I move that Genius Forum be closed

[Kelly Jones]

It looks as though the Genius Forum has become a deadening venue, with a genius-strangling nature. Apart from a minority who are dedicated to the perfection of wisdom, and the occasional flash of insight from others, the general atmosphere is stagnant. This is not to diminish the efforts of people struggling to overcome their karma.

The clearest sign of its deficient spirit is, whenever the admins - or a few rare lively sparks - are absent for extended periods, discussions begin to meander aimlessly. There is almost no hope for a forum when this happens.

Shutting the forum down, for a few months at least, would bring some relief to scattered minds, and reassert the spirit of enlightenment. It would encourage acts of will, and of fathoming one's own inner resources. A few months' sabbatical would do the trick. The forum could still be readable, just locked to posting. Spirited seekers of wisdom could probably use http://www.e-sangha.net, which is open to spiritually-attuned topics.

Obviously, some members would have found it difficult to adjust to the lack of a Worldly Matters forum. But surely it's been away long enough for them to learn to adjust.



What do other members think about this proposal?

Kelly

[mansman]

I dont think you will see the forum closing for a few months if at all. Its there "baby" probably and owners are proud of it and gives there lifes meaning, purpose, import and all that.
With all this going on probably you have hard time convincing them of any good reasons to close up.
I think possibly best reason is too many readers are addicted to relationships formed (dont be fool its true!) with there online "freinds", force all these loners to reach in other directions to connect with world. Maybe some find chance to go back to work or attention to kids lacking for so long.
Sorry if i missed your points, though.
Over and out!
M

[Jason]

What do other members think about this proposal?

Convenient.

[Ryan Rudolph]

I doubt closing the forum for a period of time will have any positive affect. The stagnant nature of the forum is not a problem or issue with the forum itself, but a much wide spreading issue with humanity.

You're logic is akin to someone suggesting that because no one in the world is interested in reading that we should close the libraries for a period of time hoping people will become suddenly want to read....However, the library does serve a purpose for the few that might want to read. at some point

Kelly, you forget that most sages of the past lived most of their lives totally isolated and alone with almost nobody that could relate to their mindset or philosophy, and so the behavior of the forum is very natural and predictable in my opinion. The status quo is blind irrationality.

Personally, I support what the admins are doing on GF and on You Tube with Men of the infinite, its a very interesting series with many gems of wisdom, and the series can live long into the future and connect to genius forum for newbies. In my opinion, a man shouldn't concern himself if he isn't having a noticable impact in the utmost present, but with what impact he can have in the future.

And also, as elitist secularists, I think we have a responsibility to push policies and ventures that will improve the overall genome of humanity in the future, IE: genetic engineering, eugenics, parenting licenses, population control measures and so on. Basically, Irrationality can be fought on many fronts.

[Jason]

In my opinion, a man shouldn't concern himself if he isn't having a noticable impact in the utmost present, but with what impact he can have in the future.

That could be a very comforting crutch - for losers.

[Ryan Rudolph]

Jason,

That could be a very comforting crutch - for losers.

It could be, but if with that attitude, a scientist or philosopher can continue working for the cause of rationality and never feel disheartened or lose motivation. Many thinkers never would have contributed what they have if it wasn't for that attitude.

A mature thinker does what he does regardless of what others are doing.

[Carl G]

It looks as though the Genius Forum has become a deadening venue, with a genius-strangling nature. Apart from a minority who are dedicated to the perfection of wisdom, and the occasional flash of insight from others, the general atmosphere is stagnant. This is not to diminish the efforts of people struggling to overcome their karma.

The clearest sign of its deficient spirit is, whenever the admins - or a few rare lively sparks - are absent for extended periods, discussions begin to meander aimlessly. There is almost no hope for a forum when this happens.

Shutting the forum down, for a few months at least, would bring some relief to scattered minds, and reassert the spirit of enlightenment. It would encourage acts of will, and of fathoming one's own inner resources. A few months' sabbatical would do the trick. The forum could still be readable, just locked to posting. Spirited seekers of wisdom could probably use http://www.e-sangha.net, which is open to spiritually-attuned topics.

Obviously, some members would have found it difficult to adjust to the lack of a Worldly Matters forum. But surely it's been away long enough for them to learn to adjust.



What do other members think about this proposal?

Kelly

It sounds, Kelly, like something you need do, leave for a few months. It sounds like you are describing your own situation and current needs, not that and those of the forum.

You, as much as any long time regular, should know that the posting here goes through cycles of heavy philosophical discussion and the appearance all sorts of spammers and mentally challenged folk who have Googled "truth" or "genius," providing an ever changing mix of content. What do expect from a public forum?

And yet this remains a viable and vibrant dojo, apparent especially if one learns to ride the waves of coherency and non-coherency and adherence to the stated values of the forum. You seem to have difficulty with this dojo dynamic -- this particular learning environment -- requiring it to be perhaps more 'serious' and 'straighforward' than it is, to reflect your own nature. And that is why you get fed up and leave for periods, I think, and why you suggest in this latest wave of weak posting that it be shut down.

In fact it does not fall down when and because the founders do not post here, although it is true, obviously, that when one or more of them do post it is, naturally, buoyed up. No, in my observation, the forum content is subject to normal ebbs and flows of nature, i.e. no energy level can be maintained indefinitely.

In short, you are overreacting, and probably projecting your personal problems onto the forum.

[Carl G]

I doubt closing the forum for a period of time will have any positive affect.

Ryan, for the umpteenth time will you please learn how to spell 'effect'?

Your 'affect' is so fucking un-sagely. It's embarrassing to the rest of us Enlightened ones here.

Cause and Effect. Cause and Effect. Go to the blackboard and write it 100 times.

[Shahrazad]

I have never understood why people confuse effect and affect. It has never happened to me, and I'm not even an Anglo-Saxon.

And yes, it does irritate me, but doesn't embarrass me as it embarrasses Carl.

[Tomas]

.

-tomas-
Note to readers - Having read Kelly's argument on her reasons "why" GF should be shut down .. here we go...



-Kelly Jones-
It looks as though the Genius Forum has become a deadening venue, with a genius-strangling nature.

-tomas-
I'd hoped you would have PM'd David Quinn before your starting this thread.




-Kelly-
Apart from a minority who are dedicated to the perfection of wisdom, and the occasional flash of insight from others, the general atmosphere is stagnant.

-tomas-
The minority have already moved to your Buddhism 'e-sangha outfit' (all of 15 members). I'd presume that is the stagnant forum.




-Kelly-
This is not to diminish the efforts of people struggling to overcome their karma.

-tomas-
Guess you haven't heard, much less understood, John Lennon's 'Instant Karma' lyrics?

You know, Kelly, you appear to be educated woman in worldly ways .. Genius Forum has a much better track record than your feminine ways allow.




-Kelly-
The clearest sign of its deficient spirit is, whenever the admins - or a few rare lively sparks - are absent for extended periods, discussions begin to meander aimlessly.

-tomas-
I like it when David (the Mighty Quinn) takes a break, he comes back rejuvenated, with energy. I'll leave it at that...

Kevin has his e-sangha buddhist that has set sail. Not many from here, are jumping ship and swimming to his ship.

Dan is busily producing, directing his Absolute videos. More power to him.

You seem to be the one who has burned out - on some thread you say, 'you are gonna take a break from your computer for a few months', well do so! Leave us kids alone!

We (those that have remained "loyal" to Genius Forums) are enlightened enough to police our fellow members, and any newbies, spammers, that we toss a life preserver to. The rats are eventully located, and summarily dealt with.




-Kelly-
There is almost no hope for a forum when this happens.

-tomas-
Agreed .. so leave already. Instead of bitching about it, take your sabbatical and vamoose.




-Kelly-
Shutting the forum down, for a few months at least, would bring some relief to scattered minds, and reassert the spirit of enlightenment.

-tomas-
Are you still here?




-Kelly-
It would encourage acts of will, and of fathoming one's own inner resources.

-tomas-
Pot calling the kettle black.




-Kelly-
A few months' sabbatical would do the trick.

-tomas-
Hey, Halloween is a month off.




-Kelly-
The forum could still be readable, just locked to posting.

-tomas-
A mind is a terrible thing to waste.. just your let yourself out the door, and don't worry .. we won't miss you!




-Kelly-
Spirited seekers of wisdom could probably use http://www.e-sangha.net, which is open to spiritually-attuned topics.

-tomas-
Ahhh! Kelly, your true colors are exposed! - I thought about that when I clicked the link .. only to face the Headline hawked over there, "Buddhist thought" then realized Kevin is pimping, whoring, prostituting like every other Tom, Dick & Kelly.

Kevin's brand of totalitarianism is suffocating. He was kicked off that other site, Founded his own Forum (admittedly still in diapers), but one of the babies (you) comes over here and throws up all over the place. Feed the baby some breast milk and it will grow in a more, sacrosanct way. Use cloth diapers, not the disposables, as you propose with this Genius Forum site. People just don't buy into each and every newspeak Kevin says, as you seem to obliviate back-and-forth, you are seasick and don't know it.




-Kelly-
Obviously, some members would have found it difficult to adjust to the lack of a Worldly Matters forum. But surely it's been away long enough for them to learn to adjust.

-tomas
So, leave already. Take the break you deservedly preach to the choir but don't do yourself.




-Kelly-
What do other members think about this proposal?

-tomas-
Kelly, do the right thing. Resign from here and don't come back (if ever, or) until you are ready to be a positive force for the better.

Of the "girls" who are regulars here, in no particular order:
Shahrazad, Elizabeth, Leyla, Anna, (and Marsha) have been the only ones to carry on an intellectual (intelligent) back-and-forth with .. the other are too rigid, too set in their ways.

It's kinda like when Kevin prostituted on his e-sangha thread: Come on over! we'll show that other forum we can draw more members in no time. Blah blah de bla. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

David Quinn first liked Kevin's ideas, but sooner rather than later, you gotta march to your own tune. Don't you get it Kelly? Kevin now calls himself, The Wanderer - the writing is on the wall, he's moved on. Good for him!

So should you in regards to this place. Bye :-)


At least this place serves up beer, fish & chips, plus chocolate covered pretzels...


PS - No wonder David says women are a bunch of cackling hens guarded by the she-wolf (girly-men).



Edited for spelling content :-\



.

[Ryan Sepulvado]

Some women use their power appropriately.

I smile, then.

[Nick]

I think that this is the best the forum has ever faired in regards to enlightening discussion with minimal contributions from the admins. I see improvement, so I see no reason for GF to be closed.

[Kelly Jones]

Its there "baby" probably and owners are proud of it and gives there lifes meaning, purpose, import and all that.

I won't speak for the admin; in my mind it is not true for them. I started this thread because it looks as though it is becoming true of regular contributors.

Regular contributors should be teachers. Why be here, if not to assist visitors to gain a perfect intellectual understanding of the nature of Reality? Testing oneself in debate is too late.

David has already pointed out the parasitic nature of the forum.

I think possibly best reason is too many readers are addicted to relationships formed (dont be fool its true!) with there online "freinds", force all these loners to reach in other directions to connect with world. Maybe some find chance to go back to work or attention to kids lacking for so long.

I think this speaks to the essence of the problem. It's quite understandable that people treat the Genius Forum as a insular sanctuary amidst an ocean of sharks. That's not something I would want to see destroyed. It's fair enough, and it's not a bad thing for people who are still attached to having egotistical friendships to use the forum to create more noble versions of the same.

The only problem I would see is when the majority of contributors fall into the habit of socialising in a small select circle, which is far removed from the outside world. It demoralises people, because the habit is based on lack of confidence in reason.

[Kelly Jones]

I doubt closing the forum for a period of time will have any positive affect. The stagnant nature of the forum is not a problem or issue with the forum itself, but a much wide spreading issue with humanity.

Some venues are dedicated to improving the situation. This forum is ostensibly, but it's becoming bloated with unhelpful habits. So something needs to be done.

You're logic is akin to someone suggesting that because no one in the world is interested in reading that we should close the libraries for a period of time hoping people will become suddenly want to read....However, the library does serve a purpose for the few that might want to read. at some point

www.e-sangha.net can serve the purpose.

I see this forum more as a drug-rehabilitation centre, where patients are educated about drugs, with the view of each patient taking responsibility for their total abstinence. But in this centre, the drug-addicts have become fatalistic about the cure. They come there daily to hang-out smoking marijuana and other soft-drugs, because it's comfortable and easy. They aren't taking the cure all the way. So something needs to be done.

The status quo is blind irrationality.

The status quo is not 'out there'. It is inside us; it is us.

I support what the admins are doing on GF and on You Tube with Men of the infinite, its a very interesting series with many gems of wisdom, and the series can live long into the future and connect to genius forum for newbies.

I'm unsure if that's the attitude I'm most against: this coat-tails-riding thing that doesn't take its own cause seriously.

[Alex Jacob]

Kelly, I have gotten so fed-up with y'all that I have returned to the Aleutian Islands to join my people.

Instead of logging in here to see what you losers are up to (or not as the case may be), I shall be communing with this, and this. and this.

I will be gone at least 5 years, maybe ten, or until my next post, whichever comes first.

There'll be one less enlightened Biblical shaman to kick around...

[Kelly Jones]

It sounds, Kelly, like something you need do, leave for a few months. It sounds like you are describing your own situation and current needs, not that and those of the forum.

I admit that a degree of my own situation is seeping into my attitude about the current incarnation of the Genius Forum. However, I'm taking steps there, so the degree is not significant.

The Genius Forum truly isn't up to scratch. I'm glad to see there is a spirited rebellion against my proposal, but what sort of rebellion is it?

It's a rebellion by long-term druggies raising hell at losing their comfortable hang-out.

You, as much as any long time regular, should know that the posting here goes through cycles of heavy philosophical discussion and the appearance all sorts of spammers and mentally challenged folk who have Googled "truth" or "genius," providing an ever changing mix of content. What do expect from a public forum?

And yet this remains a viable and vibrant dojo, apparent especially if one learns to ride the waves of coherency and non-coherency and adherence to the stated values of the forum. You seem to have difficulty with this dojo dynamic -- this particular learning environment -- requiring it to be perhaps more 'serious' and 'straighforward' than it is, to reflect your own nature. And that is why you get fed up and leave for periods, I think, and why you suggest in this latest wave of weak posting that it be shut down.

I understand this ever-changing dynamic. Quiet and active periods are to be expected. But your suggestion that a viable learning environment doesn't have a straightforward, serious nature is false. The whole spirit of Infinite-minded learning is simple, direct, and honest. Without that, there is only aimless meandering.

It is not just my nature, but the nature of reasoning consciousness and the nature of the desire for perfection, to be straightforward, serious, and direct like an arrow flying true to its mark.

We should be asserting the spirit of the mind of enlightenment here, not making excuses.

In short, you are overreacting, and probably projecting your personal problems onto the forum.

I am glad that I am projecting my personal 'problems' and my nature onto the forum. It's my interest in the spiritual welfare of the members here that prompts me to react this way.

[Kelly Jones]

Kelly: Spirited seekers of wisdom could probably use http://www.e-sangha.net, which is open to spiritually-attuned topics.

Tomas: Ahhh! Kelly, your true colors are exposed! - I thought about that when I clicked the link .. only to face the Headline hawked over there, "Buddhist thought" then realized Kevin is pimping, whoring, prostituting like every other Tom, Dick & Kelly.

You've got to be joking?

Kevin's brand of totalitarianism is suffocating. He was kicked off that other site, Founded his own Forum (admittedly still in diapers), but one of the babies (you) comes over here and throws up all over the place. Feed the baby some breast milk and it will grow in a more, sacrosanct way. Use cloth diapers, not the disposables, as you propose with this Genius Forum site. People just don't buy into each and every newspeak Kevin says, as you seem to obliviate back-and-forth, you are seasick and don't know it.

Stop it with the theatricals already.

Kevin's simply trying to break the stranglehold on Buddhist thought that modern Buddhism has achieved. He's restoring that particular vehicle of enlightenment, or traditional tool, to its true form. It's certainly not totalitarian behaviour, anymore than it's totalitarian to put a cancer-ridden patient into heavy chemotherapy.

Besides, how you can call Kevin totalitarian when you frequently post to your heart's delight on a forum that he administers, is mystifying. Can't explain that, can you?


.

[Loki]

Kelly,

Maybe you should post a list of the key forum members who you feel are dragging down the forum? Then you could try convincing the admins to ban them, thereby cleansing the forum.

Personally, I decided to make a list of the most valuable contributors:

Mikiel
Brokenhead
Alex Jacob
Shahrazad
Carl G
Samadhi
Laird
Iolaus
BGen
Tomas
Divine Focus
Jehu
Steven Coyle
tek0


Everyone else should be banned.


- Loki

[Kelly Jones]

For a few reasons, Loki, I wouldn't take your advice:

It'd truly be a totalitarian act.

The deadening effect is not a deliberate, conscious thing, so it wouldn't be remedied by treating it as such. It's not like some person is clearly planning to be a wet blanket. So people can't be singled out as wet-blankets; it wouldn't work.

Last but not least. The spirit of egotistical friendship is strengthened by banning a group of people who hang-out together.

[Dan Rowden]

.Kevin has his e-sangha buddhist that has set sail. Not many from here, are jumping ship and swimming to his ship.

I think Kevin's intention with that forum is to attract the Buddhistic crowd more specifically - to give them an alternative to what's on offer. I don't think there's any desire for posters here to migrate and start posting there. That would be, rather pointless, surely?

[Alex Jacob]

Some quotes from Bukowski is in order, no?

"Boring damned people. All over the earth. Propagating more boring damned people. What a horror show. The earth swarmed with them."

"Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink."

[Dan Rowden]

Quoth him who must be, entertained!

[Trevor Salyzyn]

Has this forum been effective enough at teaching enlightenment that its doors can close? I am willing to bet yes, and that two or three displaced members will create their own enlightenment forums to fill the void.

[Carl G]

Has this forum been effective enough at teaching enlightenment that its doors can close? I am willing to bet yes,

On what basis? Seems like an arbitrary assessment.

and that two or three displaced members will create their own enlightenment forums to fill the void.

I don't follow; if there is then a void, why create this void by closing?

[Carl G]

Kelly, I have gotten so fed-up with y'all that I have returned to the Aleutian Islands to join my people.

Instead of logging in here to see what you losers are up to (or not as the case may be), I shall be communing with this, and this. and this.

I will be gone at least 5 years, maybe ten, or until my next post, whichever comes first.

There'll be one less enlightened Biblical shaman to kick around...

Some quotes from Bukowski is in order, no?

"Boring damned people. All over the earth. Propagating more boring damned people. What a horror show. The earth swarmed with them."

"Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink."

Alex checks in from the ayuhausca gathering, with some incoherent babble.