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This article might comprise my anonymity, but I must speak my mind.

I recently visited an institution with young Bochurim, whose brains and ideals might be molded by the very individuals keeping this site active and running. These Bochurim are off the internet, blissfully unaware of the WhatsApps and this forum which serves as the Whatsapp for those who do not have.

This site is essentially a regurgitation of all bullshoves you ever had when you were in Zal and not learning. Here we solve all of the issues plaguing Lubavitch, and diagnose them with new ones. We used to debate, argue, prove our points, until the point of exhaustion and finally covering ourselves in our blankets, never to be seen until 3pm the next day.

"The written word lasts forever" As Kehot bookmarks quote the Tzemach Tzedek. What happens when a mesivta bochur stumbles onto this site and encounters this collection of ideas? Will he have the maturity to grasp the nuance behind each article? Will he understand that what he’s reading may not reflect reality? That the authors, shielded by anonymity, may not be the intellectual authorities they imagine themselves to be? How will he know that he must think critically and independently? And what impression of Lubavitch will this leave him with?

I am not saying we have to brainwash our youth one way or the other. I am suggesting that there is a real danger to having these great ideas on open forum on the internet. There is something precious about such ideas remaining spoken, yelled, and confined within the four walls of the Zal.

I once heard from Reb Chaim Shapiro that in the later years of Reb Meilich Zwibel’s life, he would tell R' Chaim, “I will only farbreng on Shabbos, because on Shabbos there is no tape.” He did not want his words recorded. Not everything needs to be preserved for eternity in the depths of the internet.