Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Blog Comment Troll

I guess at point, every blog gets its share of spammers and trolls. I get a lot of spam comments already but this week I got my first troll. I was going to ignore it but he/she is very persistent... and both extremely rude and insulting. As my three readers know, I stopped attending NewSong NOC about two years ago. Last summer (2009) I got some emails from Pastor Peter Park and other CAM (Creative Arts Ministry) members about Brian Kim stepping down as senior pastor. I made a short post about that fact, and hoped he reconciles with his family.

Post: NewSong NOC Scandal?

18 months later, an anonymous commenter, who freely admits not knowing anything about NewSong (he/she didn't even know the service times), reads my blog post. Instead of finding out actual facts (not sure why it's even interesting to outsiders), he/she decides to make up their own context, and leaves a couple long comments laced with wild unsubstantiated assumptions and personal insults towards me.

Here's what I wrote:
I just found out that the lead pastor is stepping down because he "violated his marriage vows." I'm not sure what that means exactly and I don't have more details. He is married and has two young children. I hope it's not a Mark Sanford type meltdown and things work out between him and his family.

And here's the comment thread so far:
Anonymous said...
I have to wonder why you've posted this on your blog and why you've let this "scandal" remain here. In the context in which you've posted it, it sounds like you're some vengeful jerk who was mad at the topic of the sermon so you've decided to ravage this guy and his family. Real classy. What would be just as interesting and rightfully yours to publish would be the stuff you do at your computer late at night when you think you're all alone and no one will find out about it. Or any of your other sins you so assiduously keep hidden on this fabulous blog of yours.
Dec 26, 2010 5:32:00 PM

Anonymous said...
Yes, I'm not a member of Newsong NOC or of Newsong Irvine, so I don't know who you are. I genuinely wish I did, so I could talk with you in person. Do you see how the leadership of Newsong did it? They told the members of NOC and Irvine; they did it, I assume, respectfully and not in some gossipy, trashy fashion such as you've done here. I googled service times for Newsong NOC and stumbled upon your incendiary crap. Unfortunately. Hey, buddy, quit crying about my comments. You published it, deal with the consequences of your actions. Zero facts, indeed. You've provided me with everything I need to conclude you're an immature kid looking to be noticed. I'm fascinated by your self-confession that your 14+ hours working the sound system somehow makes you like a super-special Christian. The good news is despite this blog, despite your desperate desire for regard and attention, despite your incredible smallness, our God is bigger. Taking you to task on this is my personal mission. I'll try to find out who you are from the NewSong people and hopefully we will chat in person.
Dec 29, 2010 7:15:00 PM

Sigh... zero facts and a whole lot of baseless accusations. Now I have my own stalker who's "personal mission" is to harass me on my blog. Great.

We'll see at the end of all this whether my troll is mature and responsible enough to apologize for all those insults hurled my way. I'm not going to hold my breath...

5 comments:

hogsman said...

Don't let it get to you. He doesn't know you, but I do, and I know there was no malice behind your original post. "Immature"? That guy/gal needs to get on his/her knees and pray for some self-awareness and humility.

totochi said...

Thanks. I was angry at first but now I'm more confused. Most of the NewSong people I know knew about my blog long before this issue and so far this is the first comment from anyone. I'm also surprised at the level of hate and general nastiness in the comments from someone that freely admits that he/she does not have any information or context. Weird...

Anonymous said...

at least you know it isn't from your normal anonymous poster by the lack of CAPS. please get back to the main purpose of this blog and post videos of k-pop/j-pop girls in short skirts.

Anonymous said...

It is OK my friend. I'm glad you stopped attending the church on 2009. I do hope you find a good home church that is suitable for you to grow. Newsong North Orange County (NOC) is now a totally different church. It's no longer like what you knew before. Their current lead pastor, SH, is very different than their previous pastors, BK and PP. This new lead pastor is a very straight-forward person who happens to be a coach of Choice Center Leadership University for over 10 years. This guy is very smart. At first he infuses the church leadership with his influence, build relationship with them, etc. to the point that the church leadership somehow trust him all the way. Afterwards, he advises all of the church staffs and leadership team to go to Choice Center. It costs about $2500 to get into the program and it requires the participant to recruit 5 people in order to graduate from the program. Choice Center by itself may be a good leadership program but mixing it with church leadership is not a good idea as some of its principles are conflicting with what the Bible teaches. The church used to have more than 10 small groups but now it's down to 2 small groups only. All because of this Choice Center issue. You can imagine how chaotic the situation is over there now. We should keep them in prayer so that God will truly reveal His will for the church that no man can interfere. So yeah, don't worry about that anonymous guy / girl. I hope you're in a much better place now.

Anonymous said...

No need to worry. The new lead pastor just resigned from NOC. So... pretty much, after the Choice Center issue, the tithing and offering dropped significantly which led to insufficient fund to pay building rent (HOPE University Auditorium) for Sunday service, then going from house-to-house, park-to-park for Sunday service, etc. which nothing's wrong with that. I'm just sad that the church community which has existed for 10 years is now pretty much dissolved and the new lead pastor just takes off afterwards. What a tragedy. I learn that every time God wants to do something / save His people, He sends someone (Moses, Gideon, Samuel, David ... , Jesus Christ). On the other hand, the enemy pretty much has the same method. I'm thankful for everything that happens at NOC. NOC has become very unhealthy and needs a major pruning.