Theos-Talk Archives (February 2006 Message tt00702)

This letter was sent to the list yesterday by: <prmoliveira@yahoo.com>
To make the letter readable I changed the format of the letter before
saving it. In case if others had a problem reading the letter I am
sending it again to the list.

Sveinn Freyr
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Eldon B Tucker <eldon@...> wrote:

While searching the archives I found this important reminder. (PO)


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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