Should we spread the word? (Seeking opinions.)

[wildflower]

All,

Seeking your opinion...

Recently, I was over in the Ask the Administrators forum. I noticed someone posting about the lack of a place on DU to discuss religion without it turning into a theist/atheist flamefest. (I'm paraphrasing.)

Then today, I posted an LBN item, about evangelicals, that I felt was good news for the Democratic party. Unfortunately it seems to have ended up being an anti-religion thread.

I'm feeling sad about that, and I think a few other posters there are too. I was thinking it would be nice to have it discussed in an environment like the one here.

So I'm wondering if we should post about this group in a few forums (e.g. Religion and Theology, General Discussion), so that people seeking open-minded religious discussions would know that they have a place to come?

Would this be considered proselytizing about our group? I just want to let people know there is a refuge. :)

What do you think?

-wildflower

P.S. The thread I posted in LBN, if you'd like to talk about it, is at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1232949

[wildflower]

1. I thought I should clarify...

What I mean by "spreading the word." What if we mentioned this group in passing on threads in other forums? Or we put it in a sig line?

For example, there was a thread on UU today (I think in GD?). I thought, hey, that thread might be a good place to mention that this group is here, in case they don't know.

I didn't mean to conjure up images of going door-to-door, or the virtual equivalent. :)

-wildflower

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. my only concern is

that it will attract the type of people who don't want to discuss, only to fight. I don't mind atheists being here if they are like AZ, who, I believe, says that's what he/she is; AZ's posts are thoughtful and represent a point of view without dissing other points of view.

[wildflower]

5. I understand what you're saying.

For me the overriding principle of this group is one of tolerance; so I would want to communicate that clearly to others, offering the group as a refuge for people who don't care for the threads that end up in fighting.

-wildflower

[Ranec]

3. I like this idea.

I think we should work in the name of the discussion group (or just a link) in some of the other forums.

Some people may not understand what this group is about, and I think we could stand to have a few more people posting.

I also understand that we don't want to attract negative attention. That is a legitimate concern. Do we have any recourse if well meaning DUers post messages we don't think are consistent with the ideals of the forum?

[wildflower]

8. Re: if people post messages not consistent with our ideals...

You asked if there is any recourse. That's a good question. I looked at Skinner's description of DU groups and it says this:

...

2. Each DU Group has a specific mission statement, which has been submitted to and approved by the administrators of Democratic Underground. Administrators reserve the right to withhold approval from any group idea suggested.

3. In order to post in a DU Group, a member must agree with that group's mission statement. Off-topic postings that violate the mission statement of a DU Group are not permitted. Members who disagree with the mission statement of a particular group may be blocked from posting in that group.

...

6. Please be aware that no members "own" or "run" any particular group, nor do members have the ability to decide who participates in any given group. The regular DU rules apply to postings in the DU Groups. If a DU Group becomes disruptive to the rest of the message board, the Administrators reserve the right to shut it down.

(from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=206x11 )

As I see it, the kind of posts we're looking for are open-minded and nondogmatic, as this is a group for explorers willing to listen to other perspectives. For posts that are disruptive to that atmosphere, I'm not sure what could be done.

I wonder what would happen should we want to change the Mission Statement?

As I've mentioned before, my hope has been for this group to be an alternative to the other areas of DU where people get into arguments based on rigid beliefs (particularly theism vs. atheism).

I hope we can preserve that spirit. It is a nice refuge.

-wildflower

ON EDIT: Maybe we should make this list the new mission statement:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=292x328

Kidding! :)

[Maat]

4. I agree and I did mention the group on that UU thread.

Maybe we should PM all of those individuals who identified themselves as UUs.

[wildflower]

6. Oh you did? I must have seen it before you posted.

Thanks for your post to the Religion and Theology forum!

-wildflower

[Maat]

7. Take care, Wildflower!

n/t