A friend of mine emailed me last week the following:

I’ve got a question for you. The last couple of months I have really been getting into conversing with people on [a secular] message board. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about abortion, homosexual marriage, the Bible, Christianity, etc. However, I’m starting to get kind of frustrated with it. It’s turned into, or at least I am starting to realize it always has been, a forum for people who are already hard core in their beliefs/positions and are only seeking people to hammer that disagree with them. Do you know of a good message board where people actually debate the issues and refrain from the attacking style?

I’m posting my reply here. How would you have answered?

Well, the short answer to your question is, “no”. What you’re talking about are called trolls. They hang out on boards to throw stones and don’t want to interact with people. Toss and run.But also this isn’t surprising. The anonymity of the internet allows people to be more bold and brash. It can allow the sin nature to become more aggressive.

But for a little humor, check these out: savage chickens and online debating skills

So, what to do? My advice is if you want to stick with it, you’ll have to tough it out. Keep praying and let it roll off your back.

But you could take another approach rather than just discussion boards. For instance, you could open up a blog. They are free. You get to express your thoughts there and allow others to comment.

You can still check in with your discussion boards, but maybe they allow you to have a profile with your blog address linked in it.

You could also volunteer to be an email mentor or get involved in chat room ministry. TruthMedia, a ministry of Campus Crusade, do this really well and are always looking for volunteers.

I realize it’s not necessarily the same tactic you’re taking now, but it does re-purpose some of the electronic ministry skills you’ve been developing for yourself.

I hope this helps some.