I seem to have been unceremoniously deleted from the ZIOH forum. No notification of any kind, just "you have not entered a valid username and password combination." My posts have been deleted, but that hasn't stopped the discussion from slamming me personally. They sound like they think they're doing me a favor too:



I wonder what the point of the forum is. Clearly it's not to evangelize to doubters, it's not to teach beginners, it's not to answer questions, and they say it's not support. They seem to be taking issue with the fact that I've been on this forum for several years - do their members quit after a few months? Obviously Charles has been there longer, but why are so many other members so short-lived? Do they give up on zero carb? Maybe the just get sick of the place.

Maybe the forum for the zero carb elite to show off their badassness. Charles asserts that "to truly zero in on health, one has to be a little tougher than the average person." I guess you can make claims like that when you are the boss of your own forum.

To be fair, this is totally normal behavior for many religions. Zen monasteries traditionally reject people three times before they are allowed to join, and they have to go through what amounts to hazing rituals, sitting outside on the steps for days before they can enter the community, and then sitting alone in a room for days while the masters observe them. Judaism is also famously tough on converts.