In Which Forum Should I Post My Topic for Discussion?

[JWTalk]

In this post we will try to help you decide in which forum you should post your topic. By following the guidelines below, there will be less work for the moderators in moving topics around, and less frustration in your trying to find it again (although you can always "Follow" the topic in your Followed Topics, and you can always click on your own profile and look for "Show All Posts" by you).

Let's start with the forum descriptions that we typically see on the http://jwtalk.net/forums/'>index/home page and at the top of the list when viewing the message list page.

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"Interchange of Encouragement - Anything related to our faith, meetings, ministry, the Bible, and our whole association of brothers. The Interchange is a theocratic discussion forum for Jehovah's Witnesses."

This forum is for anything related to us as a whole, that is, Jehovah's people, their worldwide association (organization), as well as Bible topics for discussion. If the topic is about us and our activity, or personal achievements related to such (announcing baptism, becoming a pioneer, ministry experiences, etc) then post your topic to the Interchange. These should be upbuilding.

The Interchange is a discussion forum, not a "sharing" forum. Do not post jokes, poetry, unverified experiences, pics/memes, or anything else that typically clutters a social networking newsfeed, even if they are of a so-called "theocratic" nature. Post this silly stuff in the General Discussion forum (called Chit Chat) or if it is JW related, in the Stuff of Interest to JW's Forum.

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"In the News & Current Events - Share and discuss news items from around the world that is of general interest, whether articles or videos. Please remember to link to the source."

Post your topic to this forum if it is a news article and you want to discuss the news article itself. Please paste some of the contents of the article as well as provide a link to the rest of the article.

Sometimes you may want to start a topic, and perhaps reference an article, but not really with the purpose of discussing the article itself. Your topic might not need to go in here then. Please use your good judgement.

Also use your good judgment when posting news articles that have to do with Jehovah's Witnesses. These should be positive and not negative, nor consisting of apostate propaganda or featuring interviews or dialogue from former Jehovah's Witnesses.

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"Comfort, Consolation, Support & Recovery - We all have personal issues. Talking about your problems can help you deal with your feelings. You are not alone. Discuss personal spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental health issues in here."

If your topic is not about us, that is, Jehovah's people as a whole, but rather about you - particularly in relation to a trial or hardship you are personally dealing with, then post your topic in this Personal Support forum. This forum is only open to Full Access Users and Senior Members, with a few exceptions.

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"Forum Games, Puzzles, Riddles, and Trivia - “For everything there is an appointed time... a time to laugh... and a time to skip about.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4) Only Full Access Members can participate."

Just as the title denotes, this forum is for games. If you want to start a new forum game, or entertain us with some riddles or trivia, or any other game, then post it in Forum Games.

It needs to be noted that because of the fast paced nature of several forum games, Limited Access Users, who are in moderation, cannot post or reply to anything in this forum. http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/3715-why-cant-i-post-or-reply-in-the-forum-games-riddles-puzzles-trivia-forum/'>Read More.

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"A Banquet of Well-Oiled Dishes - “He did good, giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts to the full with food and good cheer.” (Acts 14:17) Food & Drink, Recipes, Dining In and Dining Out."

Share your favorite recipe. Talk about your favorite foods and drinks.

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"Entertainment, Multimedia, & Fine Arts - Audio/Visual stimulation! Talk about music, movies, television, books, sports, and other forms of entertainment."

Do you want to talk about a TV show, movie, musician or band, your favorite book series or sports team? Post your topic for discussion in Entertainment.

Please note that the Entertainment forum is a discussion forum, not a "sharing" forum to post silly pics and YouTube clips you have stumbled upon. Post those things in Chit Chat instead.

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"General Chit Chat & Hangout Lounge - The "everything else" lounge - Discuss personal interests, introduce yourself, ask questions, share silly stuff, or anything else that doesn't fit have a dedicated forum. This is our off-topic general discussion area here at JWTalk."

If your topic does not fit any of the above, then it probably should go in here. The topic can be general and usually should have nothing to do with Jehovah's Witnesses at all nor about you and your personal issues, nor is it a news item. Perhaps you want to talk about technology, your vacation, the weather, tell a joke, or share a poem, silly image or YouTube video. If so, then post your topic in Chit Chat.

[Brother_Bliss]

Should I Post My Topic in the Interchange?

Here is the description of the Interchange forum that appears on the index page and at the top of the topic list on the web version of JWTalk...

Interchange of Encouragement

Members only in-depth discussion of anything related to our faith, meetings, ministry, the Bible, and our whole association of brothers. The Interchange is a theocratic discussion forum for encouragement and spiritual growth. (Members Only)

Only registered members can read topics in the Interchange because these topics can be personal, and the discussions deep and sometimes speculative. This forum is for anything related to us as a whole, that is, Jehovah's people, our worldwide association (organization), as well as Bible topics for discussion. This is the forum where you might start a discussion about something published in a recent magazine, or perhaps ask for help in increasing your understanding about one of our Bible based doctrines, or how to help explain such to your Bible student. This is also the appropriate forum to share encouraging personal experiences that you or someone close to you had, such as baptism, becoming a pioneer, ministry experiences, or other upbuilding personal spiritual achievements.

What not to post in the Interchange...

The Interchange is a discussion forum, not a "sharing" forum. Do not post jokes, poetry, unverified experiences or experiences of those you don't know personally, pics/memes, or anything else that typically clutters a social networking newsfeed or routinely gets forwarded along via email, even if they are of a so-called "theocratic" nature. Such topics are better suited for "Stuff of Interest to JW's" if they are theocratic in nature, or the "General Chit Chat and Hangout Lounge" if they have nothing to do with our faith at all. All News topics for discussion, even news related to Jehovah's Witnesses and those published at JW.org belong in the public "In the News & Current Events" forum.

[trottigy]

Should I Post My Topic in the Public JW Stuff Forum?

Here is the description of the Stuff of Interest to Jehovah's Witnesses forum that appears on the home page and at the top of the list page on the web version of JWTalk....

Stuff of Interest to Jehovah's Witnesses

A publicly visible forum for sharing things related to Jehovah's people, but not necessarily topics for in-depth discussion, such as commonly circulated poetry, illustrations, non-firsthand experiences, & JW related pics/videos. (Publicly visible)

This is a lightweight forum for topics that may be of interest to our brothers and sisters and that is visible to any visitor, whether they are a registered member or guest lurker. Topics that are posted to this forum should be related to Jehovah's people in some way, such as JW related humor and jokes, JW related poetry, light discussions about useful JW sites on the web or applications designed for our brothers and sisters for mobile devices and more. If you want to share an encouraging illustration or a nice but unverifiable experience that you heard via email or on another social networking site, this is the place to post it. This way, any brother or sister can enjoy the material without having to register for an account.

What should not get posted to the JW Public forum?

The JW Stuff forum is more for sharing and just some lightweight discussion, and is visible to the public. If the topic you want to post is a personal experience or a deep subject that you want to discuss and get opinions on, then the Interchange of Encouragement is probably a better forum to do so. And, if your post is not theocratic in nature whatsoever, you should look at one of our hobbies and interest forums or the General Discussion forum.

[Shawnster]

Should my topic for discussion be posted to In the News & Current Events?

This forum is for any and all topics related to what is going on in the news all around the world. Post your topic to this forum along with a link to the original news article or video if it is a piece of current journalism that you wish to discuss or share. Be careful about copyright laws and fair use policies when including portions of the original article in your post.

Use your good judgment when posting news articles that have to do with Jehovah's Witnesses. These should be positive and not negative, nor consisting of apostate propaganda or featuring interviews or dialogue from former Jehovah's Witnesses.

[Musky]

Should I Post My Topic in the General Discussion & Hangout Lounge forum?

Here is the description of our General Discussion Forum that appears on the index page and at the top of the forum in the web version of JWTalk....

General Chit Chat & Hangout Lounge

The "everything else" lounge - Discuss personal interests, introduce yourself, ask questions, post jokes & silly stuff, or anything else that doesn't fit have a dedicated forum. This is our off-topic general discussion area here at JWTalk. (Publicly visible)

Simply stated, Chit Chat is for topics that don't find a home in any of our other forums. We have dedicated theocratic, support, entertainment, food, news, and games forums, so topics that get posted here could be any thing else. Talk about vacations, technology, business, or share a funny picture or joke you recently heard. However, if your topic has to do with Jehovah's Witnesses, don't post it here. You may want to consider posting it to Stuff of Interest to Jehovah's People first, which is our public general JW forum, or to the members only Interchange of Encouragement for deeper discussions. Remember we have a dedicated News forum as well for things in the news, but general interest topics making headlines might be introduced in here.

The General Chit Chat forum is visible to unregistered guests and lurkers, so be cautious about posting pictures and videos as they will be visible to the entire world. You should create an album in the Photo Gallery for sharing pictures that you would like to keep more private.

[Destiny1956]

Thanks brothers for the reminders. You all are doing a very wonderful job.

[junver]

This is the third time that I post my personal experiance on this site, and I don't know wheather you receive it or not. I am just hoping that this experience, my experience, will strengthen others spiritually and also will help others to develop deep love and trust to God Jehovah. Thanks. I just found out that some of my answers on your registering questions are wrong ans I'm really sorry for it. Maybe I am not just feeling well that time and that I'm in a hurry to answer those questions. I'm really sorry for it. Jah Bless.

[Astrid]

Dear Br. Garcia, your post is already up and everything went fine with your registration. Don't worry about it. :-) And we are really glad that you decided to join us here. What you and you're family are going through is so hard and I'm really proud to have a brother with so much faith!

[Adelin]

why is it that every forum is marked as NEW ?

Edited February 23, 2015 by Adelin

[trottigy]

Because there is a new post you haven't read - in each one

[Adelin]

Because there is a new post you haven't read - in each one

thanks, really did not know that 

[retroHelen]

I think folk need to be more aware of which forums are publicly visible as their comments will appear in Google Searches on the subject. I was amazed to see stuff that I wrote that was appearing on Google Search - thankfully nothing to be ashamed of!

 

 However, some comments about how people feel about 'controversial' subjects can be a little OTT and not very circumspect, and we would not want these personal opinions to get into the wrong hands and cause problems, if misquoted out of context, and passed around certain divisive circles.This tends to be comments on certain News Items, so mods may have move the whole thread to a more private News section elsewhere on the forum when it occurs and privately warn folk - we live in such an easily offended, libellous and 'politically correct' society these days,  let alone internet anti JW-trolls waiting to pounce.

[carlos]

 However, some comments about how people feel about 'controversial' subjects can be a little OTT and not very circumspect, and we would not want these personal opinions to get into the wrong hands and cause problems, if misquoted out of context, and passed around certain divisive circles.This tends to be comments on certain News Items, so mods may have move the whole thread to a more private News section elsewhere on the forum when it occurs and privately warn folk - we live in such an easily offended, libellous and 'politically correct' society these days,  let alone internet anti JW-trolls waiting to pounce.

 

Thank you, Helen. Those are wise words.

 

Every forum is clearly marked as "Publicly Visible" or "Members Only". We should take that into account when we post an opinion.

 

The Alt. News, Op-ed, Blogs, & Speculation section is private and is the right place to post any news comments that may be somewhat controversial.

 

Of course, nothing you post in Internet is perfectly safe, so if there's something really really private it may be better to discuss it with a mature friend in person rather than posting it anywhere.