Theos-Talk Archives (April 2005 Message tt01594)

Over the past month, the number of messages on the list has doubled, 
exceeding 2000 for April. At the same time, the quality of the 
postings has gone downhill. There has been a lot of noise, anger, 
judgment, and superficial and flippant provoking of other people, 
and there has been an overwhelming flood of materials that most 
people joining this list to learn and exchange views on Theosophy 
would consider off-topic.

The percentage of ultra-short, often one-line messages has gotten so 
high and the back-and-forth exchange so frequent that the list is 
rapidly taking on the appearance of a chat line. The list is a place 
where people with a shared interest in Theosophy may meet, get to 
know each other, and exchange ideas. If someone wants to engage 
another in a chat, there are plenty of free places to do so like AIM 
and ICQ. Simply email the person an invitation to chat directly (and 
not post one to the list). If someone wants to engage another in a 
philosophical discussion, the list is a good place, if one takes the 
time to write out his or her thoughts.

At this point, I am asking that everyone stop the name-calling and 
judgment of others on the list. I am also asking that everyone 
voluntarily cut back on the volume of chatter (read "noise"). Worst 
of all are the one-line messages that refer to something previously 
said by someone else, but with nothing it the message itself to give 
someone a clue as to what the other person was talking about.

Although there may be an occasional intentional barb that someone 
writes to provoke another, there are more frequently messages that 
contained no ill will but were misinterpreted, drawing forth angry 
replies. Both are bad. Let us have no provocations and taunting, and 
be less quickly to rise to anger at imagined wrongs.

We are all entitled to share what we think. The subject of 
Leadbeater, Blavatsky, life after death, communication with the 
dead, the Masters, or the merits of the respective theosophical 
groups may come up because of a passage quoted from a book, an idea 
someone expresses, or someone recounting a personal experience or 
belief. Regardless of the original context, any philosophical topic 
is ok to discuss; we can all share our ideas. This in no way judges 
others holding views that differ from our own. 

In the past month, I have seen about 30 subscribers leave the list, 
some long-time subscribers. They have been partially replaced by 
some new lurkers, but the list has lost some good members. I do not 
want to see this continue to happen. At this point, if things do not 
start to show signs of improvement, I may have to moderate selected 
participants if they get carried away, or even unsubscribe them. We 
are all here to learn, share, and grow. Everyone stop the petty 
bickering and behave more considerately to others.

New people come across us and similar lists and sites as they seek 
answers to the questions of life. The theosophical philosophy 
provides one set of workable answers, providing some with a starting 
point to their quest. Without it and the framework for questing that 
theosophical groups provide, we have little to offer, so when the 
philosophy is obscured and the sangha or sense of spiritual 
community is destroyed, people are turned away cold, not allowed to 
share in the esoteric philosophy. I do not want to see this happen.