Preserving the delicate balance of a loved forum

[Guest guest]

I am in other forums and on other lists and it is always amazing to

me how people who are brought together because of a common passion

can be so heated in their disagreements with eachother. I believe

that this is a part of human nature, but one that we have the power

to direct and control.

 

To those who are unfamiliar with the terms:

 

troll: As used on the Internet:

1) As a verb, the practice of trying to lure other Internet users

into sending responses to carefully-designed incorrect statements or

similar "bait." In a real example, a Usenet newsgroup contributor

mentioned the discovery of an ancient African carving containing a

list of prime numbers. The contributor further listed some of the

prime numbers found and included some numbers that, in fact, are not

prime numbers. Other contributors then sent serious replies,

correcting the list of prime numbers cited.

 

I have also seen this used as a noun to describe someone who engages

in such practices.

 

I include the definition as a preamble to a prayer adopted from

another site:

 

 

Oh Goddess,

grant me the serenity to ignore the trolls,

the courage to debate with honest opponents,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

 

 

I, too, pray that I choose to enter into the forum when I can

courageously and (hopefully) intelligently put forth something of

value to me about a subject that interests me. I hope that most of

the time I participate to add to the discussion and not merely to

disagree out of passion and defensiveness.

 

But it was a passion that drew me in....

 

Namaste,

 

Prainbow