Dear Lorraine Cook -- dear Everyone --

Just a little good morning from Santa Barbara.

I am continuing to chip away on whatever I can do -- to get this place sweetened up as much as I possibly can. I know there are "lots of questions" out there -- and, as I have said several times, my own view is: answer them all, in all the detail anybody can stand....

My own personal hopes here -- are based on developing a collaborative/co-creative dialogue-based process, pretty much like a "circle" -- where all voices are heard, nothing is really "suppressed" (though there may be -- as is common in circles -- some protocols for courtesy and appropriateness) -- everybody is an equal -- everybody is a student as well as a teacher -- we all learn from one another -- and through this approach, we build and maintain a spirit of trust. And as that trust comes into place -- with it comes excitement, vision, turn-on, a true sense of team-spirit -- a sense of "can do" -- a sense that there is room for everybody and everything, in some due proportion, probably managed by something like grace and sensitivity (which, in the end, is usually the energy that governs what happens in circles....)

So -- your questions are addressed to "the moderators". For the moment -- that is me and Jeanie. Others could be involved -- but in fact -- they're not. We don't have a lot of team members here -- though it would be great if we did. We're still in formation -- figuring out what we're doing -- and, particularly in my case -- dreaming that we could start getting into the real content of organizing an world-class conference on all these critical issues....

I mean -- it's not hard to see the motivation. The world economy is pretty shaky -- and our politicians are hardly following a path of nurturing grace. Somebody has convinced them that they have to take an "us against them win/lose" position on everything -- so they are heading towards a pretty low path sometimes. This divides the electorate, and empowers the spirit of mistrust and anger. This approach does not help us much...

So -- there are women's groups -- and others -- all over the world, who are sensing the wrongness of this -- and responding in a deeply instinctive way. There is a tremendous "women-power" that is out there, trying to come up with some way to respond to these conditions. This woman-power is needed -- the whole human race needs it -- and there is a big push to bring it forward.

But this energy needs a channel. It needs a way to flow.

And that -- in my humble opinion -- is a major reason for this Sophia 2010 conference process.

This whole business is highly motivated. We need it. We need it now -- we needed it last week, we needed it years ago...

But -- it is feasible today...

And that is a huge difference. We can do it now.

***

Lorraine: In the spirit of openness I would like to ask the moderators of this list to clarify how this forum works. I have a few specific questions about the process.

Is there an application process for new members to this forum? If so, who makes the decisions about who can participate in this forum? What criteria are used to decide who is allowed? Is anybody turned away?

Bruce: Nobody is turned away. We have some "security" on this system to keep out spammers, or somebody who might obviously be in the wrong place. We want membership and participation. Anybody can join, anybody can speak.

Lorraine: Are messages that are submitted “monitored” for content before they appear on the forum? If so, what are the criteria for determining what content is allowed? Who is authorized to make the decisions determining content?

Bruce: Yes, at the moment, messages are briefly reviewed before being published. Why do we do this? To avoid further fights -- and statements that can be perceived as "libel" -- since we had some legal warnings about that in our previous context. There are two simple "rules" that govern what is acceptable:

1) all members of the forum, or of this organization, must be treated with respect.

2) excessive self-promotion of personal projects is discouraged.

And yes, what meets those standards is a personal judgment call -- that's true. But that call can be made in a sweet-spirited way, and when in doubt, maybe we could talk about any other standards, if we really need them. On the other hand -- we might just turn off the moderator feature entirely, when we are pretty-well convinced that the flames of battle are out...

As regards what constitutes "excessive self-promotion" -- well, I invented that rule in response to some complaints I was getting about book promotions. Somebody posted a book promotion on the previous network -- that was fine. Then they did it a second time, and I got some complaints. Then, they posted a third promotion here in this new forum -- and I blocked it. That is the only message I have stopped -- except for one that appeared to be an error -- somebody had sent a message with no content, and I didn't think we needed to send that to everybody....

Lorraine: I assume that the move to this new forum area was based on some concern that the public discussion of process issues in the “Sophia2010 Women and Wisdom” forum area was inappropriate to some subscribers. I can understand that, although it would have been good to hear from the folks who raised the concern before action was taken.

Bruce: Yes, that was the basic reason that we moved into the new system -- we were sending those angry messages to the wrong people -- who were quite shocked and disturbed to be getting them. That was creating some real damage, and it had to stop.

In terms of a response that explained this better, from somebody else -- well -- there are skills involved, and time-commitments, and -- a lot of reasons why some people (like me) tend to speak in detail -- and others don't. I do a lot of writing on the internet, and it's easy for me....

Lorraine: I think it might have been possible to collectively come up with this same solution and at the same time collectively answer the above questions.

Bruce: Yes -- that might have been true -- but, in fact -- we simply were not organized at that level. Who is going to do this? We did not have that level of skill or organization at our fingertips -- and the fire was raging. We had to put out the fire.

Lorraine: However, for me at least, as part of the community of interested people now moved to this new forum area, to feel real ownership of this discussion, the questions raised above remain to be answered. I think they are pertinent to the principles of shared governance and a transparent, positive, inclusive process—which, is I see it, is what our discussion is deeply about.

Bruce: I absolutely agree -- with every point you make. Let's do everything we can to encourage the emergence of "shared governance and a transparent, positive, inclusive process". I am led by that ideal as I write these words....

Lorraine: I invite both the response of the moderators and the dialog of the community around these questions in the same spirit of openness, recognizing that we are all learners here.

Bruce: Ok -- one of the moderators has accepted your invitation. Let's see if the community also responds....

Lorraine: May all beings listen to the deepest calling of the heart,