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Old 11-21-2008, 10:31 PM   #1
Kerry Cassidy
Project Avalon Co Founder
 
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 146
Default My view on the forum, mod behavior etc.

My Views on the Forum

I have a strong dislike of authority and especially of those in authoritarian type roles who try to dictate to others, behavior or thought. One would think that those coming on to the forum share this value. However, with Moderators something else seems to be operating.

From my pov I get triggered when people act like police or prison guards and try to shut people in or out. It is abhorent to me that I would be involved in such an enterprise regardless of the high ideals people feel they are operating from. I do understand from the perspective of some, shutting out troublemakers is the best way to create a 'safe place' for people to share their views. I am suspicious of this activity from the out set.. regardless of the reasoning. I am a rebel at heart, always have been and always will be. So I identify with those who set themselves apart, rebel and question authority IN ALL ITS FORMS regardless of the rationalization for it.

I am not unaware that some degree of maintenance of "order" must take place for human SOCIETY to operate. I did graduate work in SOCIOLOGY (the study of groups and how they operate in society and the relation of the individual to society)..in fact I was writing a Master's thesis on this issue when I decided to quit graduate school because it was unnecessary (getting straight A's at that by the way..)

However, because my position on this is not merely emotional but backed by years of study of rebellion in all its forms and societal structures -- I find myself in a quandary when dealing with the Mods because at root my philosophy is apparently far different. I come from the pov that it is not the individual that is "sick" but the society and the structures they have built that makes the individual appear that way. Most of psychoanalysis and other therapies are all about adjusting and modifying the individual to conform to society and their rules rather than looking for ways to change society to incorporate the "radical types".

Radicalism is at root a MESSAGE FOR CHANGE THAT IS NEEDED... and therefore when I see a troublemaker I see a person with a different pov that may have a message and should therefore be heard. And here is where the FORUM and its Mods and I diverge.

I do not find "socially acceptable" behavior to be the optimum... I see it as preferable but NOT MANDATORY. I see, as you know, the message and the need to include the radicals as more important than the need to have their behavior conform. It's a matter of priority.

It is also about granting FREEDOM in all cases. In my view, if you allow a troublemaker, others Freedom is not curtailed, on the contrary, they can react as well as the next person... It is their choice whether to be triggered or not. Therefore in FORUM DIALOG troublemakers, with rare exceptions which are those with true devious intent such as selling drugs, pornography, paid agents and the like... are there as a part of the structure, stating their views where people can be challenged and disagree quite easily. The thing about forums is one person posts after another and therefore there is no real FACE TO FACE contact or FORCEFUL coercion to reply unless one wants to get into the "fray"...

I am aware that people are followers often and easily swayed by the posts of troublemakers but that is again their choice. It's quite a fair structure inherently and one that, without the intervention of Mods, in my view, will sort itself out if given a chance. When you ACT AS POLICE and kick people out you only exercise your own authoritarian beliefs and consider it justified. When in reality, you have not given the other people there the opportunity to grow their own muscles (mentally/emotionally) of discernment and let them handle it. They are all children in a school yard. They are there to learn. We all learn from the good as well as the bad.

So, I am simply against forcing people out regardless with the exception of the obvious infractions (drugs, porn) and I think we can all agree what those are. People who criticize Camelot and Avalon are certainly not guilty of those "infractions".... I consider even destructively oriented criticism to be allowable. I know many do not share this view.

I don't actually agree with the view about... a few bad apples spoiling it for others... I think we all have it well within our grasp to grab the podium and turn things in a positive direction. A forum post allows for this opportunity. I suggest that be the recourse rather than handing out points and infractions behind the scenes like secret police or school yard spies.

This being as it is, I do not find it desirable or attractive when people want to lessen people's chance to speak their minds regardless of who they THINK THEY ARE PROTECTING. I understand the impulse but I think it is misplaced as a way of loving... indeed it is very destructive in nature because it assumes that:

1. People can't protect themselves.

2. It doesn't allow people the "beingness" to develop their own modes of protection or discernment.

3. It creates a false sense of shelter where in reality there is none.

This gets to how I see the internet vs. a store or party in everyday life. The net is special because IT IS OPEN. That is quite possibly THE ONLY REASON IT IS SPECIAL. If you destroy that you destroy everything. Every Freedom, every choice we have. It is a mirror of our UNIVERSAL MIND and as such we must ALLOW as much freedom in the way we operate as humanly possible.

Yes by instituting a subscription based forum to help pay for our work--we are imposing certain limits.. ($1 a month -- I mean get real..) but they are reasonable and the barrier to ENTRY IS EXTREMELY LOW. I want to KEEP IT THAT WAY.

To be posted on to the forum in Announcements and in Mod area.

In peace,

Love,

Kerry

Kerry Lynn Cassidy and Bill Ryan
Project Camelot/Project Avalon
'dare to speak'
http://projectcamelot.org
http://projectavalon.net
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