First off, a very warm if, given the circumstances, slightly peculiar welcome!
Just wanted to offer a quick like to say many thanks for adding your voice (and love) to this forum, and especially to this thread!
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No.
You can go to the threads and find them.
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How do I find them?
Sorry, I am a computer illiterate.
Do I have the access?
I see santa100 has been suspended for 2 years. In my opinion that seems excessive.
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Okay. Thank your your feedback.
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Go to the user profile > activity
Thanks @Peter_Durham
This action is taken instead of a full ban. However it is seen as the ‘equivalent’ just with less view of ‘no redemption’.
We clearly state in the guidelines in which case a ban will be enacted
In this case, the users actions fit.
The reason for this ‘harshness’ is that the moderators job is exceedingly difficult. We all have jobs. We all have other responsibilities. Yet over the last 48 hours we’ve all had to sit here for prolonged periods of time clearing flags, putting out fires, etc. we need to have higher guidelines to appeal to to save our energy and time. For 99.9% of the users here, it will never affect them, because they have the intention of following the guidelines.
I do fully understand your point. Just showing you why we made that decision in case it helps.
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NO SHE’S NOT?!? 
NO YOU’RE NOT!! 
Come on this is not worth it. Just a cloud in the vast sky. Wait and you’ll see it pass.
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Venerable sir, I will not leave for now. Gratefully to you, you inspire us. But it is not just a cloud. Sometimes feels like cloud after cloud.
As for what any user chooses to do: leave or stay, that is their choice. I will support if it’s based on what right. This is not an easy environment sometimes.
Ultimately I will place my safety and the safety and joy of my mind above all this, and I would want the same for others too. When I look after myself, I have joy in my mind, and that is essential for meditation and release as we know, the most important things!
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I really hope that Ayya @vimalanyani reconsiders. I’ve really enjoyed her contributions to the forum. I may not have always agreed with her point of view but I found it refreshing to see them aired in an open and eloquent way.
As for the way things are flagged and moderated here; if I feel something should be flagged I will review the community guidelines first to check that it’s not just an emotional reaction. I hope that others will do the same.
I missed the 2nd half of the ‘thought experiment’ thread but the tone of one or two posters was becoming aggressive when I left. People had already requested that a kinder tone was used. So I will assume that posts were then flagged because this was ignored. One of the lovely things about SC Discourse is that it doesn’t turn into a slinging match. Personally, I’d like it to stay that way. There are many other forums where people can go to inflate their sense of self. I’m here to help mine disappear.
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Let us all self govern ourselves by the Noble Eightfold Path and Right Speech. If we are being divisive, we are not following the Dhamma. The Dhamma is sufficient to moderate us all if we follow it earnestly.
Taking things personally is quite honestly a personal problem and this is where Right Intention comes in, the intention of renunciation and good will. Taking things personally is by definition holding on. Dwelling on he/she did or said this is antithetical to the Buddha’s teachings. However, I’m not supporting anyone using harsh speech.
For example, from the Dhamma
My point is, I have not used my time wisely by reading all this back and forth. My efforts would be more wise directed reading suttas and contemplating them or meditating. Right speech is also a direct practice and that involves the person who speaks harshly and, in my opinion even moreso, those who hear any harsh speech.
The Buddha said anger is a gift that we can choose not to receive afterall.
We should be careful as idle chatter is something to be avoided by all of us who wish to practice the teachings in any purity and for that end.
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I’m afraid you’ll always be disappointed if you hold that expectation. Like it or not, an element of the social world is that of nastiness. Even the Buddha wasn’t exempt from being treated nastily, so we should definitely not expect any difference on an internet forum. The difference here is that the forum environment and atmosphere is curated to some extent by the moderation, by their action/inaction and posts. But even the most pristine gardens will get weeds from time to time.
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I agree with this.
If I was the moderator or admin I would have given hin two weeks suspension to cool him down a little bit.
Santa was not a repeat offender and he was a great contributor.
Doesn’t SC have some guideline for the suspension procedure?
(such as the duration of suspension)
Buddha had the compassion for Angulimala who killed thousand people.
Great powers come with great responsibilities. The level of your compassion shows the level of your power.
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I just want to note that although one of the remarks that earned santa community disapprobation was a rather course insult directed at me, I am not one of the people who flagged him. Nor did I communicate with anyone else here to register a response - just in case anyone is wondering. I generally prefer to deal with those kinds of remarks directly, publicly and individually. But I can well understand why others would respond very differently.
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No I forbid it! 
But this is a part of the deal and we already knew it right? Ven. Sujato already knew that this will be challenging but he did it, moderators know it is hard but they do it, others, including me, hesitated before even participating but here we are. And it is generally working, and quite well. No! This is a success story so far, and if you and ayya @vimalanyani leave it won’t be any more. That’s why I forbid it! 
It doesn’t mean I’m not hearing your frustration. I’m really sorry for all this. And I think you would be happy if you knew how much I appreciate you, @Aminah, @anon29387788, and also others whose indispensable (& also exhausting) work is going on more silently in the background, like ayya @Vimala and others whom I don’t even know. I’m sure the great majority of participants here have similar feelings and appreciation to all of you, and I invite you to reflect on this. Also ayya @vimalanyani I’d say she’s one of the most popular and appreciated members here, no exaggeration. So please think about how frustrating for others it will be if you depart one day. Haven’t you seen the lovely response by friend @Stacey above?! 
COME ON CHEER UP!
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Look I really understand what you are saying. But see my rationale above!
Our actions are based on the Guidelines. The mods spent months developing these guidelines, which were then opened to public comment for some time. Adjustments were made based on these comments and the guidelines were finalized. It is made quite clear that each member agrees to the guidelines when they join. This means that -
- Each member has the responsibility to follow the guidelines while here, and
- Each member can expect that other members will be held to the guidelines. Acting according to the guidelines is our responsibility as mods.
Yes, there is some level of discretion that goes into these decisions from us mods, but on the whole, the guidelines exist to remove the influence of bias/preference.
Santa100 went against the guidelines in many cases, failed to respond to moderation, and attacked staff and other members of this forum after being moderated. Despite what you or I may feel about it, according to our guidelines, that means a ban. That’s all there really is to it.
This is not a sangha, and it is not a temple really. Anyone can just ‘walk’ in and do what they want. So our guidelines do not exactly mirror any other system of Buddhist rules, nor should they.
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Hehehe thanks Venerable! 
But unfortunately we can’t last forever, one day we must go…
I thank you for your goodness and kindness 
It is a gain for us, a great gain for us, that you are here too!!! 
Ultimately, I respect Ayya Vimalanyani, so I will respect her choice, whatever it is 
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If you think that Buddha’s teaching is applicable only for Sangha is that you are mistaken.
If a Buddhist forum like SC does not follow the Buddha’s teaching who else going to follow it?
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You misunderstood what I wrote. Literally anyone, at all, in the entire world and internet can come on this forum. Some may be Buddhist, some monastic, some neither. If you are Buddhist, yes, you should keep your precepts, but mods are not here to police that.
We are here to uphold a separate code, outlined in the guidelines, for the protection of this forum and it’s users, not the entire Buddhasasana.
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Isn’t the SC mission to protect Buddhasasana?
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Just as much as it is any Buddhist’s responsibility to uphold Buddhasasana. But the mods on this forum have to carry out actions in line with the forum guidelines.
Anyway, I am not sure what your point is in relation to the moderation on this forum.
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