Posts by Dagney

68

What I Saw & Heard in the Oral Argument Hearing on January 14, 2015

by ABibleStudent in

im not an attorney and i could not record the hearing, so please forgive me if i make mistakes in relating what i remember of the oral argument hearing for jane doe (i.e., candace conti) versus the watchtower bible & tract society on january 14, 2015 and the length of this post.. i arrived at the civic center/union plaza in san francisco, ca about 7:30. the area is very nice with a few homeless people sleeping in the park across from the courthouse.

it took me about 10 minutes to find the clerks office for the court on the first floor, which opened at 8:00.. once the clerks office opened, the two clerks who i talked with were very polite and helpful.

the arguments for jane doe (i.e., candace conti) versus the watchtower bible & tract society were scheduled 5th out of (i think) 8. while i was in the office a cameraman and another person for nbc arrived asking about the hearing for candace contis case.. the courtroom for the 1st appellate court is on the 4th floor and takes up most of that floor.

Dagney

Thank you so much for your attendance and report ABibleStudent.

111

Conti Appeal Preview - Oral Argument Jan 14

by Chaserious in

with hopefully a good deal of interest here in the conti appeal tomorrow (or later today, depending on where you are), i thought that on my ride home from work tonight i'd preview what to expect and what i think the key issues are for any who are interested.

i have had a busy few weeks and haven't had time to read everything, but i had some time to look at the appeal briefs during my work commute the past couple days.

it'll be interesting to see what develops out of the network news coverage of this case.

Dagney

Can't wait to hear how this goes....

20

New to the forum

by Gone and forgotten in

first i want to say that i really appreciate this forum.

most other places i've seen are nothing but filled with spite and hate.

this site is reasonable and supportive...thank you for that!.

Dagney

Welcome! Thank you for sharing your story! Glad you found us.

Wishing you continued recovery and good health.

17

2014 Statistics and Graphs for USA, UK and Australia

by jwfacts in

i have done a breakdown for the usa, since the majority on this forum are american, along with the uk and australia.

us growth has slowed, but still moving along, but uk and australia have are at a virtual standstill, and in fact decreasing against population growth.. .

jehovah's witness publisher statistics - united states.

Dagney

I think there is growth in the US only due to creative counting of hours. There is no way in hell those people are out more in door to door. I live in an area with KH's all around me. I have lived in my place since 2005 and have NEVER been contacted by a JW; never even saw a tract. I have seen the Spanish strolling down the street in groups, not going to the doors...but seriously strolling down the street...no exaggeration.

I think the time will come when the gap will be so large they cannot creatively make up for the difference and will have to publish less than stellar statistics.

27

Is shunning effective?

by rebel8 in

does shunning accomplish its objectives:.

make the person repent?.

deter others from committing similar offenses in the future?.

Dagney

Shunning for me just made me angrier.

But shunning is very effective in keeping a fair percentage in the fold on high control groups. Many tow the line in fear of the rejection by loved ones.

If I had stopped to consider the oncoming loss, it may have taken me years to leave, if ever.

67

Good Netflix shows to watch

by Simon in

in the long winter nights you need some good tv shows to watch while you wait for the eternity between seasons of game of thrones.. we've watched marco polo (pretty good) and have just started watching orange is the new black which is not at all what i imagined (didn't know it was funny!).

house of cards is on the list too as we've heard good things about that.. anyone have any others that are worth seeing?.

Dagney

The Honorable Woman.

The Assets

Angharad, I think you might enjoy "Happy Valley" and "The Bletchley Circle" both excellent BBC productions.

67

Good Netflix shows to watch

by Simon in

in the long winter nights you need some good tv shows to watch while you wait for the eternity between seasons of game of thrones.. we've watched marco polo (pretty good) and have just started watching orange is the new black which is not at all what i imagined (didn't know it was funny!).

house of cards is on the list too as we've heard good things about that.. anyone have any others that are worth seeing?.

Dagney

A little rough, but "Sons of Anarchy." Loved it.

Would recommend "Justified," but just found out Netflix dropped it but it is on Amazon Prime.

BBC "Luther."

"Homeland."

263

Poster country flags and privacy

by Simon in

the new forum originally had a little country flag next to each post showing the country that the post was made from based on the geoip encoding (the country the ip address is from).

before i switched over to the new site someone made an issue about it violating their privacy and i didn't want to complicate and confuse the switchover with policy debate at the same time as technical issues so removed the flags even though i disagreed.. someone has already requested it as a feature and i think it should be added back so i thought it's now time to open the discussion and get everyone's opinions.

first, the reason i think it should be shown:.

Dagney

As the site creator I see Simon has reasons for wanting to show the flag.

Do they outweigh the chance of preventing a newbie poster from joining and the seeking help or counsel they might need as they are trying to navigate their feelings as they start to question the authority of the WBTS?

I was so paranoid to join this site. You think your relatives ("elder" brother here), or former friends are going to go on the biggest DB in the exJW world to find you. In a discussion a few years ago my brother brought up things specific from the internet, so I know he was snooping around the exJW world. I played dumb about them and reacted like they didn't matter to me.

Now with years under my belt I have shared where I live and am not so sensitive to being discovered. But to me, anything that would prevent a newbie from seeking the assistance they so dearly need when in the middle of a JW family or mate issue is not worth it.

The anonymity may be perception or delusion I guess to those in the tech world. I don't know what a

VPN or other anonymizer.

is. So I guess I shouldn't be allowed to post because I'm so dumb. Maybe the focus of the DB is different from the early years. That happens.

I think it should be optional in the profile to be able to choose what you want revealed in one's posts. .02.

26

Site issues: Dec 30 Update

by Simon in

first of all, some apologies - i had planned to spend the last couple of days getting everyone signed in to the new site and sorting account issues out but i wasn't getting over the flu as i thought, i got worse.

i've probably had 4 hours sleep in the last few days.

anything that requires too much thinking isn't going to happen right now.

Dagney

Sympathies. I got it too.

180

Please post new forum feedback or questions here

by Simon in

well, the switchover happened - there were a couple of things i had to fix which meant the posting was disabled for longer than i planned but it's now enabled and some people have already posted.. if you have any questions about the new format or suggestions on how to improve it, please post them here.. if you are having trouble signing in or posting then you'll need to email me instead.. many thanks to everyone for their patience during the changeover !.

Dagney

Testing.

:)

Edited to add: Thank you Simon for providing this place. There are not enough words to describe what has given many of us, but here are a few:

a voice
an opportunity to meet others during a particularly rough journey
a chance to learn from others who are on the same journey

Thank you again.