Is TTB a safe place to post?

[Marblehead]

... full in the knowledge that he's not perfect and that there will always be the occasional skeptic among the membership

I'm not occasional.

[Stosh]

"The title is actually a topic (actually spanning many threads) which has been discussed at length for more than a year among the staff.

 

 

The staff has discussed over a year such issues as:

1. Is TTB a safe place to post?
2. Members complain they can’t post without fear of attacks by very specific people or hijacking of the thread or off-topic de-railing or trolling or mis-information or elitist telling them they are inferior, etc.
3. Members who persist in the above actions.
4. “The no-insult policy is not enough at the scale ttb has grown.” – founding admin
5. The need for moderating “beyond the rules”. – past admin
6. A “moderator prerogative” to act alone and then discuss as a group any further action or reversal of action.
7. An “admin prerogative”. As stated in the Three Foundations: “The admin also has broad discretion to protect the civility and resources of any aspect within TTBs e-community.

The real subject that is being pointed to IMO is whether TTB's is tolerant welcoming and civil , not so much whether it is 'safe'.

An infraction against safety would primarily be disclosure of personal information.

Calling 'tolerance' issues, 'safety' , misdirects.

Defining the limits of admin, and mods, and posters, as either -appropriate tolerance- or appropriate intolerance,

would still be a difficult thing to define. Im figuring that the founding principles are supposed to be a continuing guiding light and are not properly ignored under the heading of 'broad discretion'.

Compared to other forums , most of TTB's seems well moderated, and the growth that has occurred really doest seem to warrant a squelching of its vigor. In fact Its growth contradicts that very thing, and so the issue more important is that of having the staff diverge from the founding principles out of a desire to pacify.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Stosh

[soaring crane]

the issue more important is that of having the staff diverge from the founding principles out of a desire to pacify.

 

 

 

Interesting post, Stosh, thanks. Can you elaborate on the closing statement?

[Stosh]

Interesting post, Stosh, thanks. Can you elaborate on the closing statement?

The sentiment I suppose is that those charged, try to keep the place civil , kindly etc

and so some may feel they may need to take actions at this point in time because the thing has gotten bigger.

 

The flip side of such , is that it could inhibit the posting to milquetoast PC platitudes, very boring etc.

So the thing one needs to decide is whether harder moderation is good or bad, because whatever applies to the guy you disagree with- also applies to oneself.

 

Some folks play a more hardball game , some want others to be forced to be nice to them...

and the first person to whine isnt always the one who has the better point.

 

So by choosing the word pacify , I want to point out that its possible that the area could become more moderate ,

but that is , and always will be, at the expense of some freedom to express.

 

This isnt an easy call to make , and I think Dawei would be, or is , wise- correct, to get some input as to how the community feels about the changes already made or proposed, since ultimately participation is based on benefit to the participators -even if there is a "government' benefitting as well.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Stosh

[Songtsan]

Fight Club!

 

Thunderdome!

 

Buddha Battles!

 

The Agony and the Ecstasy!

 

Don't belittle the interesting process of it all by sending whole threads to the pit...instead, send the perpetrators to a new sub forum, that is still a respected one, where the perps can work it out...

 

When mods note excessive back n forth 'tough talk' between two or more individuals, those individuals and their posts get moved to a thread in a subforum titled somesuch as 'Kumite,' or 'Rumble in the Bronx.'

 

Threads will be titled , 'MemberA vs. MemberB on 'such and such topic'

 

Then we can all take bets on the winner, which could be decided by votes!

 

[dawei]

CT's comment on "group behavior" and Stosh's comment of "to get some input as to how the community feels about the changes already made or proposed" is where this is.

 

TTB is not a singular attitude. It is an open and diverse forum. There are limits but we would like members to exercise those limits just as if they walk into a store, or an airport. Don't verbally say something which will cause security to take notice

[Daeluin]

Anything to say about members who regularly defend their ways of putting others down?

[dawei]

Anything to say about members who regularly defend their ways of putting others down?

 

This is surely a member concern and a moderation discussion.

 

Each report is reviewed on a case by case issue. Please report such cases.

[Marblehead]

Don't verbally say something which will cause security to take notice

Hehehe. That almost made me feel like you were talking directly to me.

[thelerner]

(wrote this and the thread I tried to put it in was locked. instead of wasting it I'll stash it here).

 

Personally, I look at the forum and I see things like the Chinese language forum here where there are sophisticated translations of classics texts in Chinese, often done by very scholarly people. Matter of fact we have a number of members I'm proud to say are living in China. Dedicated hands on practitioners, who we are lucky to have write here.

 

IN the Taoist Section we have long threads on Zhan Zhuang with many comments from practitioners who've studied with masters and have years experience. We have threads in the Taoist sections on Gi Gong styles I've never heard of, by no means light weight community center stuff, but hard core family styles. We have teachers on board who know there shit and are giving indepth answers.

 

Look at our Interview section, not only do we have a number or renowned teachers who've answered questions, we also old timers here of great wisdom and experience who've added to it.

 

In the General Discussion we have Buddhist, Hindu, and Esoteric/Occult sections that involve knowledgeable practitioners who discuss, argue and fight over there various interpretations. Its not all gold, but its a great resource, and members can make it better by creating good questions, adding positively to discussions.

 

I'd certainly admit some, perhaps many of the threads in General and Off topic can be lightweight, but they're also fun. Meaty topics mixed with esoteric reverie. The whimsical ones bring people together and help form the community. Our Healing Section is an important part of that community too.

 

Some of the deepest threads are in the Personal section. I think some of the most inspiring threads are in the simple training logs. Not selling nothing, just a personal recording what they do, day after day. Simple and inspiring.

 

This is a great Forum. Its all volunteer, its eclectic and should have something for nearly everyone.

Edited December 17, 2014 by thelerner

[soaring crane]

hear hear! ^^