beyond fear of frowning: guidelines for posting on this list

[Guest guest]

Namah Shivaya dear Siblings,

 

Somewhile ago Lisa wrote:

 

>> I think if it gets to rigid, people will be afraid to post, lest they will be

>> disciplined and frowned upon for saying the wrong thing.

 

In response, Manoj wrote:

 

> I am glad you wrote this, dear Lisa. I was thinking that maybe I am the only

> one who thought likewise. A classic case of the fear of frowning you talked

> about!

 

I meet so many lovely devotees at the programs who recognize me from the

list. Trouble is, they never write! And I know they have much to offer. So

am wondering what we can do to make this a more welcoming and safe place for

silent members to share. Lisa's comment above, echoed by Manoj below says a

lot, I think, about why people don't join in: fear of some kind of negative

response. Perhaps this fear is increased when they see the response to what

would be considered inappropriate posts.

 

How can we discourage the people who want to use our list for a soapbox for

non Amma related issues and encourage members who are shy?

 

I think it would be great if we could develop some guidelines for what is

appropriate here and what isn't. By now we certainly have some good examples

of what isn't. Could we brainstorm as a group and come up with some

protocols and content guidelines (thus avoiding being too rigid)?

 

Perhaps the shyer members would be willing to post me off list if they are

uncomfortable jumping into the discussion on list.

 

In Amma's grace,

kenna

Aum Amriteshvaryai

[Guest guest]

Hi Kenna:

 

 

> I think it would be great if we could develop some guidelines for what is

> appropriate here and what isn't. By now we certainly have some good

> examples

> of what isn't. Could we brainstorm as a group and come up with some

> protocols and content guidelines (thus avoiding being too rigid)?

>

>

 

Good point! I am certainly open to this.

 

Up to now, the only times I have really step in has been with a couple of

people who (a) were advertising (b) bashing Gurus or © promoting their own

personal agends that have nothing whatsoever to do with Amma or Spiritual

Growth.

 

It is possible for me to moderate each and every post but I really hesitate

to do that. Besides, I have several lists running and belong to about a dozen

more (non-Spiritual). Several have 2,000 to 4,000 people d. So, I

get about 200-300 emails a day and it is too much to read each one!

 

I can also moderate the first few postings for new members. This would

prevent the advertising and negative posts but only for new folks.

 

Strangely enough, for reasons I can not comprehend, I have had more trouble

with this List than the others!

 

So, please, Dear Souls, feel free to express your views on what would make

this List better for you!

 

Om Amrtesvaryai Namah.

 

Peter White

Moderator. Ammachi List

St. Augustine, Florida

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

We had a similar problem on the Hindu Homeschooling list I help to run.

What we ended up doing which has worked out well , is have each new

prosepective member submit an introduction to the moderator before they

can join. This introduction is then sent to the list if I find they are

not trying to sell us stuff or hurt us. We had some really horrible

people join that actually got home phone numbers of people and even

flooded our emails with hate mail. I ask that they share their

experiances with Hinduism and with Homeschooling but I also stress that

is just fine if they are new at both since our list is very warm and

family like we love to have new people who sincerly want to learn. I

have found that those who wanted to join the list for the wrong reasons

don't even bother to submit an intro. the one person who was advertising

something I explained our list was not for that but offered the info be

sent to the list. I find this takes very little time. I have a letter

saved in my drafts box that I can just copy and paste and sent to each

person who requests to join the list.

 

I will say the Hindu Homeschooling list is small but I got this idea

from another list I am on that is very large and needed also to be

protected from people who felt they needed to push thier ideas on the

list that were just plain rude and hurtful. It has served both lists

very well. It might be something to think about.

 

In Amma's Divine Love,

 

Surrdha (Shelly)

mommy to 5

CT