Feedback wanted on the three links per week limit in the opt-in forums (and beyond)

I figured it would be a stickied thread in Conspiracy, not a pop up that appears every time you go to the opt-in forums?

I think that sounds like a reasonable compromise.

But is this happening here?

And would limiting to three links a week make much difference?

I'll admit it is hard for me to see how our current set up of opting into the sub-forums is not a good enough compromise.

UFOs get into conspiracy theory territory, but they are relevant enough to the paranormal that it makes sense to have section for them in the main forums.

Energy healing and shamanic healing are problematic in the sense that someone may be better served by more mainstream medical practices - but they are a key aspect to Psi at the least, if not a sign of some greater reality.

Psychedelics are arguably very important in the study of consciousness but they carry great risk if someone decides to use them in order to expand their mind b/c they read something here. Why I put that caveat warning in my threads about them.

Would it be valuable to have some sort of general note about COVID in the conspiracy thread section regarding the risks of non-vaccination?

The issue for me is that there is a disparity in the quality of evidence. I tried to make that point earlier by comparing the kind of evidence presented by those who took part in the Bigelow Essay competition and the kind of evidence presented by the likes of Alex Jones and Steve Bannon. I know that some members here are sympathetic to the views of the latter pair and also with their socio-political agenda. I am not and, further, I do not wish to be part of a forum which gives them equal credence because that reflects directly on me. I makes me part of this misinformation campaign that Bailey and others wish us to consider to be legitimate scientific or philosophical discourse. It is not! It is political. It is hateful, it is mendacious and it is dangerous. 

However, the turn of this particular thread has served to make my mind up. I am leaving - and I am sad to do so because I know of no other place where I can discuss the things I came here to discuss. I can't live with the associations that come with Covid Hoax propaganda or dumping links here attempting to convince anyone who will watch them to avoid vaccinations. My step-mother lost her childhood to polio and her life from then on was of poor quality and all of that could have been avoided had the vaccine been availble to her at that time. I would be surprised if people here have not lost family members and friends to Covid and I would ask how many of them would have died had they been fully vaccinated?

So Stan got his way and I finally made a comment about Covid. Pity I had to but now you can all continue without me.

The issue for me is that there is a disparity in the quality of evidence. I tried to make that point earlier by comparing the kind of evidence presented by those who took part in the Bigelow Essay competition and the kind of evidence presented by the likes of Alex Jones and Steve Bannon. I know that some members here are sympathetic to the views of the latter pair and also with their socio-political agenda. I am not and, further, I do not wish to be part of a forum which gives them equal credence because that reflects directly on me. I makes me part of this misinformation campaign that Bailey and others wish us to consider to be legitimate scientific or philosophical discourse. It is not! It is political. It is hateful, it is mendacious and it is dangerous. 

However, the turn of this particular thread has served to make my mind up. I am leaving - and I am sad to do so because I know of no other place where I can discuss the things I came here to discuss. I can't live with the associations that come with Covid Hoax propaganda or dumping links here attempting to convince anyone who will watch them to avoid vaccinations. My step-mother lost her childhood to polio and her life from then on was of poor quality and all of that could have been avoided had the vaccine been availble to her at that time. I would be surprised if people here have not lost family members and friends to Covid and I would ask how many of them would have died had they been fully vaccinated?

So Stan got his way and I finally made a comment about Covid. Pity I had to but now you can all continue without me.

I don't think you should leave for this reason. I mean people have been conned by fake healers but we discuss psychic healing and spirit/God aided healing here?

I get that it is a tricky issue, since there is an immediacy to Covid and arguing outright against vaccination is different than including some paranormal healing in one's pursuit of health. But I feel like some compromise could be reached?

OTOH maybe we'll lose members no matter which way things swing.

[Ninshub]

OTOH maybe we'll lose members no matter which way things swing.

Maybe a question is: which ones would you mind less to see leaving? Those who are primarily invested in psi (like Kamarling - let's not forget Chris) or those who are mostly interested - in the present or in the future - in campaigning for non-psi issues in the off-topic forums?

Maybe a question is: which ones would you mind less to see leaving? Those who are primarily invested in psi (like Kamarling - let's not forget Chris) or those who are mostly interested - in the present or in the future - in campaigning for non-psi issues in the off-topic forums?

I wouldn't want to judge people's future interest in terms of their current ones.

But I also think this is the wrong way to make a decision on this question - having someone make even 1-2 posts a month on the main forums is still useful especially given we have very few active posters anyway. The small nature of our club is why I think a compromise might be possible.

...I guess I also don't see exactly how a limit of how many links get posted would change anything?

If there is such a deep feeling about the danger of allowing COVID debate that may lead to death/disability due to lack of vaccination maybe the choice is between changing moderation - if you feel allowing the posts amounts to some moral responsibility on your part - or deleting those opt-in forums entirely.

(To be clear I think you're a great mod but I sympathize with the moral dilemma you feel here.)

But then I don't care about the opt-in forums, except that they are a good place to put anything political so I don't see it.

[Ninshub]

The covid situation only highlighted a problem I and others have with the type of posting that occurs in the opt-in forums (in the past, there were other issues bringing up similar problems and it's easy to foresee reoccuring ones), and it isn't about covid as such, although I don't expect my saying so to convince those who project their interpretations on the situation here. This has been explained in previous posts by chuck, kamarling and myself. But I've said what I have to say already and don't intend to repeat myself.

I've not spend so much time posting or reading this forum over the past few months and I've not read all the posts in this thread. Because of that I'm not able to either summarise or address anything in detail. All I will say is that I firmly believe in cooperation rather than conflict. Doing things together is usually more beneficial - and more fun - than fragmenting in different directions. Though there is certainly time for doing others things too, as I myself have been doing recently. Whichever way things move, it seems to me that goodwill is an essential part of things, whether here on this forum or in the outside world as well. May I just express my hope that goodwill and cooperation will flow throughout this group too.

I've not spend so much time posting or reading this forum over the past few months and I've not read all the posts in this thread. Because of that I'm not able to either summarise or address anything in detail. All I will say is that I firmly believe in cooperation rather than conflict. Doing things together is usually more beneficial - and more fun - than fragmenting in different directions. Though there is certainly time for doing others things too, as I myself have been doing recently. Whichever way things move, it seems to me that goodwill is an essential part of things, whether here on this forum or in the outside world as well. May I just express my hope that goodwill and cooperation will flow throughout this group too.

This ideally, but as Bob Dylan once wrote, "They talk about a life of brotherly love but show me someone who knows how to live it."  That's why we need moderators and rules sadly.

This ideally, but as Bob Dylan once wrote, "They talk about a life of brotherly love but show me someone who knows how to live it."  That's why we need moderators and rules sadly.

We all of us have different aspects to our personality. It wasn't an unrealistic or idealistic thought I was expressing, simply a suggestion that there are choices available.

Given the choice between no opt-in forums at all, or opt-in with the compromise proposed a few pages back, I think it's better to have the compromise, but I can't say I see any reason to change the current set-up. If a thread in the main forums drifts into opt-in topic territory, why can't a mod just post a reminder to keep on-topic?

I don't visit the opt-in forums myself, and I would probably be more of a mind with Karmaling on certain subjects that have come up related to it, but this really doesn't seem like it needs to be such a point of conflict.