When it comes to moderation, the way it should be is this: people from FF or
with ties to FF only. The rest of you fuck off.
-Original Message-
From: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of TurquoiseB
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2007 4:47 AM
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [FairfieldLife] Reward vs. Punishment: a different kind of
moderation
Since the subject of moderation of this forum has
come up, might I suggest a different *form* of
moderation, one that I have seen work on other
spiritual forums? It's a kind of "group moderation,"
one that definitely WORKS to keep the overall
state of attention high and flaming to a minimum.
What it involves is the "feedback loop." In my
opinion (and in the opinion of the other forums
on which I have seen this technique work), those
who spend a lot of time trying to provoke head-to-
head arguments or trying to insult or demonize
other posters are -- bottom line -- seeking
ATTENTION when they do so.
Just don't give it to them.
The compulsion to argue, or to provoke controversy
is IMO a small s self phenomenon. What else "gets
off" on proving itself "right," or on arguing with
someone else? The small s self is seeking to
*perpetuate* itself by constantly trying to stir
up controversy, in which other small s selves will
*interact* with it, and thus allow *both* small s
selves to pretend for another few minutes that they
exist, and are firmly in charge.
An alternative is just for people posting here to
be a little more mindful about the posts that they
reply to. What I'm suggesting is that if you run
into a post that strikes you as uplifting, positive,
funny, or that otherwise made your day, respond to
it by complimenting or agreeing with the poster who
made the uplifting post. Get into a discussion with
them.
When you encounter posts that you consider negative,
or insulting, or designed to start a fight, respond
by NOT RESPONDING. Period. Don't give the small s
self that was so lonely that the only way it knew
how to interact with other human beings was to fight
with them *any* feedback -- leave it alone in the
dark, waiting for a response that never comes.
DON'T get into discussion with such people.
Think about it. This approach works equally well if
you are a TM critic or a TM True Believer. If Vaj
or Paul say something that you perceive as negative or
calculated to start a fight, JUST DON'T FIGHT. If
Judy or Peter K or Nablus say something that seems
equally designed to be conflict-provoking, JUST
DON'T RESPOND.
The effectiveness of this approach is in its simplicity.
All we have to do is REWARD the behavior we consider
positive by giving it feedback, and NOT REWARD
the behavior we consider less than positive by giving
it NO feedback at all. No one needs to get drawn into
any conflict they do not wish to participate in. No
one has to get down and roll in the mud except those
who obviously *like* rolling in the mud.
This is what I'm going to try to do. Others can do as
they please. My experience is that when forums have to
descend to having someone act as official "moderator,"
to fight the negativity, that's pretty much the end
of the forum. I'd hate to see that happen to FFL. But
when the *members* of the forum just take it upon
*themselves* to support the posts they deem positive
via feedback, and to *not support* the posts they
consider negative, via NO feedback, the negative
situation tends to work itself out within a few short
months. The compulsive flamers and arguers go somewhere
else to get their argument "fix," because they can't
get it on a forum on which almost no one responds to
their provocations.
Again, it's a simple formula, based on an age-old
spiritual truth: "What you focus on you become."
If you want to become argumentation, focus on (and
respond to) the posts that are calculated to start an
argument. If you want to become harmony and positivity,
focus on (and respond to) only the posts that contain
those qualities.
Good luck.
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