TWI gives GSC credibility

[pawtucket]

I remember when Mrs. Wierwille was put into a nursing home/assisted care. Through a regular poster, I was sent a message from JP Wierwille that something was awry about her not being able to live at The Way's headquarters, more specifically the home that she raised her children and lived for many decades.

I offered to let JP tell his side of the story. He did that and I published it on GSC. There was outrage about her treatment. A few days later, as I was checking new registrations, I see two new people. Namely, John Linder and Harve Platig. Well over the years at GSC, many people have registered using the names of known names at TWI. I don't automatically approve them. What I would do is wait a few days and see if they would email me asking about their registration. (as a side note, the approval process is done to filter out spammers, we would get as many as 50 spammer registrations a day)

So I didn't have to wait too long and I got an email from one of them. Basically saying why weren't they allowed to register and assuming that I was not allowing them to register. I wrote back and explained that others had tried using their names in the past. They did not comprehend that. I realized that they weren't very "web" savvy. I said that I would be happy to verify via a phone call. They agreed.

Then I realized that I was going to have to call TWI!! Not something that i ever planned on doing. I called a few friends and we discussed some strategies. One of the friends said, "You realize what this means, don't you?"

I was simmering in the thoughts of having John or Harve calling me everyday from now on harassing me about every little jot and tittle on the forums. "No what does it mean?"

"They are admitting that the "go to place" is GreaseSpot Cafe. They are giving you credibility!!"

Well I hadn't thought about that. But it was true. They were bypassing their normal means of correcting something that they disagreed with and choosing GSC!! So I was going to make the call. Well I was voted out in this four-way conversation and someone else was chosen to make the call. The decision was based on articulation and I agreed.

The call was made. She asked to be transferred to Harve. Harve picked up and asked if she could hold for a moment. He came back a few minutes later and she was on speaker phone. (I would have paid to be a fly on Harve's wall) Basically, during the phone call, GSC offered to let TWI publish a reply to JP's article. They didn't want a single word, phrase, comma, jot or tittle changed. We agreed. About a day later, I received a PDF file. This was one of the smallest PDF file, I had ever seen. When I blew it up to read it, it was all pixelated. I told them that I needed something legible, posting this would be embarrassing to GSC and TWI. After emailing back and forth, they agreed to send us a Word doc, I told them I would give them first refusal if they thought that I had changed anything. I had the article ready and posted it. TWI didn't object to it.

And TWI gave GSC credibility. Unfortunately, I think that it was a contributing factor in Harve being taken off the Board of Trustees.

[WordWolf]

There's a certain irony in twi telling people to ONLY go to them and to RUN from anything

else on the internet- then having twi admit that the credible way to publish their response

to something was to use an external site, especially one that was most famous for being

their loudest critic.

On the other hand, the GSC BUILT its own credibility over time (a minority disagree, but a

minority disagrees the space program is real and a minority also things Obama is a Muslim),

and twi has LOST its own credibility over time. Having the LOW credibility place give what

little credibility they have to the HIGH credibility place is amusing, but in all honesty,

the GSC never needed twi to give it credibility.

[Sudo]

Paw,

I was somewhat surprised to see how computer incompetent they are. I attended my last TWI fellowship around 1987 so I don't recognize the TWI of today. Their website is indicative of a small organization and from what I've read here at GSC, they are most likely now the size of a medium sized metropolitan church. Of course, they pretty much destroyed themselves with LCM's actions but GSC has to be the primary reason their numbers keep shrinking. You can be proud of yourself, Paw.

I've been around here from the beginning and have enjoyed my sojourn immensely. I'll miss the place a lot but I think we'll still manage to keep in touch. Social networking. Friend of a friend contact. That sort of thing. And TWI? Just a shadow of the grand evil organization it used to be.

sudo

[mstar1]

You were overwhelmingly gracious about that Paw-going to the trouble to call them and posting their response for them when they could have just done it on their own

What has baffled me from day one is why people from a group that contends that they live without any fear, lurk in the shadows like frightened puppies instead of just openly and freely posting their points like everyone else.

So much for 'contending for the faith".

The silence from them, except in that one instance, has been deafening.

It has said as much about way 'faith', what little it has to offer and how substantially inconsequential it is than years of our contrarian posts that try to explain its emptiness.

[Bolshevik]

. . I was somewhat surprised to see how computer incompetent they are. I attended my last TWI fellowship around 1987 so I don't recognize the TWI of today. Their website is indicative of a small organization and from what I've read here at GSC, they are most likely now the size of a medium sized metropolitan church. . . .

It was in 2004-2005 I think, when they announced at the noon meal that the internet is now as common as the Sunday paper . . . whatever that is . . .

IMO . . . Mrs W would have got better care in a nursing home . . . we would often find her wandering alone on grounds . . . saying weird things . . .

twi gets upset about anything that crosses their radar . . . it doesn't matter what . . . what's amazing is they found GSC

[shortfuse]

There's a certain irony in twi telling people to ONLY go to them and to RUN from anything

else on the internet- then having twi admit that the credible way to publish their response

to something was to use an external site, especially one that was most famous for being

their loudest critic.

This was ironic indeed. It was clearly a face saving response aimed at "innie" Wayfers, yet it was never once mentioned in any other context because no one would openly admit they were out here with the "cop-outs".

I agree with Paw that this must have factored into Harve losing his spot on the B.O.D.

Interesting side note, I found GSC and gave the forums my first serious look at the unwitting prompt of my Limb Coordinator. Mrs. Wierwille had just died and we needed to inform people with a phone call. It had just happened, and I was told I needed to get the word out quickly because, "the cop outs already have it all over the internet." I was surprised at this description and did a bit of googling. Far from "all over the internet", it was being discussed in a thread on the GreaseSpot Cafe forums. Shortly after that, I found my brother out here and learned why he really left The Way. I started to face things I had not given an honest hearing previously. Over the next couple years my TWI relationship completely unraveled. Funny how it was my Limb Coordinator who accidentally lead me here. Thanks, man.

[pawtucket]

I suppose I should say more specificallly, that TWI gave GSC credibility among current way members.

[Galen]

While TWI may not be WWW savvy, some of the followers are.

It took me by surprise a few months ago when my Region Coordinator said to me that he had seen some of my posters on GSC. Nothing else, just that he had seen some of them. Nothing else has ever been said about it.