How can there be no-self when there seems to be a self?

[anon29387788]

@Shaun

It was the moderator before Brother_joe’s six comments that were discussing something ‘off topic’ and with numerous posts. To attack Brother_joe with such a comment; “You have just made 6 posts in a row here that are not related to the original thread’s meaning. What are you trying to achieve here?”… This is totally uncalled for when the subject had been changed before hand. I’d recommend to message him personally as well.

Hi Shaun,

I imagine this comment was made because the matter had been resolved. I think there was a sense that it was been brought up again.

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@Shaun

There are a lot of harsh words going on in this thread and many others for that matter - this should be monitored much more carefully. I have never come across a forum where people are so harsh in a general sense - it needs to be controlled - many people are just trying to learn and study and don’t deserve to be dealt with in such a manner.

We are actually doing all we can to encourage a respectful/courteous environment. As evidenced by the current update of the guidelines; more specifically by there being open for community comment.

I actually believe that harsh speech has decreased over the last several months.

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@Shaun

Closing the thread is not a mature response.

A decision to close the thread will be made if we see, (going by previous experiences) that it is simply going around in circles and just promoting arguments for their own sake. We’d rather put out fires than encourage them to spread. This is not just for the participants in a thread; it is also so that it is more coherent and pleasant for other readers. Note that closing a thread doesn’t mean that you cannot start a new/related topic.

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@Shaun

I recommend the monitors to talk to a person via private messages when a post has been flagged

We do sometimes do this. Other times we choose to respond in the thread. If something has ocurred “publicly”, then sometimes it makes sense to deal with it “publicly”…especially when it provides some reassurance to others who may be reading, but not taking part, and may be finding it uncomfortable to read some of the unpleasantness.

We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. We’re not visible enough or we’re too heavy handed. We’re gentle or we’re harsh. At the end of the day, we have to just trust ourselves and let ourselves be human. We’re doing the best we can in volunteering for this role, even though we have busy lives (all of us) we still feel that this is an act of service that we’re happy to do the best we can with.

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@Shaun

this should be monitored much more carefully.

@Shaun

it needs to be controlled

We are not “in charge” Shaun. We’re guided by the guidelines too. And we want the community to feel like they’re a part of this. We don’t won’t to control anyone. Nor can we be everywhere at everytime. We’re volunteers. Hence the flagging.

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@Shaun

secondly not to speak harshly to people who are trying to stand up for themselves

I don’t think anyone spoke harshly in this sort of context.

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Shaun, if people keep stirring the pot in a situation that has already been dealt with, that just serves as more fuel to thread-closing-thoughts!

It’s interesting that people feel so threatened by a thread being closed! It’s just a thread. It’s not the end of the world.

Thank you for your clearly well intentioned thoughts.

With metta