LONDON--Just a few days after its launch the Internet church, Ship of Fools, was bombarded with inappropriate comments and behavior that have forced the site to shut down two components of the virtual worship space. According to CNN, participants who logged in and took over the pulpit, shouted obscenities and racist remarks, have forced the virtual church to remove access to the pulpit area and disable the "shout" feature that allowed participants to address the entire room.
News of the world's first online church drew thousands to the site. Hits peaked at 30,000 and leveled off at 12,000 visitors per day. The high traffic was a welcome surprise for the UK Methodist Church that sponsored the site in part.
But when some participants, who are shown on-screen as animated people in an animated building, logged in with names such as "Satan," "God," and "Jesus," and swore at people praying, site operators removed them.
"The worst I think is the racism," Church of Fools editor Simon Jenkins told CNN.
"It's horrible stuff. People have logged in with racist names, with Nazi names.
"We want to allow freedom of speech as far as possible but we can't allow that sort of thing."
Visitors can still log-on to the site as "worshippers."
He stressed it was "a serious site with a serious purpose." Genuine worshippers have found the interruptions "very distressing," he said.
