Does the Watchtower read postings? (page 2)

kenpodragon

larc

Just being wierd this evening ... although, I was just playing around with a active imagination

Not a "brother" though

Dragon

Edited by - kenpodragon on 1 September 2002 3:0:23

I think they do in a general sense. I read their mags...so what the heck. I like to see what they are doing. I don't think they are concerned about catching you or me!. Mind you if there was a CO, DO etc posting stuff I am sure they would do what they could to get him!!!!!!!

ISP

Klaus Vollmer

there are indeed some horny guys looking what is happening in a competitive market.

and marketing intelligence is necessary for the development of anything and anyone.

so you can be sure that your greetings are received in Brooklyin Heights as well as on the Ridgeway.

Those funny guys over there reading about the shit facts of their management (eg UNO-lie)are really poor people.

standing straight and saying "yes brother maximo leader" while having the fist in the pocket

ballistic

There is someone who posts regularly to this board (you know who you are) who told me in person that the Watchtower had spotted them on a 'where are you' type thread, similar to my 'MAP' thread and actually sent the info to the elders to ask if their name was xxxxx screen name.

This answers your question: YES THEY DEFINATELY MONITOR. And that is why I put a warning on my map thread and stated I was happy to just put a county or area rather than town / city.

Englishman

I can vouch for what Ballistic says. I too have known it happen that elders have called around to see someone who has posted here, and in the process, unwittingly identified themself by a reference to a major belief sticking point, of which the elders were aware, and a reference to a hobby which also fitted in too well. The elders asked point blank if he/she were so and so from this board.

My advice to anyone who is wanting to fade slowly, is to avoid giving away location, occupation and marital status.

Of course once you've taken the plunge, you can have great fun putting up pics and shouting your own name from the rooftops!

Englishman.

Realist

if these sites are watched who is doing it? wouldn't the brother/sister risk to get doubts after reading apostate postings? quite a dangerous task for sincere witnesses!?

Quotes

Farkel said:

A very recent example of the power of this particular board, is it was first revealed here that for TEN years the Watchtower had secretely joined the UN as an affiliate. Within a matter of a few days the shock and embarrassment of the world finding out Watchtower hypocrisy, they resigned their affiliation and then lied about why they had joined in the first place.

Uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............. I'm going to have to disagree with the eminent Farkel on this one.

Actually, as I recall, the "Fit hit the Shan" when the British reporter printed a story about it in The Guardian. That is what got us talking, and it is reasonable to conclude that is what got The Brothers(TM) and The Sisters(TM) and The Society(TM) interested in the subject. The Brothers(TM) and Sisters(TM) were likely contacting The Society(TM) for verification. Certainly The Opposers(TM) were contacting them. So, the UN story was:

printed in a large circulation newspaper (The Guardian), and it was picked up by other news agencies
likely came right to the WT door via telephone enquiries as a result of The Guardian's story
was discussed on JWD, this Den of Apostates and Opposers(TM)

All this happened at approx the same time. Now, which do you think got their attention? My vote, using the KISS principle, is the first or second are far more likely to have been the method by which this scandal got the WT's attention. It was hand delivered to them, without any JWD lurking necessary.

Freedom96, this topic was discussed in a thread I started on June 9: Does Watchtower Society monitor this board?

The closest we got to "proof" at that time was the following statement:

David Semonian, spokesman for the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses,admitted the group sometimes looks at the website "when necessary." He also said it attempts to "readjust(the) thinking " of those who post material critical of the religion on the web."

However, this does not proove that JWD is deliberatly lurked by WT drones on a mission to gather information about us good-ole apostates. It is very vague, and could also be interpreted as meaning:

Sometimes a brother will put something apostate on a website, or on an MSN discussion board, or in a Usenet Newsgroup, or at one of the 100 billion possible locations on the internet.

If another brother somehow finds out about it, perhaps because the bad brother told him about it, or because we see a link publihsed in a newspaper article which has high exposure and we know the general public will be checking out, then we will check out the web page to see if we have a case for libel.

DanTheMan

Riz:

I agree. I don't see how any active JW could monitor sites such as this one, or freeminds, and not come to view their religious affiliation in a "new light".

Then again, some people love JWism so much, that no amount of information could convince them that mama ain't no good. And the world outside of the WT can be pretty rotten, so to them, the WT is the less of two evils.

Where I live there is a well-known elder, a ZEALOUS defender of JW-ism. You should see his swagger as he walks up to the doors of the local churches. His greatest joy and satisfaction in life is to sit down with Pastor Bob, and, after a few minutes of scriptural discussion, get the fish-eyed, don't-know-what-to-say look from them. His wife (a fundamentalist) has opposed him for years, she hates the WT. She used to do all kinds of crazy things to keep him away from meetings. She has a whole shelf of apostate books. I know that he has read some of these books, I think that back in the 80's he and she studied CofC together, and he believes that the book is nothing but a pathetic attempt by Ray to justify himself ("Ray lost sight of the forest because of the trees" is what he would say). To this day, he is still one of the most zealous JW's you will find, a real 'true believer'. (Though he has to wear an oral appliance at night to protect his teeth, as he grinds them terribly in his sleep, he also has digestive problems, both of these are, imo, signs severe cognitive dissonance).

I feel bad for him, it as if he and his wife have been in a staring contest for 25 years, and neither of them has blinked yet.

Edited by - dantheman on 1 September 2002 10:1:38

Big Tex

WTS has always been about control. And on top of which, they've been known to be more than a little paranoid. Like a jilted lover, they can't resist monitoring boards like this and reading what all of us evil condemned people have to say about them. I personally believe the August and September KMs are partially about sites just like this.

Does the Watchtower read postings?