Closure of OJBS: Online Journal of Baha'i Studies.

[Ron House]

From http://www.ojbs.org:

.................................................................
Closure of OJBS: Online Journal of Baha'i Studies.

As a result of a series of communications between various parties and
acting on the request of the Universal House of Justice this website has
been closed down.

Prospective authors and readers are directed to the following official
print journals requiring subscriptions:

Journal of Baha'i Studies
Baha'i Studies Review

Many thanks to the 17,668 visitors who downloaded 18,836 articles and
volumes in the period Dec 26,2007 to January 16, 2009 from more than 177
countries and territories around the globe.

"When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that
is behind the work"
-Jean Cocteau
.................................................................

Seems they never learn. An academic journal disappearing because a
religion's Central Committee decrees it should die. Why not just
announce to scholars with a public ad, "The BF is a cult!" and save the
time, effort, and heartache of all the behind the scenes argy bargy?
Luckily the files are safe and they're at this location for a short time
- get your copy now:

http://www.softwaremage.co.nz/files/OJBS_Volume_1.pdf

And commendations to the editors for their act of independent speech
with the closing quote there. I wonder what they will have to pay for that?

[Sock-Puppet'ullah]

Post by Ron House
.................................................................
Closure of OJBS: Online Journal of Baha'i Studies.
As a result of a series of communications between various parties and
acting on the request of the Universal House of Justice this website has
been closed down.
Prospective authors and readers are directed to the following official
Journal of Baha'i Studies
Baha'i Studies Review
Many thanks to the 17,668 visitors who downloaded 18,836 articles and
volumes in the period Dec 26,2007 to January 16, 2009 from more than 177
countries and territories around the globe.
"When a work appears to be ahead of its time, it is only the time that
is behind the work"
-Jean Cocteau
.................................................................
Seems they never learn. An academic journal disappearing because a
religion's Central Committee decrees it should die. Why not just
announce to scholars with a public ad, "The BF is a cult!" and save the
time, effort, and heartache of all the behind the scenes argy bargy?
Luckily the files are safe and they're at this location for a short time
http://www.softwaremage.co.nz/files/OJBS_Volume_1.pdf
And commendations to the editors for their act of independent speech
with the closing quote there. I wonder what they will have to pay for that?
--
Ron House
Australian Birds:http://wingedhearts.org
Principle of Goodness academic site:http://principleofgoodness.net

In the first online issue you have linked, other than the excellent re-
formatted article by Todd Lawson, which already appeared in a volume
edited by the late Linda Walbridge, everything else in there was
worthless propaganda, anyway, esp. the article by Momen.

W

[John MacLeod]

Post by Sock-Puppet'ullah
In the first online issue you have linked, other than the excellent re-
formatted article by Todd Lawson, which already appeared in a volume
edited by the late Linda Walbridge, everything else in there was
worthless propaganda, anyway, esp. the article by Momen.
W

But wouldn't you agree Wahid that Ron's point is that the site was
closed down and whether the contents of the site were worthwhile or not
isn't of great importance compared to the fact that it was closed?

[Sock-Puppet'ullah]

Post by John MacLeod

Post by Sock-Puppet'ullah
In the first online issue you have linked, other than the excellent re-
formatted article by Todd Lawson, which already appeared in a volume
edited by the late Linda Walbridge, everything else in there was
worthless propaganda, anyway, esp. the article by Momen.
W

But wouldn't you agree Wahid that Ron's point is that the site was
closed down and whether the contents of the site were worthwhile or not
isn't of great importance compared to the fact that it was closed?

Not particularly, no, since we are dealing with a contrived and
totally ideological-driven discipline of Bahaim (pseudo-)scholarship
that has a problem with truth and fact, and would rather embellish
issues to fit a preconceived ideological template that in-and-of-
itself is completely worthless and a total waste of bandwidth and
resources, if you ask me; and one should weep for those trees cut down
that make the hard-copy of this rag. Now if someone was willing to set
up a site and were willing to publish professionally written academic
monographs without caring an iota what a bunch of Zionist subsidized
religious politicians and career criminals thought - a e-publication
not beholden to the preconceived ideological templates of a cult -
that would be something worthwhile.

You people whine and bemoan the closing down of this thing when the
fault is with yourselves. Despite the almost worthless content up to
this point, one should blame the editors cooperating with the edict
and closing it down. Why even cooperate with Fascists? What would've
happened if a majority of the editors and those contributors with
cajones and personal integrity would've turned around and unanimously
told the uhj, FUCK YOU AND DONKEY'S YOU IN ON, and continued as
before; no, continued better than before?

W

[Jeffrey]

Post by Sock-Puppet'ullah
You people whine and bemoan the closing down of this thing when the
fault is with yourselves. Despite the almost worthless content up to
this point, one should blame the editors cooperating with the edict
and closing it down. Why even cooperate with Fascists? What would've
happened if a majority of the editors and those contributors with
cajones and personal integrity would've turned around and unanimously
told the uhj, FUCK YOU AND DONKEY'S YOU IN ON, and continued as
before; no, continued better than before?
W

Exactly. Fight for your rights! They want to close down my site too,
but I will not voluntarily do so.
http://www.truebahai.com/court_case.html

Jeffrey

[John MacLeod]

Post by Ron House
As a result of a series of communications between various parties and
acting on the request of the Universal House of Justice this website
has been closed down.

Do you (or anyone else) know anything of the story behind this rather
cryptic announcment? Who were the 'various parties' and were any
reasons given either by the House or by the 'various parties'?

I have a skim through the material and read a couple of them. Some of
it is very turgid but I agree with Wahid about Todd Lawson's piece and
also learnt from Vahid Behmardi and Will McCants article. But my
overriding impression was - what possible reason could there be for
requesting this site be closed? I could imagine copyright disputes
forcing the withdrawal of individual articles but the whole site closed
- why? I wouldn't go as far as Wahid in describing it as propaganda but
it's certainly not anti-Baha'i.
Anyone know anything about this?