Theos-Talk Archives (October 2004 Message tt00178)

Eldon,
I think nobody should be allowed to belittle or humiliate leaders and 
authors of other organizations. Members of the discussion list are 
free to accept or reject any of their ideas. Every organization has 
some leaders and authors whom members of that organization respect 
and feel reverence. Other members of the list should not be allowed 
to hurt their feelings by humiliating personalities they respect. 
Attacking the personality revered by others and not agreeing with 
statement by that author or leader are two different things.

Anand Gholap



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