General

[samabudhi]

Hello

My comments about the forum:

1. Very nice GUI
2. The organisation is too complex for such a small forum. I don't think one should separate Buddhism/Taoism/Eastern etc. It should just be eastern like it was. It's too much PT trying to navigate through folders with nothing new in them. The forum has gone through expansion. Now it's time for consolidation.
3. There isn't much activity on the forums. I think this is because of the strangle-hold COC in place. I know you have your rules, but just try to lighten up a bit. If people feel like they're being dominated, they just won't visit.

Cheers

[Zazen]

i second that, people can and should be able to tolerate more, as human beings

being that, most of the time its just human nature were talking about condoneing anyhow

amitabha

[I, Brian]

Thanks for the feedback.

The boards issue is to demonstrate areas we can and want to expand into specifically. For example, I'd like to push a lot more on Taoist subjects. The problem has been that I've been so busy in life that I've not had the time to push discussion in these areas as much as I need to/would like to.

The CoC issue - yes, I've been wondering whether it looks too severe or not. When I read it, it reads firm but fair. And it was certainly very necessary in the beginning to set out the tone of the place. However, I think I'd prefer to set out on a more informal code of conduct, so that everything can be dealt with on a more individual basis. As has been effectively the case so far. Trouble is, people will insist on guidelines of some kind - both for their own conduct, but also to be able to call staff to account for their decisions.

Activity is variable but steady - and I would much rather quality over quantity, though. IMO we still need something of the same tone, if perhaps appearing less severe. But I certainly have no plans to take this place into becoming a free speech forum. I've done that before and it was a big mistake. As with all things, a case of playing by ear, while maintaining a good environment for inter-faith dialogue.

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards, Brian!

FWIW, I'm more inclined to side with you on this. Not kissing up, I just think the respect aspect is crucial to such potentially emotionally charged issues. Not everyone is inclined to use polite discourse, especially if they feel their specific take on issues as personal as religion or politics is somehow being challenged. My two cents.

[I, Brian]

No problem, juantoo3 - and I don't believe anyone kisses up here

As for the CoC - yes, some degree of mutual respect I see as very necessary to such an inter-faith discussion area. I've followed links back from this site and it is this aspect precisely that gets this place noticed.

Oh, I know that if I dropped all claim of a CoC and let everyone bash it out the activity here would increase ten-fold - but there would be very little sustance to the posts.

I once joined a multifaith team to help manage a Christian debate community on MSN - it had a remit of "Free Speech" upheld in all but the most extreme circumstances. But people who treat Free Speech as a right, not a privilige, can be very irresponsible with it. I left the place because it had turned nasty, with moderates of faith keeping away, while the most angry and trollish individuals remained to tell one another to f*** off.

I certainly wouldn't want to go that way again, but I would personally like to make the CoC a little more informal.

[louis]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

No problem, juantoo3 - and I don't believe anyone kisses up here

As for the CoC - yes, some degree of mutual respect I see as very necessary to such an inter-faith discussion area. I've followed links back from this site and it is this aspect precisely that gets this place noticed.

Oh, I know that if I dropped all claim of a CoC and let everyone bash it out the activity here would increase ten-fold - but there would be very little sustance to the posts.

I once joined a multifaith team to help manage a Christian debate community on MSN - it had a remit of "Free Speech" upheld in all but the most extreme circumstances. But people who treat Free Speech as a right, not a privilige, can be very irresponsible with it. I left the place because it had turned nasty, with moderates of faith keeping away, while the most angry and trollish individuals remained to tell one another to f*** off.

I certainly wouldn't want to go that way again, but I would personally like to make the CoC a little more informal.

From Louis...
Personaly. I think your forum strikes a nice balance between freedom
and restraint. As an objective observer myself, I've noticed that BELIEVERS
are anything BUT objective - they all have a deep emotional bond with the
ideas they hold dear and sooner or later, those emotions spill over !!!
It's very important to keep the lid on if you want to maintain a
fair and rational discussion.

[samabudhi]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

I'd like to push a lot more on Taoist subjects.

Go with the way. It would be a Taoist forum if you flowed with what people want to talk about. I love Buddhism. But I don't bother bringing up the subject with people who are not interested. What I do do, is, when we are talking about something where I think Buddhist principles could help, add them and reference Buddhism. So no matter what we are talking about, Buddhism always comes into it for me.
If you're more interested in the pedagogical approach then I subject raising interesting points rather than inconveniencing the other users with structural changes to the site. It's not that big a problem though. I just thought I'd suggest it for streamlining the site.

The CoC issue - yes, I've been wondering whether it looks too severe or not. When I read it, it reads firm but fair. And it was certainly very necessary in the beginning to set out the tone of the place. However, I think I'd prefer to set out on a more informal code of conduct, so that everything can be dealt with on a more individual basis. As has been effectively the case so far. Trouble is, people will insist on guidelines of some kind - both for their own conduct, but also to be able to call staff to account for their decisions.

I have no problem with being strict about how people word their posts, but when it comes to talking about delicate issues in religions, I think we should be allowed to bring them into discussion. For instance, if I say that a particular religion is illogical, although it is a very broad statement and may seem like an insult, I will back my claim and we could talk about why I think that. The COC shouldn't be about protecting people from having to face the realities of their own religion. It should be about maintaining etiquette when we forget it. I for one encourage people to talk about the tricky bits of my own religion. It brings to my mind the parts that I unconsciously bury, and in a way forces me to deal with them. Its very healthy.

Activity is variable but steady - and I would much rather quality over quantity, though.

Absolutely.

[I, Brian]

No problem - and the feedback is certainly appreciated. The issue of what is and should not be allowable in the individual faith forums is still a sticky issue - simply because we do not yet have a thorough representation of faiths here.

For example, we do not seem to have very many active Christian members at the moment. Therefore if there is a string of critical threads on the Christianity board, I fear there's a real danger of prospective Christian members seeing this place as simply anti-Christian, and thus turning away.

However, so long as etiquette is maintained...hm, something to think about. I'll be re-launching CR this week, so I'll see about updating the CoC with any required changes.

[samabudhi]

Hi!

More suggestions:

I have certain areas of the forum which I visit regularly, but there are those I don't. Sometimes I see a post and I reply, but I can never remember where I replied to, and so I don't get to see what people had to say about my reply.
Maybe you could have a feature which allows me to look at all the threads that I have posted to over the entire forum, and then jump to that thread. With the number of folders growing, it would be a great help.

Cheers

[I, Brian]

There are actually a couple of features on the board - there is actually a feature that allows you to see which threads you have actually posted in - a small "envelope" icon appears beside the titles of threads you've posted in. I believe that feature is switched off - I'll look to activiating it again.

There are also e-mail notifications, which can be sent either immediately, daily, or weekly. You can choose to subscribe to a thread in this manner, by selecting the required option in the drop-down box beneath every post you make on the "advanced" post interface (ie, *not* using the quick reply box at the bottom of every thread).

[samabudhi]

Hi again

I can't decide on which avatars to use. So how about, whenever I log in, comparative-religion dynamically loads an avatar from a place on the web.
I'll make sure that avatar changes everytime you ask for it.
It shouldn't be too hard to implement, and it would save you some space too!

Cheers

[I, Brian]

It *could* be done, though it would take a little messing about. I'd have to think about how to implement it first - though I'm not sure the solution would necessarily be as easy as you think it might be. Not without some effort.