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Ship of Fools is the name of a UK-based Christian website, which was first launched as a magazine in 1977, on April Fool's Day, no less. The magazine folded in 1983, and was resurrected as a website/webzine in 1998 (again on April Fool's Day). Subtitling itself "The magazine of Christian unrest", the site contains a mix of humour and discussion.
Ship of Fools on the internet was commenced, and continues to be edited in their spare time, by Simon Jenkins (editor) and Steve Goddard (co-editor). Jenkins is an author and broadcaster; Goddard is a public relations consultant; both have formal theological education. They also perform a show Ship of Fools Live in churches, at universities, and elsewhere, with excepts from the site's featured content (see below). The show made a voyage to the U.S.A. in February 2004 and aims to circumnavigate Australia in June and July 2005.
Some notable features of Ship of Fools are:
- Mystery Worship - Reports on churches made by users of the site. The intention is that churches can find out how they appear to outsiders.
- Gadgets for God, Fruitcake Zone, Signs and Blunders - Humour sections, showing examples in the Christian world of, respectively, kitsch products, strange websites, and weird signs and unfortunate slips of the tongue.
- Columnists - Various people writing about various topics, with an emphasis on the bizarre, though usually with a genuine point and not just for comedy value.
- Boards - Where registered members can discuss things. The boards are divided by topic, also leaving several for more general discussion. Unusually, the code of conduct can vary by board, so, for example, users are held to a much higher standard on the Heaven board than the Hell one. The boards have been praised for the amount and variety of discussion they generate.
Activities sometimes leave the site to take place in the real world. There are frequent "crew meets" throughout the world and a Ned Flanders Night at the Christian festival Greenbelt
The site is completely free (there used to be a charge for registration, but no longer) and generally shies away from advertising, so is funded by donations.
Recently, it has spawned a widely publicised feature: Church of Fools, which is a unique 3D online interactive church.
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