Theos-Talk Archives (October 2004 Message tt00169)

Hallo Eldon and all,

My views are:

You wrote:
"Anyone is entitled to participate, so long as they are
here to share ideas and not merely fishing for converts for something else
or not seeking to disrupt, discourage, and confuse people because they hold
Theosophy in contempt and want to "save" people from it."

I ask:
Are Heretics then not allowed on the list?
>;-)


M. Sufilight with peace and love...


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Eldon B Tucker" <eldon@t...>
To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, October 08, 2004 4:44 PM
Subject: Theos-World preserving the unique opportunity of this list


>
> The theos-talk mailing list is something of an experiment. It's not
> controlled by any particular theosophical organization with all content
> being controlled according to that group's approach. It's not moderated,
> with one particular individual or group's outlook being promoted to the
> exclusion of everything else. It's not intended to be a champion of one
> specific flavor of Theosophy.
>
> There are many lists and websites dedicated to particular points of view
> regarding Theosophy. Some maintain that focus by excluding everything
else;
> others maintain that focus because a majority of participants believe in
it
> and enforce it through what they continually write, crowding out other
> perspectives.
>
> This list is an experiment, in that it attempts to allow people from any
> theosophical background to participate, sharing their ideas alongside
> others with differing views. Everyone should feel free to express their
> ideas and experiences without being attacked or judged by others on the
> list. Since we're not picking a specific variant of Theosophy and being
> dogmatic about it, there are no "right answers" to judge people by. Each
of
> us can share what he or she knows or thinks, but not to tell others
they're
> wrong and they should shut up.
>
> My hope is that we'll all learn something new from each other. On this
> list, we have a microcosm of the greater theosophical community throughout
> the world, and what we as dozens of participants can work out together
> shows us what might happen with thousands and millions of people
worldwide.
>
> Each person is free to express his or her own ideas. No one is entitled to
> dominate the list. Anyone is entitled to participate, so long as they are
> here to share ideas and not merely fishing for converts for something else
> or not seeking to disrupt, discourage, and confuse people because they
hold
> Theosophy in contempt and want to "save" people from it.
>
> If someone says something, it is appropriate to ask them to clarify what
> they mean. Even if it sounds bad, don't assume that what you read is what
> they meant to say. Let the other person explain himself or herself. Don't
> impose your judgement on the other person's writings and hold them to it
as
> if you were a lawyer discussing a legally binding contract. This is a
> mailing list and people are freely expressing themselves. They may write
> hastily at times, and not everything posted has been carefully edited and
> is fit for final publication.
>
> Also, if you want to know something more about what someone wrote, it's ok
> to write and ask them to expand upon a particular theme. But it's their
> decision to continue writing, not yours. It's not appropriate to
repeatedly
> demand that someone give you answers to some question you have about their
> views.
>
> Something is "off topic" if it has absolutely nothing to do with Theosophy
> and has a chilling effect on the discussions. It's ok if it might be of
> interest to theosophical students.
>
> I don't always have time to carefully read every message going out on the
> list. So if anyone sees something that may be a problem, I ask that they
> write theos-talk-owner@yahoogroups.com with their concerns. Don't write
> directly to the list telling someone they are "off topic" or "acting bad"
> or to complain that "they are mistreating me." When there's a problem, I
> will contact people, write something to the list, or take some
> administrative action to resolve the situation.
>
> This list provides a unique opportunity to coexist with students and
> friends of Theosophy of all the different backgrounds. That is something
we
> won't find in the typical theosophical group or moderated list. Let's keep
> our focus on sharing what we find valuable and work at coexisting better
> with people that think differently than we do.
>
> Eldon Tucker
>
>
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>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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