We believe in free speech, and think honest and respectful debate is healthy. However, free speech here is moderated by the Golden Rule. If you (or a reasonable person) would not want something said or done to you, then don't say or do it to someone else.
If you have a complaint or criticism, send a private email to any Administrator. It is never appropriate to air complaints or criticisms publicly. It disturbs the peace of our ning. If you see a complaint publicly aired, notify a moderator immediately, with the link, and it will be dealt with as soon as possible. We ask that you DO NOT respond to any inflammatory post. Simply move on to another blog or discussion. In the absence of oxygen (fuel), flames die quickly. If you do, you become an accessory to the "crime."
On a related note, we ask that you not engage in gossip in private email. Though it will happen, we aspire to higher levels and not only is gossip a detriment to that undertaking, it also serves as a distraction. And worst of all, it lowers the spiritual level of the group. We have some sensitive members who can sense it. We really want our members to focus on what's important, not on distractions. This is potentially a life-and-death activity we are dealing with.
The Administrators are KeithH, KimB, and the owner. You can email us if we are on your friends' list, otherwise you can go to an Admin's profile page and click on "Send Message" (scroll down the left column). You can also use the "Report An Issue" tab in the top navigational bar, which will send your message to all current administrators and the owner.
Now for some explanation and examples of the "Golden Rule as moderated by the reasonable person standard." Some have argued that their violation of the Golden Rule was just "challenging beliefs" and was healthy. While we agree it can be healthy under the right circumstances, we are not here to challenge beliefs. It is too late in the game.
As an analogy, imagine if a group of new soldiers were preparing for battle and someone came in and said, "Can't you see that you're wrong to go to war because war is morally reprehensible?" In another time and place it would be a worthy debate, but not when war is on the horizon and the soldiers are preparing to fight for their lives.
The time for debate has ended. The earthchanges are upon us. All we can do now is get educated as quickly as possible in how to survive them. There is no time for argument and challenges. It just creates distraction from the goal of this site, which is to learn about the problem (earthchanges) and possible solutions and survival strategies.
Further, this is a place for people to communicate with like-minded individuals in a safe environment to help relieve some stress, get support in these increasingly troubled times, as well as to learn some coping strategies. Thus, our interest in keeping distraction to a minimum.
We are all working together toward these goals. Those who do nothing but nay-say without contributing anything positive, or who would rather distract, don't belong here and will be removed. Thus, we apologize in advance if posts disappear.
In the first paragraph above, I mentioned "reasonable person." A "reasonable person" is defined as the average person with reasonable sensibilities concerning the context under discussion. For example, while in the context of other circumstances "challenging beliefs" could be a reasonable activity, a person who believes it is reasonable and conducts his or herself accordingly here would violate the Golden Rule because this is neither the time nor the place, as mentioned above. Further, most people don't want their beliefs challenged and become offended when someone tries to do so, especially if it is done in a rude and demeaning manner.
Here are some further examples:
(1) A person uses coarse or vulgar language and believes it is perfectly acceptable to use. This would violate the Golden Rule and Reasonable Person standard because nearly everyone here does not use coarse / vulgar language. [Contrast this with a different scenario...if this were a forum that served those in the construction industry, then coarse language would not be a violation of the Golden Rule since the "reasonable person" in that industry would expect it and not be particularly offended by it (if used in passing rather than as a personal attack).]
(2) A person comes in and posts continuously negative responses. We try to maintain a positive atmosphere so someone who comes in saying "War is about to begin," "We're all going to die," "You are liars," or other negative things. While it is within a person's right to say these things, it drags the group down and is not allowed.
(3) A person comes here and sets up shop to market his/her personal products. This would be a violation of the Golden Rule and the Reasonable Person standard. As an analogy, consider this site as a home or a store. Would a reasonable person accept someone coming into their home or store to use their premises, that the homeowner or shopkeeper has built up, as a free launching pad for someone else's products without their permission? Would you want someone to do that to you? Of course not. Thus, marketing would not be appropriate except as provided for at https://earthchanges.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-marketplace. It would, however, be okay to recommend products you have tried or mention other, useful website links, both of which should be related to the goal of this ning. Anything else is best said in private email or it will be deleted because there is legal liability in posting such things.
(4) This is not a dating service. Obviously, solicitations of this kind are not approved by us. We work hard to keep this kind of spam out but occasionally it might slip through. If you receive any, please forward it to an Admin and it will be dealt with. Or, if a regular member becomes a romantic nuisance tell them once, in private email, his or her attentions are not welcome and to stop. If it happens again, it is a violation of the Golden Rule and we will suspend the offender.
As a general operating procedure, the Admins will warn once (privately, by email, if they can; publicly if the situation warrants). The second offense will result in suspension without further warning.
I hope this clarifies our viewpoint on free speech as moderated by the Golden Rule and Reasonable Person standard, as well as the levels of control we will use, all of which are designed to preserve the peace of this site. The examples are not exhaustive and unusual situations arise occasionally, so we will update this blog from time to time. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Cheryl Nelson, Owner
