Faithster

BusinessWeek: Anyone who wants to join Xianz, a Christian social network, needs to abide by a set of rules that read more Ten Commandments than terms of use. Rule No. 2, for instance, bars cursing and “derogatory words.” The next one bans name-calling: “You may express your disagreement with someone’s point-of-view, but personal attacks…are prohibited.”
Compared with the relatively permissive atmosphere of such leading social networks as News Corp.’s MySpace, the ground rules make Xianz sound downright restrictive, liable to drive away many of the teenage and twentysomething audiences flocking to social networks these days.
On the contrary. Xianz is among a bevy of new religion-affiliated sites that are drawing the faithful from across the Web in growing numbers. Year-old Xianz, which bills itself as the faith-based MySpace, has grown to 500,000 unique visitors and has 35,000 registered members, says co-founder Bob Hutchins.
Social Networking for the Faithful [BusinessWeek]