wandelaar

But what is the actual stuff? I would like to see the real thing now?

Ah! The satire was so good that I took it for the real thing. That clears up a lot.

Yes. I don't think that needs any further comment.

Which is the same as saying that Lao tzu failed on the social level. It would be great if people in general followed his lessons, but they don't. Even now when everybody in the West has the possibility to read and practice his lessons, most just don't care. That's why he failed on the social level, and Lao tzu saw exactly the same disinterest in his own days. Calling the common people scumbags doesn't change that a bit.

@ Pak_Satrio I agree, and that has always been my own position too. But there are people who can't help themselves and who just have to discuss politics wherever they go. It's to satisfy those people and to avoid the accusation of political censorship that it's best to tolerate a separate subforum for politics as a kind of spiritual smoking cabin when that option is available.

I have been away from this side for quite some time so I don't know what you mean. Could you please post some links to specific spamming posts so I can see for myself?

I don't see them. Could you post some links?

I suggest that the moderators themselves ask the posters for clarification. Then if nothing satisfactory is forthcoming, the posters should be banned for spamming. Or if the posters say that the posts are indeed about politics or about politicians then the posts should be moved to the appropriate part of the forum and dealt with there. At least that's what I would do.

Does it even mean something? I have just now searched some of those terms and they happen to be the names of Chinese politicians! So it looks like trolling. Perhaps move it to the political part and deal with it there, that is unless the poster can explain what all those terms have to do with Taoist cultivation.

There was in the old days (the Ignored Users list), don't know if it still works...

Yes! Lao tzu failed on the social level, and he was acutely aware of it. See Chapter 20. But some people even today still value his lessons, so on an individual level he had some limited success.

You're right. In your case there is no alternative. Politics - especially in our polarized world - tends to overwhelm al other discussions when given free reign. A sure way to spoil the friendly atmosphere within a diverse gathering of people is to start a political discussion.

One could "kick out the political zealots" or one could let them have a separate hidden sub-forum to do their thing. The latter is probably the most considerate for those who cannot stop talking politics even when on a spiritual forum.

Taoism as a world view and a way of life isn't (or at least shouldn't be) an exclusively Chinese affair. And that's why silent thunder has a point saying: But Golding is also correct as regards the ancient Chinese text called the Tao Te Ching. One simply cannot read a text if one doesn't know the language. On the other hand it is possible to arrive at an understanding of life and the world that is quite similar to that expressed in the Tao Te Ching by studying nature, history, and society and by practicing some form of meditation. Tao as the foundation of the world isn't an exclusively Chinese phenomenon as we are all part of the same world. However the Tao Te Ching is also a cultural product of ancient China and as such a historically accurate translation cannot be made by someone without a solid knowledge of ancient Chinese language and culture. That's why Golding has a point.

May I ask how many members were actually banned when Sean intervened to stop the Trump propaganda? I known of a few but not much, many just left because they didn't like the idea of an exclusively leftist spiritual forum whether they were right wingers themselves or not.

I don't live in the US but looking at it from the outside I see demonizing of the other camp happening in both the right and the left sides of the political spectrum. I consider myself left in the old fashioned social-democratic sense but I had no problems with that on Original Dao as long as we avoided talking politics, and politics weren't allowed on the public part of the forum anyhow so that wasn't too difficult. What I learned from that experience is that it can be done, as long as one puts the goal of having a spiritual forum above the political concerns that one might have apart from it.

There's not enough members left at Original Dao for having a vibrant forum, and those who are seem to have accepted the demise of the site as something inevitable.

Brilliant! I don't know if you're serious about it, but this isn't a bad idea at all. Let's see if there are more members here who would consider such a option.

If you have any ideas on how to revitalize the site let me know, so I can put a link to your advice on Original Dao. There's only a few days left before the Original Dao forum will be gone.

You will have be quick because the site will soon disappear. It says:

@ Michael Sternbach As I said before there are one or two members of Original Dao who could possibly cause trouble here because of their extreme political views. I agree with you that it's not a smart thing to do to invite those members to come here. My point was that most members of Original Dao were perfectly happy with leaving politics alone to concentrate on spirituality in the public part of the forum while the forum was still flourishing. The public and the hidden part of the forum were separate worlds. Only in the last phase when the public part of the forum was already almost dead was the option discussed of allowing politics on the public part of the forum, but after some thought the owner decided not to do so because that would go against the original spiritual goal of the forum. So it wasn't politics that killed the forum, but the gradually decreasing number of active spiritually interested members.

No no - but you could search YouTube as Starjumper has become somewhat of a celebrity after publishing his book. Those video's give an impression of what he's doing these days.

There's only one way to find out... https://alineageofdragons.com/forum/

As I said I have had enough of political debates so I didn't read the whole of Sean's post, but this seems to be the most important: Or did I miss something. And what is ICE supposed to mean?

Is there a list somewhere on this site where one can check if one happens to entertain an opinion that is anathema to Sean? Is one asked to leave in such an occasion?