Apech

No excuses about abuse and so on but he himself seems to have come through it and is happily teaching dharma:

Hmmm I could start a whole nother debate on that one .... but anyway I will prob put my answer in my article on misconceptions about Buddhism. Still want to know why this was moved from thread in general but I don't think I'm going to get an answer.

How do you mean?

I posted a query earlier about this. Can whoever moved these posts from a discussion that made sense into Articles please explain what's going on!!!! We've had several discussions about lineages before and no problem ... so what gives?

Move what? Drivel? What drivel slightly confused here.

Sh'es a little girl dressing up as a red indian (sorry native american) ... so what?

I suspect it may be a case of - it's not what you say but the way that you say it. If you, as Sean puts it, keep things civil ... then I don't see why there should be problem.

Marbles without you I sometimes think this whole place would crumble and fall into the sea.

... but are you glad you did?

There are Christian mystics but they tend to be individuals and not a tradition ... e.g. William Blake.

Moderators should not and could not arbitrate on content ...political or otherwise.

http://www.zazzle.com/the_tao_bums_t_shirts-235323559395009098

Mine went to school also but it was always behind me in class.

Well if you are serious .... I suppose the answer is Sean who owns the site, gives mod privs and set the general tone. It's his site and he can do with it what he wants in the end.

Does your anus count? Did it go to school?

Please ... no points on my anus! And don't point at it either ....

Buddhists don't believe gods are sources of refuge or the worship of them can lead to liberation ... but certainly the world view includes not only gods but other entities. Our ancient world view .... which mankind has probably held for 99% of its existence is that the universe includes deities and that these deities inhabit and are vital part of nature. Look at any ancient civilisation for confirmation. This is not a mistaken world view just one that has to be treated properly by understanding what is meant by the term god. What we have been confused by is the equation God = Absolute ... which is a product and a defect of monotheism.

I didn't mean you by 'the fuss' ... I meant the fact that we have this thread at all. Anyway I suppose its healthy to discuss these things from time to time .. but I for one don't see anything drastically wrong.

If you hate to dig up the past don't do it. Moderation works in the way I described. There is no conscious attempt to be partial or preferential. People do their best on a voluntary basis and I'm guessing that if you went back through all the decisions made you'll find some that could be questioned. It would be a bit freakish if that wasn't the case. Time to get over all that and look at the board now. I think it works well. I think generally we all get on and can contribute. What's the fuss about?

A mods gotta do what a mods gotta do

Someone called me a canute once ... but I let it go ...

Putting it out there for what purpose other suggesting or hinting that it may be true? Generally mods look at reports ... and then decide whether to act. Reports 90% come from other non-mod members. If no-one reports certain members then they are unlikely to acted on unless a mod stumbles upon it and reports it - though there's always the issue of hot threads which are going critical. Mod actions are the result of discussions in the mod team. If a particular mod has some kind of link to one of the members reported they are more likely to back off from making the decision than to intervene to keep impartial. Its not always perfect of course but at the end of the day the referee blows the whistle and that's that - a decision perfect or no. (I made this point before and was told to fuck off on a personal basis but I still think its true.) Someone ... and in this case someone chosen by Sean has to bite the bullet and make the call. That's how it is.

You are clearly a terrible judge of character:

Authoritarianism on here!!! I had to read that three times to make sure that's what you meant. This place has the lightest moderation of any board I am familiar with. So I don't know where you got that from. Misogyny ... I thought maybe we had got past that. I don't see that now. Actually today the mod team is all female members. No-one has been banned for spirited debate. For a start you weren't banned you were suspended from posting for a few days. Insults and ad hominem attack that's what gets people suspended.