In which category do I post my topic?
We have updated some of the ‘About’ descriptions of forum categories to help you decide where your post can go.
To locate a summary page that lists all the categories, click the main hamburger menu and click the ‘Categories (10 more)…’ link…:
it will take you to the main ‘Categories’ page. There you can see the list of ALL the forum topic categories.
On a desktop computer, under each category heading (eg ‘Discussion’) you will see a short description. On a mobile, only the category heading is displayed, clicking on the category heading will take you to the short description.
At the end of the short description, there is a “…read more” link.
If you click on “… read more”, you will arrive at the 'About the Category" post.
These longer ‘About’ posts can be very useful in helping you decide in which category your post will go. Please take some time to review the description.
You may also notice the little pin icon. We would encourage you to ‘pin’ it by clicking it so it looks like this (points down)
‘Pinning’ a post displays it at the top of the category and ensures it’s not ‘lost’ among the many posts in that section. If you do find that your ‘About’ post has gone ‘missing’, you can always go back to the main category page described above, find it and re-pin it.
Unless you’ve got a fantastic memory, having the ‘About’ post pinned on the top of the category pages can help you decide where you post no matter how long you’ve been using the forum.
Here are the ‘About’ descriptions for all the D&D categories
Discussion
This category is only for discussion directly related to the Early Buddhist Texts. Use it to develop your practice of Right Speech.
Learn how to engage, argue, support, concede, or persuade, all the time remembering that everyone else here is helping you to get Awakened! Discussion Topics should not be wiki-ed. Your comments are your own.
Q&A
Get answers for specific questions related to the EBTs. Keep this section for limited questions for which you can conceivably get a satisfactory answer.
Clarify the meaning of a phrase or an unfamiliar idea. Don’t ask open-ended questions or for opinions. Similarly, when providing answers, try to answer the question as directly as possible. Avoid lengthy explanations or personal opinions. Open a new topic if you want to ask a follow-up question.
The Watercooler
Post about anything you want to discuss, serious or light, that doesn’t fit elsewhere. Enjoy some discussion, friendly chat, or just hang out with Dhamma friends.
Use the Watercooler as a place to support each other and make connections, without getting personal or argumentative. So please keep in mind the forum Guidelines. General Dhamma themes fit here; discussion of specific early texts belongs in Discussion.
Meta
Discussion about SuttaCentral and this forum, its organization, how it works, and how we can improve it.
Events & Announcements
Events of interest to those interested in early Buddhist texts, and notices about people involved in teaching/studying them.
This includes notice of upcoming seminars, workshops, meetings (in-person or online), courses, book and related media launches. You may also include obituaries of Sangha members and lay followers who may be familiar to users of this forum. (All other announcements go in the Watercooler.)
Instructions on how to post an event or announcement in this category (several steps are involved) can be found here.
Translation Work
Translations of the EBTs, especially alternative versions or study projects, as well as discussion of passages that are difficult to translate.
Feel free to add your own sutta translations or any others to which you have the rights.
If you’re using someone else’s translation, make sure to include the correct reference and relevant copyright information. From time to time, we may take translations that have been added here and include them in our main site. We’ll assess: Do we have a translation of this sutta already? Is the translation of good quality? Is the proofing, spelling, and so on, well done? So the better you make your uploads, the more chance you have of contributing to the long term creation of a universal translation of the Early Buddhist Texts.
By adding texts here, you can make a start as a translator and get feedback to help you improve.
Essays
Essays and analysis that treat the whole sutta, usually by experienced teachers.
This follows the model used in the traditional Theravadin commentaries, where the meaning of each sutta is “discussed” (aṭṭhakathā).
You can add an Essay in the usual way, by inserting the text. However many essays are quite complex, so it may be easier to insert a pre-formatted file, such as PDF. You can upload a PDF as a commentary. You can also link to a PDF online; however, we’d prefer if they were uploaded, as then we can ensure that the links don’t get broken. We don’t accept proprietary formats such as .doc. If you want to include a .doc file, please convert it to PDF first.
Each separate Essay should start a new Topic. So don’t add a Essay as a reply to another Essay.
In many cases, Essays will be by well-known authors, and it’d be nice to have a way to view all the essays by a particular author. We can do this by adding the author of the Essay as a tag for the Topic, thus:
##The root teaching
tagged: mn1, mulapariyaya, en, piya tan
Finally, include only material for which there is appropriate copyright permission. Usually this will be detailed on the source site or file. If in doubt, contact the author or site manager; usually people are happy to help, so don’t be shy! Ensure that appropriate copyright notice is included in the post. Usually it can be placed at the bottom of the post.
Essays are not wiki-ed. Only the original poster can change them.
AV
Audio visual resources for EBTs, including readings, chanting, and sutta classes.
Create a new Topic for each resource. Make sure to mention in the post title the main information (speaker and so on), and in the body of the post, any other useful information. The simplest way to add AV material is to paste the link to the MP3 file, Youtube, and so on. The player should display automatically. In addition, you can upload your own files, although in that case others won’t be able to play them here. Instead they’ll have to download them.
Reading Guides
This category provides structured reading guides for the Early Buddhist Texts.
Wiki
These are collaborative articles by the Discuss & Discover community intended to explain fundamental terms and concepts found in the Early Buddhist Texts.
The primary purpose of the wiki category is to generate a set of articles in a simple, clear style, which can help someone, especially newcomers, get familiar with the concepts, culture, ideas, and terms. All articles are collaborative. You may edit anything, but be kind and generous in your choices. Don’t let us end up with the legalistic culture of Wikipedia! Favor writing that is clear, simple, and neutral in tone. Take care to write as well as you can. Review your writing, spellcheck, and ensure proper markup is used. If you’re not familiar with any of this, don’t worry, just ask for help. Unlike Wikipedia, favour original sources from the EBTs. Modern scholars, if they are included at all, should be secondary. But it is fine to have the article based purely on the EBTs.
Make an effort to include references to texts other than Pali. Always use standard SuttaCentral references. Include images or other resources wherever possible. Avoid controversies and lengthy discussions. Better to do that in the Discussion or Essay category as appropriate. Keep the focus on the meanings and usages found in the EBTs. Include context if necessary, but make sure the main sense is clear.
A wiki article may be started by anyone. No concept is too small or simple. It’s fine to do just a couple of simple paragraphs on a basic term or idea. Remember, most people have zero familiarity with the suttas, and any help we can give them will be appreciated. To start a wiki post, simply create a new topic in the wiki category. If it is accepted as an “official” wiki article, the user will be reassigned by an admin to “wiki”. From then on, anyone will still be able to edit the article, but it will no longer be attributed to you by name. Edit history for wiki articles, however, may always be seen by clicking the pencil icon at the top of the post.
Feedback
Corrections, suggestions, ideas, and complaints. Please be specific, and include the exact ID of the sutta or page, and a screenshot if possible and relevant.
Like all websites, we depend on your feedback so that we can improve. Don’t be shy to let us know if you have a problem, or if you’d like to congratulate us, too!
Designated threads for reporting content errors and typos, and for reporting bugs in SuttaCentral are pinned directly below.
Add to an existing thread or start a new one for other ideas and for everything to do with the Forum