I’ve made a few changes to the forum rules.  Some of the rules made a couple years ago were put in place as a way to control and stop arguing and fighting.  These new changes are less strict and hopefully will be more user-friendly.  The same general overall rule applies, as always, that posts must be appropriate and respectful.

In exchange for me removing the “no bumping” and “no forum hogging” rules, I will be monitoring all posts, and I’ll utilize my Admin abilities in circumstances where it’s necessary such as:

1).  Deleting very obviously inappropriate posts, meaning spam, bullying, attacks, etc.   

2).  Breaking off a comment from one thread and making it a brand new thread if that is most appropriate, such as in cases where it was placed in the wrong thread or forum or if it’s off topic. 

3).  Locking certain threads that should no longer be commented on, such as ones that became extremely long and changed topics many times, involved a lot of arguing, mean comments, and name calling, etc. 


WHAT I’M ADDING/CHANGING TO THE NEW FORUM RULES
So you don’t have to go re-read the entire list, here are the changes:

I DELETED: 
No bumping threads older than 6 months. 
No forum hogging.

I ADDED: 
You may not use a thread as a way to keep an online personal blog, diary, memoir, your short stories, poems, etc. 

Photos and images are not allowed to preserve space on the server. 

REPLYING TO VERY OLD THREADS
Please have a good reason for deciding to reply to a thread that has not had activity for a long time.  It’s not appropriate to reply to very old threads because many members are no longer active on this site and they will not see or respond to your comment.  The Admin may move your comment to begin a new thread if necessary.  Very inappropriate comments will be deleted. 

That’s it for the forum’s rule changes. 


Here are some other things I want to mention:


CLEARING UP SOME MISCONCEPTIONS
I also want to clarify some misconceptions that I’ve heard from some members.  I’m going to list some things that have come up (whether on the board or in PMs).  Feel free to reply with your ideas and feelings about these things, or add something I left out.  Anyone is welcome to comment.  I think it’s important to get things out in the open.  Also, different people have different ways of defining some terminology.  Here are my meanings and understandings of these concepts: 

Staying on topic -- If someone creates a thread then that topic of conversation should be respected.  If during the course of conversation you are inspired to talk about something else that goes so off that topic and may re-route the course of conversation, please create your own new thread so that your new topic has its own place, will be seen and responded to, and will not disrupt or conflict with someone else’s thread topic. 

How conversations flow – Conversations have a natural ebb and flow and sometimes drift into other thoughts and ideas from the original thread post.  As long as it’s a natural part of the conversation and everyone involved is being respectful, you don't have to worry about "going off topic".  Natural flows in conversation are not necessarily off topic so feel free to be yourself. 

Options for when you’re offended – If you don’t like the way someone commented in their reply, remember that everyone has their own style of talking and they may not have intended to offend.  If you don’t like that person, it’s better not to respond than to reply offensively.  You may use the Peer Moderator System or send me a PM if you feel an offense was made and continues despite your efforts to mitigate.

Diversity -- Some people will comment in reply to one person but not another.  Not everyone has something to say to each reply or to each person.  Someone may not want to engage with a specific member so may choose not to reply to them.  Everyone has a different way of talking and writing, and my use language differently than you.  Sometimes there are different ways to interpret what someone says.  Being kind and respectful, or at least not being inconsiderate and harsh, is always your best bet.   

What Bruce Moen wanted – It’s a misconception that all topics need to be about Bruce, his books, his workshops, his techniques, and his beliefs.  Bruce never wanted to be worshipped.  He started this forum as a place to discuss his work and techniques and teachings, but over the years it developed, as things always do, into being open for more.  The “more” is conversation about the afterlife, beliefs, experiences, questions, etc.  As long as the forum rules are followed, the forum is open to various experiences, beliefs, and opinions. 

In early 2017 when Bruce knew he’d be dying soon, he asked me to take over managing the forums.  He didn’t want it to just disappear.  His work is his legacy, and he was proud of it, and he wanted it to be available to people as long as is humanly possible.  And we still have Allan, our IT guy, who does the behind the scenes stuff, all the technical aspects of running and maintaining the entire site. 

Bruce was very saddened at how the forums had been overrun with negativity, fighting, and other bad behavior.  Bruce wanted to ban many members, specific ones.  But I vied to keep everyone!  I wanted people to have the opportunity to choose what happened to themselves.  So we compromised and came up with some new rules to add that would eliminate the problems that Bruce wanted gone. 

It caused several members to leave the site.  One member was banned, and another member left on his own.  I won’t name names or go over details, but having those two gone eliminated a lot of problems.  The site since then has had a lot less activity, but with problems eliminated we felt that the forums would have a much better image.

The reason I’m making changes to some of those rules now is because of feedback from some members as well as a way to enliven things here and free up some of the strict rules that were put in place.  Most of those rules aren’t things that most people would violate anyway.  I also have Admin rights available to me to keep things under control before they get out of hand. 

I want you to feel invited to participate here, and I always try to set the best example for a welcoming spirit.  It’s true that forums are not used much anymore, but as long as we’re here to run it, this forum will remain, and be maintained and managed as a welcome place for all who are seeking afterlife knowledge. 

Vicky