Question for longtime JWDers

JimmyPage

So what was it like at the beginning of JWD? Maybe you were the first one here. Maybe there were just a few of you. Was it lonely? How does it compare to now? With all the new ones coming in do you feel more justified in your view of the WTBTS?

jgnat

I came in the middle. It was apparent there were a few who were very familair with each other's quirks. I see the board as a cycle of newcomers, always refreshing and renewing itself.

Edited to add: Oh, yes. My own views have evolved over time, under the board's influence. I think I understand better the terrible toll that shunning has on a person. It's made me more sensitive to human rights. I've also given my own views a good scrubbing under the sharp light of inquiry.

VM44

A lot of people came here from an old board named H2O that closed several years ago.

I was a lurker (that is, a reader only) at H2O for quite awhile. I started posting for the first time here at JWD.

Casper

I found this site, within the first year it started...

By then, it was a roller coaster ride of raw emotions.

On the one hand, you had better know your stuff before posting or you would get "Stepped On", on the other, it was a very Welcoming place, full of compassion and understanding.

I agree with jgnat...

My own views have evolved over time, under the board's influence. I think I understand better the terrible toll that shunning has on a person. It's made me more sensitive to human rights. I've also given my own views a good scrubbing under the sharp light of inquiry.

It kept me coming back, I learned more than I ever imagined and still do.

Cas

hillbilly

Simon was pro JW or at least apologetic when this site opened. We had the UN thing and a Bulgarian blood issue break after this was running for a little while. Back in the day we had a few Scandanavian apostates around... and those folks had a lot to say.

The Reformed JW folks were hot and vocal back then too. Plus Silentlambs was just starting to push hard.

All that hard work... and the WT errosion to what it really is has caused a lot of folks to wander off... we are glad to see you folks.

Jeff

Lady Lee

I started posting when JWD was about 15 months old. There was a lot of discussion about the theology and doctrine of the WTS. I wasn't particularly interested in that so just did a lot of reading.

Then the board seemed to shift from doctrinal issue to scandals. For me one of the earliest topics to get me the abuse issues, sexual abuse of children, wives, and how they treated people who they deemed unworthy. The depression and suicide rates also affected me a lot.

It was around this time that the doctrinal issues moved to the back burner while scandals and cover-ups moved to the front.

The board has continued to discuss doctrinal issues - Blondie's WT studies are still on point. And there is always a new face to those issues

I think the scandals have been moved to the back of the topics. It too pops back to the fore when needed

IMO I think the hottest issues seems to always be how active JWs are coerced into shunning those who leave. Even fading away is becoming difficult.

I think the board is much more into support issues with the above floating in and out of top spots as needed

lisavegas420

back in the day, there was a chat feature...and you could see who was in chat and there was ALWAYS someone to chat with. ..so it was never lonely.

lisa

stillajwexelder

Over 5 years before posting but a long time viewer of threads before then. My first "apostasy on the web" was Randy's (Dogpatch) site www.freeminds.org and it was a link from that site that sent me here and I loved it and been here ever since. Still check Randy's site. I knew something was not right and being on here has answered so many questions and opened and broadend my mind. I also met a few people and made friends,.

stillajwexelder

So what was it like at the beginning of JWD? Maybe you were the first one here. Maybe there were just a few of you. Was it lonely? Not really -it was slightly scary at first as it was "real apostasy" actually posting rather than reading How does it compare to now? Well now I am a bit of an old timer and now I miss it if I do not post for a week or so With all the new ones coming in do you feel more justified in your view of the WTBTS? ABSOLUTELY but also I now feel I do not need to JUSTIFY myself to anyone

dannyboy

I lurked on H20 (never posting there) for quite a while.

When I joined JWD back in 2001, there was much more doctrinal discussion, far less fluff. And of course far fewer posters. The doctrinal issues don't interest me now like they did then, I am interested in how my former group is changing/modifying beliefs, etc. I have no regular contact with Witnesses anymore, so JWD is an easy way to check up on things.

Yes, I'd say reading what others have experienced bolstered by own conclusions about Jehovah's Witnesses and the "Organization".

---Dan, who is very appreciative of Simon making this forum available all these years, through thick and thin!

Question for longtime JWDers

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