This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Forum posting behaviour and cohesion - going forward
Fire
Posts: 19,096
Thank you for all the collaborative posters on this forum over the years. It has certainly been the conversations that sing.
Some thoughts on what makes for an interesting and helpful forum poster: someone
🌱 who is really interested in collaboration and exchange of ideas
🌱 who asks for questions, asks for more details, investigates rather than issues commands
🌱 who sees that the world is made up of multitudes of perspectives, ideas, opinions and experiences that are not your own; and that's a good thing
🌱 who does not go on and on about themselves all the time as if other people don't exist
🌱 who does not monologue 🌱 who listens and is genuinely interested - not just out to shut down or shoot back to someone they consider to be an 'opponent'
🌱 who doesn't cause rows and drama because they are feeling bored, low or lonely
🌱 who isn't out to belittle or point score off people to make themselves feel bigger
🌱 who isn't trying to be The One Who Knows - securing their position as The Expert in the Room
🌱 who isn't developing or re-enforcing warring tribes and turning their back on "people who are Not Like Us"
🌱 who gives specific and detailed advice
🌱 who does not let fear of change, innovation or technology panic them into retreat or attack
🌱 who sees that having a spirit of courtsey and respect in a group is not a call for censorship or an attack on your personal human rights
🌱 who asks for help
🌱 who brings appreciation
🌱 who apologises if they have made errors
🌱 who doesn't run vendettas. You don't have to stay in a place that isn't working and dig your heels in
🌱 who asks "is this really helping"?
🌱 who gets that there are real people behind the online names, that can feel real hurt and upset. We should not hide behind and use our anonymity to give ourselves impunity
🌱 who sees that narcissism and self-absorbtion doesn't help anyone - it's not all about you
🌱 who gets that snarking, sniping, gossip, snide or jabbing comments rarely help matters
🌱 who gets that groups work well and effectively when there is a sense of cohesion, safety, mututal support, hosting of others and non-judgemental welcome. Division and attacks hurt the group as a whole, and that matters
---
"Journalling" threads are different from others, more like documenting on one theme or the development of one place for learning and sharing. As I have often said elsewhere, most of the users of the forum are silent and invisible - as with most public forums - and that's great too. The forum has offered a great knowledge archive.
There will be multitudes of perspectives on this - mine is just one, a summation and reflection of what I have seen after eight or so years on the forum. I write it as an opinion piece; a piece of self-reflection too. I hope it gives food for thought as we move off into other forums.
5
Posts
Please don't bring this to the new forum. Leave it here
I agree. Those of us moving to GC from GW should consider ourselves guests in their home and do nothing to rock the boat over there. Once settled in and established there may be a justified desire to suggest changes (I won't call them improvements), but now is not the time for that.
Best foot forward for all of us then.