Re: gaining respect

Hey tigris, thanks for the kind words. You're right in saying that I'm not perfect, and I try to be careful not to come across as being a know-it-all through all the encouragement, advice, and sometimes disagreements I post here. This is also why I prefer to keep most of my communication public -- it keeps me accountable to others, and if I say something stupid (or am misunderstood) then someone else might come along and post something that helps correct, clarify, or balance my view (and vice versa). I read just about every post here, and even though I might not give a reply to anything for a couple weeks, I'm still here privately studying, learning, and growing from all the different responses and intense discussions. And I realize there's many people here who can make better replies than I can to certain posts, plus it's good just to sit back and read what others have to say about a certain topic. I'm still pretty much the same person I was when I made my first post here more than a year ago. I still have lots of questions and concerns. That's one of the reasons why I come here a lot. And also, to help others who've had the same struggles I've had, and do have. This is a great place. You asked about me using other names. I've only made posts in two "boylove" or "minor-attracted-adult" forums (this place and OpenHands). Every once in awhile I'll do a little boylove research by going to other forums to see what others are saying -- I've probably been to more than a dozen -- but I've only felt comfortable enough to post here (CBLF) and in OpenHands, and I've only ever used the name Splash in these two places, with two exceptions: my first couple days here I used the name "Feeling Dirty," and then once I posted a small poem about child sex-abuse under the name !hsalpS. It was actually a pro-abstinence boylove poem, but some people (obviously, those who don't know me very well) thought I was ridiculing boylove as a whole. But just as there are bad Christians, there are also, what I believe to be, bad boylovers. Anyway, I'm not sure the moderators would allow someone to post under two different names for long. It happened a couple times before with someone acting out two different personas, and the moderators put a stop to it. I've learned that one thing to watch out for is when someone gets overly friendly with you, asking lots of questions (some personal). I'm not sure why they think they need this info, but there are organizations that don't understand us (they only see a stereotype) and they think they're doing the will of God by trying to shut down forums like this. Strange. There are more sincere, honest, and good-hearted Christians in this forum than in most any church. Yes, we have our weaknesses, but here we are talking about them. How many other Christians talk about their deepest darkest secret weaknesses? I doubt many do. I didn't mean to say all that, but maybe it'll be useful to someone. Thanks again for your words. Oh... you asked about Lonely J? He now goes by J (since Dec 9th or 10th). From what I've read, he seems to have a very good grasp of scripture. Impressive, really. But if anyone thinks we're the same person, they're wrong. We seem to share some similarities -- certain beliefs, musicianship, biblical understanding -- but his history (life experience) is a bit different from mine. I hope all goes well for you and your relationship with the boys you talked about (and any others). Keep us updated. I expect to hear some good news soon. :) Peace.