Y
I think I am going to take a very unpopular opinion in this thread. I really disagree with the negative view most people have about online interactions. To me, it is perplexing to spend any amount of time on a forum or social network if you suspect everyone and don't trust their opinions. Why care about discussing anything or sharing ideas online at all? Sure, there are trolls and fakes. There are also plenty of deceivers in real life too. It just takes longer in any online setting to weed out the fakes. Personally, I think the effort is worth it. We should always use caution before giving all our trust to anyone. We should also use discernment and not accept everyone's advice. It is really not that difficult. If a person's advice doesn't line up with Scripture we know we should reject it.
That being said, if you assume that everyone is living a deplorable life of sin offline, you will never be comfortable with anyone's posts. There is wisdom and then there is cynicism. It is best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Once you start to witness a pattern of negative behavior, contention, or malice in a specific person's posts then it is safe to assume that you should not trust that person. I've had very bad and negative experiences on other forums in the past. I understand caution. However, I also became friends with a very nice woman from a forum. We both put out effort to get to know each other. After a year of messages, skype chats, and Facebook, we met up for a week this summer. We had a great time and plan to take more trips together in the future. I gained a very good Christian friend. I had to deal with a lot of nonsense online just to meet a few nice members including her. If you paint everyone with the same brush before investing the time to really get to know them, you will miss out on making great friends. Maybe the members that defend other members share the same beliefs, have things in common, and have become friends outside of the forum.
That being said, if you assume that everyone is living a deplorable life of sin offline, you will never be comfortable with anyone's posts. There is wisdom and then there is cynicism. It is best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Once you start to witness a pattern of negative behavior, contention, or malice in a specific person's posts then it is safe to assume that you should not trust that person. I've had very bad and negative experiences on other forums in the past. I understand caution. However, I also became friends with a very nice woman from a forum. We both put out effort to get to know each other. After a year of messages, skype chats, and Facebook, we met up for a week this summer. We had a great time and plan to take more trips together in the future. I gained a very good Christian friend. I had to deal with a lot of nonsense online just to meet a few nice members including her. If you paint everyone with the same brush before investing the time to really get to know them, you will miss out on making great friends. Maybe the members that defend other members share the same beliefs, have things in common, and have become friends outside of the forum.