Horrible cause? Bad for society? Terrible argument. From many perspectives, a lot of software could be deemed "bad for society" (i.e. "Facebook wastes time," "Google finds objectionable content," "Twitter encourages shallowness," ...).
Yet we build those and use them because, for the most part, they can be used for good. Just like churches.
> The sentiment 'religion is bad' is neither civil [...]
That depends on entirely on where you live/your culture. What staticelf said isn't offensive and he shouldn't be made to feel like he cannot express his opinion. Perhaps he addressed it in a blunt way, but there is a genuine concern about how such software will be used to 'monitor' or 'peer pressure' church goers, particularly children, who are ushered into religion. Having a 'social network' so that religion permeates even further into people's lives should be a concern for everybody, religious or otherwise.
My original criticism stands -- what he said was neither civil nor new/insightful. He absolutely should be made to feel that his comment was unwelcome.
Your effort is better. It's even ostensibly on topic. Though I think your concern is overblown. In my experience, the vast majority of church "monitoring" in this way is pretty reasonable, in the "hey, haven't seen you in a while, is everything OK? Can we help?" sense. Complaining about it is kind of like complaining about sports fans having a facebook group -- yeah, it's possible that someone can get upset because you're not showing proper loyalty, but practically speaking that's not how it's used. (Except by cults, who don't need this kind of software to control you anyway.)
> Except by cults, who don't need this kind of software to control you anyway.
Religion is a cult, at least by the dictionary I am using. I don't really understand the entire religion/church environment, but of the few churches I have visited (I'm not religious) I was never asked to 'check in'; they keep no database of their attendees.
You just said you don't understand the market this software addresses. Maybe now's a good time to opt out of the conversation. Lots of other conversations are happening on the site, right now, and it looks like all of them are a better fit for you.
Most of the churches I've been to have not had a formal "check in" process, but they do have a membership process (people can be added to the member list, and are then allowed to vote for church leadership committees and such) and cards for guests to fill out if they want to be contacted.
Childcare (nursery) often has a check-in process specifically relating to who is and isn't allowed to pick up your children.
I'm about as militant an antitheist as you're going to meet (even for the UK) and wish we had something like this to organise e.g. BHA Humanist meets/community.
