I would like to confirm whether everyone is okay with non EBT or Dhamma-related YouTube videos being shared here in the Watercooler category.
Anything I watch in YT and causes me to think or inquiry, or even sounds smart and interesting, from science to psychology, I tend to share here (as I tend to share via message to other connections). My intention never is to start debates or push for a view.
I consider myself quite picky with the channels I subscribe and the videos I bring to D&D, but maybe I am not smart or wise enough to fully filter what is not worth sharing. Hence, if people don’t really think this should be the case I will definitely stop doing so!
To make this question easier to be answered, let’s then start this thread with a poll!
Yes, I am ok with posting of links to not necessarily EBT/Dhamma-related YouTube videos in the Watercooler
No, I think only EBT or Dhamma-related YouTube videos should be posted i n the Watercooler
No, no YouTube videos should be posted in the Watercooler.
It would seem to me that what Gabriel posts can be related to the dhamma or better understanding of the world we live in, if not a directly pertaining to that subject.
I think this introduces a new level of talks to be honest: subjects that can help the viewers / reader progress in their dhamma practice even if that’s not their primary intention.
This showed something well known in opinion polling: The way you formulate the question dramatically changes the results. But to be honest I’m quite shocked by how dramatic this effect was in this case. It’s 54% vs 46% in the other poll.
Well, actually it was 17 people in the pro thematical diversity camp inthis poll as opposed to 15 people in the older one. So, the numbers suggest that maybe most of us have been consistent in their answers, I don’t know.
IMO all videos, links to articles, web pages, etc should be accompanied by comments. Please show us you are serious, thoughtful and diligent in your recommendation of the video.
The comments should tell the reader:
What you liked about the video. What in the video make you think “I should share this on the Watercooler category”. Be transparent about your motivations or interests.
And/or give us your “movie review” of the video.
A description of what is said or shown in the video. Describe at least one part of the video.
Why the video is relevant to the dharma or suttacentral.net readers.
Assuming the video advocates some view, position or belief please state your view, position or belief on what is advocated. [Edited to add “view, opinion”]
Please, tell us something about your personal reaction. How did the video speak to you personally.
If the video has CC (closed captions) download the CC transcript and include at least one quote from the video.
(Transcripts are displayed on youtube pages by clicking “… More”, then “Transcripts”.)
These guidelines have the advantage of discouraging unskillfulness.
Writing accompanying comments or notes encourages the poster to think clearly and mindfully about what they are recommending. This makes the recommendation more beneficial to the reading sanga.
In regard to the survey – in one way or another most things relate to the dharma. See, yes, the wording of the poll was a bit ambiguous to me.
But then, I read the questions on social science and professional polling organizations polls and many of the questions are ambiguous to me. I was raised by parents who were very conscious of language so I think I’m more “picky” than average.
What is the need for all that stuff? If the video is evidently relevant to Buddhism or Buddhist teaching, and the person posting it thinks it is worth consideration by others, that should be enough.
The person posting the video might not have a position on what the video advocates. That’s fine. People are not required to have positions on everything.
The person posting the video might not feel comfortable sharing their personal reactions, or might have ambivalent and confused reactions they cannot articulate. That’s fine too.
Nor do I think it is necessary for a person to declare all their interests and motivations. This is an online forum about early Buddhism, not a Catholic confessional.
Just wondering how consequently people express their opinions 
