What would help the Temple Be A Better Place? Suggestions please...

To go back to topic - as to how to make these lines more clear, I think the blend of gentle redirects in the introductions and consistent enforcement of the username policy stated on the introductory page is a good method. Beyond that, people seem to sort out what they're interested in and which particular ratio of fiction inclusion works for them once they get involved.

Manami wrote: To go back to topic - as to how to make these lines more clear, I think the blend of gentle redirects...

Could you give an example of this in practise? A theoretical situation, just so we can better understand what you're proposing?

Manami wrote: ...and consistent enforcement of the username policy stated on the introductory page is a good method.

We do try to enforce it, but alas some slip through the cracks, usually enforced if an account comes back (eg. Darth Insertedgynamehere wont be changed to Insertedgyname here (removing the Darth) until after they come back, or when they apply for membership). Would be a nightmare trying to change them all if the account is never used again. ;P

I had brought up in a chat that perhaps there should be some sorta bot that screens for usernames that break codes while people are making accounts, marking them as invalid. Of course, that would just end up creating accounts with purposeful misspellings of names (Darf instead of Darth) or some headache if it blocks the word Master but someone wants the name MacMaster (a common last name in my neck of the woods). ;P Its a real Pandora's Box, imo.

Well, for instance (one observed) - when a new guest does an introduction based on a Star Wars persona, and those responding explain that this isn't a forum that does roleplaying, but they do it in such a way that makes it an invitation to get to know folks here better and participate in the real exploration, rather than a put down. It may not be what the person was looking for, but it gives them the chance to reconsider and join in. It has to be irritating from the mod end to get the same kind of thing over and over, but for the person who is joining, it's the first time they're hearing it, and it speaks well of the Temple when they're not made the brunt of that frustration. So, good job, TOTJO greeters!

I understand how problematic it could be - some kind of method to screen names for the major terms (titles and characters, anyway) when they are chosen would probably be the best way, so that they never make it in.

I think we need to stress that we don't have any answers, only a (fun)starting point for people to find the answers themselves.


Reading this thread has me leaning toward withdrawing, or at the least, remaining no more than a member.

Why is everyone so worried about telling everyone else that the path they walk as a Jedi is wrong? Too much focus on being right!

Right ,wrong ,or indifferent, be the Jedi you want to be, and let others do the same. All of this arguing has had me doubting my own beliefs and actions.......no more! I know who I am, and why I am that way. And more so, what I BELIEVE I need to do to better myself and positively affect the world around me.That's what's important!

Zero_storm wrote: Why is everyone so worried about telling everyone else that the path they walk as a Jedi is wrong? Too much focus on being right!

Right ,wrong ,or indifferent, be the Jedi you want to be, and let others do the same. All of this arguing has had me doubting my own beliefs and actions.......no more! I know who I am, and why I am that way. And more so, what I BELIEVE I need to do to better myself and positively affect the world around me.That's what's important!

QFT. There will always be people who criticize the way you walk your Path. Take what helps you; leave the rest.

Zero_storm wrote: Why is everyone so worried about telling everyone else that the path they walk as a Jedi is wrong? Too much focus on being right!

Right ,wrong ,or indifferent, be the Jedi you want to be, and let others do the same. All of this arguing has had me doubting my own beliefs and actions.......no more! I know who I am, and why I am that way. And more so, what I BELIEVE I need to do to better myself and positively affect the world around me.That's what's important!

Because many here cannot conceive of something such as being a Jedi as having true value unless it is an objective value (a standard) that applies to everyone. Some feel they need to have a standard to compare themselves and others to in order to give a value to where they are on their path. It is very difficult for them to think of this "playing field" any differently. To them, if this kind of system does not take place, than it must be a value-less definition-less free-for-all that might as well not exist.

There are some of us like myself who don't see the "playing field" in terms of a "moral model", but instead in more of an "existential model", since it is the existential level of things in which morals arise from in the first place, and is the one level that every human being is connected within. Outside of that level, things get split up, comparisons are made, and people begin picking "sides" as to what is "right" and "wrong", and trying to objectify things on this level.

Alas, it's not an easy notion (the existential model of the playing field) to get one's understanding into without spending a lot of time learning how to shed layers and layers of perceptual illusions from, and even after a life time, you never truly shed them, you just become free of slavery to it. For people who aren't "there" yet, any mention of this model is just a bunch of non-sense, and many of the obstacles to getting to that point can make one feel very discouraged that its even worth it.

So as a result, you have a temple with plenty of people who are operating their path on a quite conventional moral level, where they are right, others are wrong, there are Jedi and non-Jedi, and everything is just a familiar and typical as any other system of belief or philosophy.

Zero_storm wrote: ...no more! I know who I am, and why I am that way. And more so, what I BELIEVE I need to do to better myself and positively affect the world around me.That's what's important!

Yeah! Be the best, most genuine you you can be!

Proteus, you put into words something I couldn't even begin too. Thank you.

My point exactly if they want to believe they are an incarnation of something that resonates in their very heart beat: their existential pulse... then so be it... I would not stop the Darth maul from breathing... and I certainly would not restrict the Vilma De Booma from surviving after so long... Baress offee may be locked up but her needs will always be the same.... good tobacco and something creative to focus on... I have not heard from Bruce Lee... but I assume he is doing well... Apart from that the Sunrider crew are all well and happy with their current incarnations without the need for superfluous role play masquerades into a galaxy of their own making... The twist is all the same... drink it dry or iced... my martini is shaken not stirred...

I have heard from a handful of Jedi brothers and sisters that they feel drained after coming to the temple. Reason being lots of negative energy. This is touchy but many beliefs and opinions i feel are part of the cause. Also beliefs can be dangerous as we humans feel the need to protect such beliefs. Causing attachment. Instead promote encouragement, truth, and understanding.

Glenn wrote: I have heard from a handful of Jedi brothers and sisters that they feel drained after coming to the temple. Reason being lots of negative energy. This is touchy but many beliefs and opinions i feel are part of the cause. Also beliefs can be dangerous as we humans feel the need to protect such beliefs. Causing attachment. Instead promote encouragement, truth, and understanding.

I can understand that. But at the same time... who creates the topics? It's not the responsibility of the world to create positive experiences. It is our freedom, and how we use it, that create these experiences for ourselves and each other. So I understand the feeling but at the same time, not the practice.

I can complain that we're tearing down too many trees but am I not willing to donate to plant one? If the people who want more positivity aren't starting positive threads, do they really want it? Or are they just making excuses? TOTJO's leadership can only do so much. The rest is up to us.

And there has been a subdivision of the boards precisely to clearer segregate the areas where one ought expect an exchange of different ideas.

That being said, I for one have difficulty appreciating what a pursuit of understanding is supposed to be, if it does not involve speaking and listening to people with different perspectives and positions from one's own. To me, someone who finds that there is too much difference between us, is, with all due respect, not someone whom I see as one who is looking to learn. We can coexist with those, in my opinion. There have, as you are reporting, been sentiments against how many threads end up with interesting or at least passionate discussions, as they are too "negative" in the opinions of some. Meanwhile I can't recall anyone ever saying that some of the more one-dimensional threads like the ones only linking music, or quotes, or poems, or workout progression, are in anyone's way. Ironically, the "negative" ... let's call it "side" for lack of a better word... seems to be the one more happy to coexist, whilst the quest for "positivity" is the one that presumably brought the recent re-structuring, and not even to the "positivity"-crowd's satisfaction, if this thread's revival post is anything to go by. :silly:

Understanding is listening to different views. And why would we put people down? Why wouldn't we try and be truthful. Its part of the Jedi code. As far as I can see your just trying to argue with me Gisteron. Yes I'm calling you out. You have put forth no solutions. At least I did. What solutions you got.

Glenn wrote: Understanding is listening to different views.

Well... Let's say that'd be a start, sure.

And why would we put people down?

I don't know. I have yet to witness someone putting anyone down here, though, so I'm not sure how important it is when it comes to a discussion about improving the Temple.

Why wouldn't we try and be truthful.

Again, no idea. I reckon most think that they are trying in their own way. In the end we don't get to see anyone's efforts at a glance, only the end results. And sometimes, comparing the results to how little or how much effort it took others among us to reach theirs one may end up questioning whether or not everyone is indeed trying. But at the end of the day I don't find it productive to pass a judgement on this one way or the other. Even the most zealous truth-seekers among us will fail some of the time, and some of the time it may well be for a lack of trying. But if they value truth and understanding, they'll happily stand corrected all the same. Ignorance, after all, is not just a matter of not knowing. Nobody knows everything. The only genuinely shameful sort of ignorance - in my opinion, at any rate - is the sort that leaves us without wondering, without a will to learn, or worse yet, with a will not to.

Its part of the Jedi code.

Much as I'd love to encourage truthfulness, it is not an explicit part of the Code, in my opinion. One can argue that any pursuit of knowledge and quest against ignorance is one that has to incorporate honesty with oneself and possibly others at one point or another. I am very sympathetic to that interpretation myself, but I would insist that nevertheless it is an interpretation I'd project onto the Code, not an intrinsic part of it.

As far as I can see your just trying to argue with me Gisteron. Yes I'm calling you out. You have put forth no solutions. At least I did. What solutions you got.

Solutions to what problem, exactly? I don't find that having a place with people of different opinions is a problem. I don't find that others having an issue with it is a problem either, at least not one that any of the rest of us have a moral incentive to remedy. And if you happen to find this response of mine unsatisfactory, well... that is also something I think we can all live with, for now.

I respect you Gisteron, and you have point of view that I have not considered. Something new is apreciated. Thank you. Unfortunately I met my match. Lol. Well done. I got to hand it to you. My only request is be gentile with me. Your out my league. I got lots to learn from you but it takes me a while.

Give the current restructure a chance I guess, and see if folk can make it work productively for the community rather than themselves... an easy habit to fall into.

Otherwise, discussion could be channeled into specific training modalities, such as;
- critical assessments (destructive testing)
- imaginative interpretations (BYO, brainstorming new views)
- analytical investigations (groupthink teamwork, non-destructive testing)

In all honesty and in no disrespect I believe that in a temple or church like setting that you shouldn't have leaders that believe in other religions. Such as catholic, mormon, or so on. I believe that only the truly devoted to the force should be of any status here.

That's interesting.

I'd be interested to know your reasoning

Bradly wrote: In all honesty and in no disrespect I believe that in a temple or church like setting that you shouldn't have leaders that believe in other religions. Such as catholic, mormon, or so on. I believe that only the truly devoted to the force should be of any status here.

Here’s a devil advocate and even real life here -

I am a Jedi minister. (Pastor)
My practices and daily and weekly meetings envolve a lot of INTRA- faith practices. I don’t pray, yet I can encourage other to. Is knowing of faiths and practices the same as knowing other faiths? Truthfully I only claim to be a Jedi, but that doesn’t say a person of Ambrahamic faith can’t hold office or even serve - does it? A Mormon? A Tribesman - some one different than us? Should it ? Granted, we as Modern day Jedi are different in our faith is a bit on the inclusive as much as the individual can balance or choose.
I am interested to know your thoughts Bradly.
Force continue to be with ya