Friday, June 28, 2013
Kol Koreh- Do not "Like" your fellow jew.
In the wake of the Internet Asifa and ongoing battle with the challenges of technology and the dangers of Social media sites, Rabbonim in Lakewood have issued a letter to both Frum Business owners and publications not to refer customers to social media sites. The letter also asks frum media publications, newspapers, magazines, not to print any advertisements for businesses that direct you to social media sites, specifically businesses that ask customers to "Like us on Facebook". Click HERE the post on Facebook.
The COFFEE ROOM on THE YESHIVA WORLD website is also a social network, and even worse, it's misleading as the website is considered "kosher" and "frum."
ReplyDeleteThe Yeshiva World website's name implies that it represents the yeshivishe world, and that people from the yeshivishe world can feel comfortable viewing this website because it is kosher v’yosher and free of materials that yeshivishe people want to avoid. But that is very far from the truth. Prominently displayed on the home page of The Yeshiva World is the “Coffee Room,” which is a very great mich’shol. It looks innocent enough – what could be wrong with networking with others on topics, perhaps for advice or to find out information? And Yeshiva World will even exonerate themselves by saying they have a moderator who steps in to stop inappropriate conversations. But it’s a farce! First of all, the very idea of a social networking forum on a yeshivishe website is outrageous! The people who participate in the dialogue on The Coffee Room could be bochurim, single girls, women, men – nobody really knows who one is talking to. And the topics discussed are far from appropriate for boys and girls to be talking to each other about. Some examples of topics that are being “chatted” about between boys and girls, and other anonymous users, are:
Walking Behind a Woman, Girls wearing boys clothing, Is it untznius for a girl to ride a bike, Wearing Perfume, Divorce Stories, Tznius Support Group – PLEASE WOMEN ONLY, Guys-things that a girl does or says on a date that makes you lose interest, Shidduchim: Girls & Size Zeros, Shidduchim & Weight, Kosher Movies/ Torah TV, Jewish feminism, nail polish, Good Jokes, It's A Man's World, Respected Rabbanim Eating Out, Abused Husbands, parenting/sexual abuse, Do Women Need Marriage?
The moderator may step in from time to time, but there should not be an outlet in the first place for boys and girls to chat like this, and certainly not about these topics! And by the time the moderator steps in, so much inappropriate conversation has already taken place! What kind of yeshivishe website is this? It is such a big mich’shol for people who think that the website is kosher and okay to use!
So, in a sense, it's worse than the other social networking sites, which are blatantly inappropriate.
I notice that you seem to have read quite a bit from YWN. Perhaps you should be spending more time in the beis, and less time worrying about what other people do on the internet. Does your rebbe know you're here?
DeleteYou are purposely issuing a reply that has nothing to do with the issue, in order to detract from this very important point that is being made. There are many people who do not learn all the time, but are Bnei Torah, and they look on Yeshiva World thinking it is kosher and fall into the trap of the coffee room. They need to be warned even moreso than those who are in the Beis Medrash learning all day. And who tells you everyone looking on Yeshiva World is a man or bochur and has a rebbe? What about the many ladies and girls who read YW and fall into the coffee room trap? It's a mich'shol that all must be warned about. Again, your comment has nothing to do with the point being made.
DeleteThe moderators at yeshiva world coffee room is a joke. I would for sure not call it hareidi. Half or more of the posters are modern orthodox and feminists. If the mods don't like what you say (or more correctly if they don't like you) they not only will block you but will even add subtitles under your user name with whatever they wish and type things in your name and prevent you from typing further to say "hey, that's not me!". The things people say in the room are also completely out of line.
DeleteYou can't converse with any of the other users outside of the system.
I think the fact that business send people to twitter and specifically facebook is a WAAAAY bigger issue. YWN Coffeeroom is anonymous. I would say its rated pg. its not for little kids. But Its not a bad place either.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference if it's a large sakanah or a small sakanah - they are both sakanas nefashos. What does being 'anonymous' have to do with the sakanah of what one is exposed to in the Coffee Room? And the Coffee Room IS a bad place for any frum, G-d fearing Jew.
DeleteThe Coffee Room is a very bad place and is all the more dangerous because they represent "the yeshiva world".
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