Forums may be closing soon

[theist]

Originally Posted by RamanaDasi I used to contribute to this forum ( under a different name ) a couple of years ago but I dropped out. There have been many anonymous ppl here in this forum over the years. Count me as just one person of them. People who want to continue this forum should recognize how this is really a forum for people who believe in everything Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote. If you don't agree with every single thing Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said you just won't fit in here. Some people who believe Krishna is the Supreme Person don't believe Jesus is an avatara. Some people think the devotees of Lord Caitanya are Hindus since that word Hindu is a word used by Krsnadasa Kaviraja to describe the followers or Lord Caitanya in the Caitanya Caritamrta. There are some people who think like this and those people find their ideas are not tolerated here at Audarya Forums. If you think Thakura Bhaktivinoda was wrong when he said the hells in Srimad Bhagavatam were "poetic inventions" written for the benefit of people who cannot understand philosophy, then you will be right at home here. JNDas and other people who believe in the interpretations of sastra we find in the books of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada have a special place in cyberspace. They call it Audarya Forums.

Well there is a place for honest questioning of everything a spiritual master says but that questioning must be done respectfully. Can't have a 'believers only' forum and expect to reach new people and interest them in developing God consciousness.

[RadhaMukunda]

I see Hindu/religious internet forums more like a place to share knowledge and ideas. Not a place to convert people to a particular sect. I don't think conversion was ever the intention of Audarya forums, right? In Sanatana Dharma we can live with each other and be have interesting conversations about religion. Even if people differ in philosophical convictions. But this requires a certain amount of intellegence and maturity.

[gHari]

100 posts before Kali reigns in this death thread. I guess that's somewhat promising, eh?

[Bart Happel]

Originally Posted by Jahnava Nitai Das ... The problem really isn't a financial matter, and we wouldnt want to charge people to participate in a spiritual forum. ... ... More important than the money is the amount of time people have to put in to keep the forums running properly ... ... Right now I see the forums as being very useful for experienced members who have the knowledge to sort out the good from the bad, but the real purpose of the forums was meant to be for the newcomers.

I still can't see why a financial contribution from the forum participants doesn't solve all problems. Full-time (paid) moderators can be employed to keep the forums peaceful, and a paid professional system administrator can take care of all technical issues. Many of the rascals will be deterred, because they can mess with discussions for free on other forums. The evolution of the Audarya forums may then be left largely to its own dynamics, including the participation of newcomers.

Kind regards, Bart

[theist]

Originally Posted by RadhaMukunda I see Hindu/religious internet forums more like a place to share knowledge and ideas. Not a place to convert people to a particular sect. I don't think conversion was ever the intention of Audarya forums, right? In Sanatana Dharma we can live with each other and be have interesting conversations about religion. Even if people differ in philosophical convictions. But this requires a certain amount of intellegence and maturity.

RadhaMukunda, please note the following quote from JNdas.

JNdas: More important than the money is the amount of time people have to put in to keep the forums running properly. I had already mentioned the moderator's, who have to spend a lot of time watching posts, trying to ban trouble makers who keep coming back under different names, and of course the hardest part of trying to keep everyone "satisfied" while remaining impartial. Then there is the technical aspect of server administration, which unfortunately I am stuck with myself. As the forums grew bigger I had to learn it all from scratch, unix, mysql, managing server loads, php programming, html designing, etc. It takes up a lot of time, but lately I am having less free time to work on it. And it's no longer looking like the best possible use for the time I have.

This forum is rather large and he is finding it difficult to keep it running. So rather we find some forums less then essential or valuable is not the point it seems. The point is something has to go to make it more managable for JNdas as this afterall is his forum.

JNdas has stated that his intent was to benefit newcomers. This is why if I remember correctly he opened it up for guests to easily post even upon their first visit here and without registering. That privilige was abused and had to be changed.

Consider that JNdas is a Vaisnava so if something has to go why should it not be the non-vaisnava forums? If he was an Advaitin I would expect him to cut the Vaisnava forums and keep the Advaitin forums. That would be only natural. But as it happens He is a Vaisnava so it follows that the natural thing is to keep the Vaisnava forums and jetison the rest.

His gurus are vaisnavas so to keep the vaisnava sanga is service to their mood whereas the others are questionable.

Why should he be burdoned with providing a place for just "interesting conversations" to take place. He needs time and freedom from such a burden. As it is Audarya will only keep gradually growing and the problem will get worse for him.

Seems to me the time for change is now while it has come up.

[jeffster]

Jahnava Nitai das,
Pranams, You are doing a tremendous service running this forum. I hope that you will not renounce it. I am new here, having only discovered this forum in May, after reading Chakra.org for a long time. I put up a couple posts on Chakra.org, but soon discovered that the moderator would only post items which she agreed with. She never posted my all of my rebuttals to Amara das regarding homosexuality, so it appeared that he had defeated me and established his pro homosexual position. I became discouraged and quit reading chakra.org.
From the bulk of what I have read here, the discussions, debates and arguments seem generally for more experienced spiritual aspirants attempting to discern the more intricate aspects of (mostly) Bhagavat philosophy. I personally feel that newcomers, with their tender creepers (bhakti lata bija) would be better served on Krishna.com. This is a more rough and tumble site, where the issues are tossed back and forth, but I agree with all posters who acknowledge that there must be strict rules of conduct and that they must be adhered to. I think it is asking too much to have moderators ride herd over every comment posted. We should be mature enough to control ourselves to the point that our comments aren't offensive, and if we can't, then maybe we should watch soap operas to see how really offensive some jivas are. Actually, no, I do not recommend watching soap operas. I had an aunt who regularly watched soap operas and she got alzheimers - there must be a connection. But of course, we need only observe the dealings of the general public to see how offensively people treat each other.

Srikanthk71 - I found a reference in text 3 of Upadeshamrita (Nectar of Instruction) where it recommends "following in the footsteps of the previous acharyas." We follow the previous acharyas because their perfect vision, free from the frailties of the conditioned souls - with their imperfect senses, tendency to cheat, to be illusioned, and to make mistakes - acts as a framework through which we can validate our own experiences. Of course our experiences are singularly our own, but our spiritual advancement must be validated in reference to guru, sadhu and sastra. Otherwise, the tendency to cheat may enter, and we may even, in our illusion, imagine that we are already self-realized. As far as not being here to find a guru or direction, you MUST take shelter of a guru to be considered truly human. Only the human form of life affords us this mandatory luxury, the animals and plants cannot inquire - "Athato brahma jijnasa." As far as being able to make your senses perfect through clairvoyence and clairaudience, even if you can do so, it will be finished with the death of your body with no lasting (eternal) benefit. Clairvoyence and clairaudience, in other words, are just a sideshow as are the other 8 mystic perfections.
I found this thought particularly inspiring, given the seriousness of this thread, and the real possibility of this forum shutting down: Upadesamrita in text 5 defines a pure devotee as one "whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others." Let's start measuring up.
jeffster/ AM das

[theist]

I think it is asking too much to have moderators ride herd over every comment posted. We should be mature enough to control ourselves to the point that our comments aren't offensive,

There used to be a link to report a bad post and I think it appeared at the bottom of every post. Why not have the moderators just read the posts that have received complaints. Of course many of those complaints will be groundless but not all and that would save the moderators a very tidious daily task.

[jeffster]

Theist, that's a good idea. Whatever could relieve Jahnava Nitai das & moderators from being overburdened would be much welcomed.
jeffster/AM das

[Bart Happel]

Originally Posted by theist There used to be a link to report a bad post and I think it appeared at the bottom of every post. Why not have the moderators just read the posts that have received complaints. Of course many of those complaints will be groundless but not all and that would save the moderators a very tidious daily task.

Just click on the 'little exclamation mark' underneith the poster's credentials (in the 'screen-section' on the left side to his post).

Kind regards, Bart

Edit: Personally I would never do that, by the way..

[theist]

Originally Posted by Bart Happel Just click on the 'little exclamation mark' underneith the poster's credentials (in the 'screen-section' on the left side to his post). Kind regards, Bart Edit: Personally I would never do that, by the way..

Thanks Bart. I never noticed that. So it is already there. Then why do the moderators have to read every post? Unless they want to of course but I suspect that is not the case.

[Bart Happel]

Originally Posted by theist Thanks Bart. I never noticed that. So it is already there. Then why do the moderators have to read every post? Unless they want to of course but I suspect that is not the case.

Because nobody clicks 'the exclamation mark'!

Kind regards, Bart

[jeffster]

Another way to understand this, by way of analogy, is that a government can pass many laws and post a cop on every corner to enforce them, but unless the citizens see the value of the laws, see the value in following laws and generally agree to willingly follow them, the purpose of the laws will ultimately be defeated.
jeffster/AMdas

[---]

another simple thing that can be done is to use an automatic filter for abusive words and then leave the forums unmoderated ... moderaters should intervene only if a post is reported .....as abusive .... else let the forums be unmoderated ...let the fools be known from what they speak ....

as far as guiding the newcomers is concerned a new forum for new comers can be introduced "Introduction to Hare Krishna"

and the rules regarding hare krishna forums can be kept strict so as to allow only the vaishnava viewpoint

this however will not stop hare krishnas from fighting over jesus unless everyone shows maturity ....

at the same time let the other forums be unmoderated as long as they are not abusive ..(auto filter/report abuse)

and i guess more than some moderaters Jahnava Nitai das, u probably need a technical guy who can help u with all the configuration and maintenence, i wonder if someone on the forum can help ...

charging money is not a good idea as it will keep many newcomers out ....
voluntary donation is a better idea

I hope something works out.

[theist]

Quote: Originally Posted by theist Thanks Bart. I never noticed that. So it is already there. Then why do the moderators have to read every post? Unless they want to of course but I suspect that is not the case. Because nobody clicks 'the exclamation mark'! Kind regards, Bart

No I don't think you get what I am suggesting. Make the report bad post thing more obvious or somehow alert everyone to it. And then just assume there are no major problems until someone alerts you to one. Therefore thee is no need to read any posts on the part of the moderators but they should be ready to step in when needed and not just delete people's posts with no explanation as has been the rule for some time.