Update! What the Heck Are We Doing?

Okay, the title of this post may sound like I'm not taking this seriously, but I'd like to keep these things lighthearted and positive

I've promised to do a better job of keeping everyone up to date on what the Council is doing, so here's a few recent highlights...

• We are still working hard on the Pax Templi document outlining expectations for behavior here. It is slow going as we want to be thorough and fair and also receive as much input as we can. The conversation continues, but we're making progress.
• The 2017 TOTJO Climate Survey is still up and running. We are looking closely at the results and using them to guide our adjustments to policy and procedures here. If you haven't taken it yet, you can do so HERE .
• You'll be seeing updates like this and other Council news coming from Atticus in the future. He has been appointed as our Council Secretary and is already keeping us more organized and on task. You can always reach out to any Councillor directly, but Atticus will also act as an official channel for Council communication.
• We just announced an update to the Initiate Program on advice of the EduAdmin Department that has removed "The Field" by Lynne McTaggart and leaves Mindwalk as the material for response in the Connections lesson. "The Field" will remain in the Temple Library and Knights are still encouraged to use it for Apprentice Lessons if it is appropriate.
• The next issue of TOTJO Times is coming soon. I promise! It is late because of me, but I'll get it out ASAP.
• The three existing Knight Advisers were recently made Councillors, but we (JLSpinner, Kit, and myself) are still available to bring the suggestions, opinions and gripes from the Knights to Council. We are currently discussing the future of the Knight Adviser role including the addition of an Apprentice to the group, but we are getting settled into our own new roles on the Council before we bring anyone new into the mix. More to come on this.

I may be missing some things, but we are working hard for you and it is our sincere hope that we are sharing enough information with everyone. If you have questions or suggestions, hit me up here, via PM, or harass any other Councillor and we'll do our very best to get you answers quickly.

Thanks!

Thank you for this! It is good to see that you guys are doing your best to work things out. Curious, what kind of stuff are in the talks for the Pax Templi? Is there information you can share? Will there be any changes to current policies you think (i.e. banning repeat offenders, 3 strikes rules, etc)?

Keep it up!

vladucard wrote: Thank you for this! It is good to see that you guys are doing your best to work things out. Curious, what kind of stuff are in the talks for the Pax Templi? Is there information you can share? Will there be any changes to current policies you think (i.e. banning repeat offenders, 3 strikes rules, etc)?

Keep it up!

Great question! While we all agree that we need to be patient, civil, and compassionate in our interactions here, the real discussion comes as we try to decide what to do about people who refuse to behave this way. We are trying to create a document that is less about rules and regulations and more about the spirit of this Temple. For example, rather than just deleting posts, I'd like to see Moderators and Security Officers attempt to get involved in the conversation and try to identify miscommunications before we make assumptions and delete stuff. I, personally, want to point people back to this Pax Templi document as a reminder of the behavior we all agree upon when we arrive here and give people a chance to cool off before we take disciplinary action. I can do a better job of speaking with all involved parties in full public view to demonstrate my desire to resolve issues together in a way that doesn't require spankings. This will take some savvy and a lot of patience on the part of Moderators, but I believe that has been missing at times. This document should serve as a sort of covenant we all hold with each other so that we can all be held to the same expectations. It should be law in spirit, not letter.

When the inevitable troll appears, we will go back to the hard and fast forum rules that are also being looked at and revised. Specifically, I'd like to see clearer rules about profanity and rude behavior better defined. I'd also like to see guidelines for banning people like a "Three Strikes" rule and/or set time periods of ban for certain infractions. Any discipline needs to be explained publicly and have procedures for appeal in place as well. Once these are in place, we can confidently swing the ban hammer or hand down swift, fair, agreed upon discipline that is equally applied to everyone.

This is tougher than it sounds, hence our hesitation to release something too quickly without giving it proper consideration. I imagine we will seek opinions from the entire membership before anything becomes "official" as well.

If we're going to be sticklers on profanity, probably need to include the chats in that discussion...

Zenchi wrote: If we're going to be sticklers on profanity, probably need to include the chats in that discussion...

He said "clearer rules" on profanity. Not necessarily that it'll be outlawed. But any kind of rules we put into place will be applicable to all official TotJO discussions, and I hope adhered to in our unofficial ones.

Zenchi wrote: If we're going to be sticklers on profanity, probably need to include the chats in that discussion...

That's the tricky part. While I understand the need to limit profanity laced tirades aimed at individuals, my personal opinion is that we should be able to police ourselves when it comes to profanity and know when it is meant in malice and when it is just colorful speech. If it bothers anyone, we should be able to address it on a case by case basis.

For the record, almost everyone here will have different ideas on profanity and what constitutes it. I advocate that any rules we have here are respectful of that knowledge, and less motivated solely by the Helen Lovejoys of the world.

Kit wrote:

Zenchi wrote: If we're going to be sticklers on profanity, probably need to include the chats in that discussion...

He said "clearer rules" on profanity. Not necessarily that it'll be outlawed. But any kind of rules we put into place will be applicable to all official TotJO discussions, and I hope adhered to in our unofficial ones.

Course not, cause then you'd have to watch your language in chat, right? Heaven forbid, cause we're a church n all with minors...

Zenchi wrote:

Kit wrote:

Zenchi wrote: If we're going to be sticklers on profanity, probably need to include the chats in that discussion...

He said "clearer rules" on profanity. Not necessarily that it'll be outlawed. But any kind of rules we put into place will be applicable to all official TotJO discussions, and I hope adhered to in our unofficial ones.

Course not, cause then you'd have to watch your language in chat, right? Heaven forbid, cause we're a church n all with minors...

Well sh...er...crap? Is that considered a curse word anymore? :silly: trying to practice here....

Yes, believe it or not, we are still doing stuff!

But seriously, Council continues to work on updating our policies concerning moderation and security. We're working on outlining proper appeals processes as well so that members can address any moderation activities that you may disagree with. We're also continuing development of the Pax Templi document that will outline basic guidelines for behavior here. It has been written, edited, rewritten, edited some more, and now being discussed further. It is coming soon.

Another big project we're wrapping up is the Year In Review for 2017. This is an annual report with entries from all departments detailing what was accomplished in 2017 including the financials of the charity and the growth of our membership. It will be made available to all members for review and become part of the official records needed to maintain legal standing as a 501c3.

As most of you know Council grew by quite a few members recently. The newer members have been getting settled, but also working hard to make some changes requested by membership. We're also getting much better acquainted with the legal side of things to make sure we follow the appropriate rules and bylaws governing our Temple. Once we are all more comfortable with these, we will be able to better explain why we take certain actions and why we can't take others. Hopefully this will clear up some of the confusion and miscommunication that has occurred in the past.

I'm sure there is a lot more, but that is a quick update on what what we have been up to behind the curtain in Council chambers. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to find answers for you.