't have time to reply to your entire post however, I will say this much. As clueless as I was of my surroundings, I was never even aware that people were leaving Z or that a mass exodus was taking place. When you say that people were "hostile" to believers, can you think of any particular instances or posters who were involved in that? I was never aware of outirght hostile behavior on Z and I don't see how that could happen given the level of moderation that was present at least during my first 2 years there.

Jersey Girl

[_harmony]

harm,

Though I did not witness them, I've heard the story of WAzing. I also remember some sort of lengthy thread that went on for weeks on end. Main Street Plaza? I don't know what that was about. Something gory, I'm sure.

Jersey Girl

The Main Street Plaza thread went on for some 50+ pages. It was huge.

[_Jersey Girl]

Just throwing a few things out here. I was invited to post on Z by one of the "regulars" there and was reluctant to do so at first. Where I had previously posted very harshly and critically regarding the LDS Church, by the time I showed up on Z my attitude and approaches had changed. I grew to feel very welcomed there and after the cappings and email registrations seemed to put a real dent in the board, I started the book forum in an attempt to generate some other type of interest area and give something back to the community who were, for the most part, so nice to me as a non-LDS. I was never successful in pulling off the book forum because as I soon learned given my personal schedule, I bit off more than I could chew.

I realized there was some sort of bickering going on there from time to time and not being part of that history, I stayed out of it. I am somewhat aware of the part that ULMB (? Tanners) played in the creation of ZLMB. If the stories are true about the treatment of LDS on ULMB, I can well understand the desire for a community where people would feel safer.

ZLMB, in my view, had a good moderation team. Once I got used to the idea of moderation, I rather liked it. I never really knew who the mods were until much later but I did know when Pac was posting. I think that the demise of ZLMB had to do, at least in part, with the fact that Pac seemed to disappear.

I honestly don't see how TBM's could have felt the board hostile to them or over taken by non or ex-LDS given the level of moderation and finally, the cappings and email registration. I think the cappings and email registrations were a death blow to that board.

I loved participating on Z and really liked most of the community participants. I had no idea there was a mass exodus taking place and that could be because I regularly read the same posters and even though I had some idea about what FAIR was, I didn't know there was a board there for a long time.

Jersey Girl

[_Jersey Girl]

The Main Street Plaza thread went on for some 50+ pages. It was huge.

What in the world was that about?

[_harmony]

The Main Street Plaza thread went on for some 50+ pages. It was huge.

What in the world was that about?

Church financials, closed books, buying public property and converting it to private use, freedom of speech, SLC politics. Every time it would die down, someone would file another motion or Rocky would do something stupid, and it would start up again.

[_Dr. Shades]

JERSEY GIRL:

You wrote:

As clueless as I was of my surroundings, I was never even aware that people were leaving Z or that a mass exodus was taking place. When you say that people were "hostile" to believers, can you think of any particular instances or posters who were involved in that? I was never aware of outirght hostile behavior on Z and I don't see how that could happen given the level of moderation that was present at least during my first 2 years there.

There were no instances or posters who were involved in that. The whole "hostile to believers" meme was nothing more than a myth cooked up by apologists to justify leaving ZLMB.

BEASTIE:

You've referred quite often to the unbiased moderating at ZLMB, and I believe you. But take a look at what dartagnan said above:

2) The moderating crew was demolished (including Waltz and Metcalfe) and trying to get in contact with any of them and getting their help, was like pulling teeth.

So, what's this about the moderating crew being demolished? Who was behind it, and what was the reason for its occurrence?

The reason I ask is because, as you know, I was recently banned for a wholly capricious "reason." Essentially, I'm the only one I know of who's ever been banned from ZLMB for obeying the moderators.

Now, I'm pretty well certain calrobinson/calmoriah was the one and only soul behind it, which leads me to believe there's no longer an unbiased moderating team on ZLMB. Is this so?

[_Bryan Inks]

harm,

Though I did not witness them, I've heard the story of WAzing. I also remember some sort of lengthy thread that went on for weeks on end. Main Street Plaza? I don't know what that was about. Something gory, I'm sure.

Jersey Girl

The Main Street Plaza thread went on for some 50+ pages. It was huge.

On another forum that I frequently post on, there is a thread entitled FAQs About Mormonism.

It currently rests at 535 pages (with 18 posts per page, regardless of length).

I find it so entertaining to see 50 pages help up as a huge thread.

XD

[_beastie]

Shades,

I should have qualified that my statements were about Z prior to the exodus. The difficulties in gaining moderator response didn't occur, as far as I know, until the exodus had begun, and even moderators were fleeing. And I have no idea what their current moderating rules are.

Your banning was, of course, ridiculous. But when Z started losing so many LDS, Pac and the mods tried to modify their approach in order to appease them. They made movement towards becoming like FAIR. At this time, the moderating is probably done largely by cal alone, and although cal made valiant efforts to be unbiased when I saw her moderating, she openly admited she has a bias in regards to Juliann and would often recuse herself from decisions involving her. They are very close friends. I am as certain as I can be without being "behind the scenes" or a mind-reader, that cal's unfair actions were a result of her emotional connection with Juliann. I think it's obvious (as the morondiscussions joke revealed) that the people described on Scratch's blog were upset about it. You were hosting it, and I think banning you was an emotional reaction to that. At least that's my best guess from the outside.