Membership in HDFPuri

[satay]

Namaskar,

I wanted to run this thoughts by the members here and I request your feedback.

I am wondering if at the time of registration (before their membership is approved) each new member should be asked for a little note explaining why is that they would like to join this forum i.e. the reason of them joining the forum, is it to learn more about hinduism, talk about their own religion, share their non-hindu ideas with other members etc.

What do you think? I know that this may affect the registrations because it could be annoying to having to fill out a required field at the time of registration but I think that we will attract more quality this way.

Suggestions/Comments?

Since we all love and cherish democracy, let majority make this decision.:)

[yajvan]

Namaskar,

I wanted to run this thoughts by the members here and I request your feedback.

I am wondering if at the time of registration (before their membership is approved) each new member should be asked for a little note explaining why is that they would like to join this forum i.e. the reason of them joining the forum, is it to learn more about hinduism, talk about their own religion, share their non-hindu ideas with other members etc.

What do you think? I know that this may affect the registrations because it could be annoying to having to fill out a required field at the time of registration but I think that we will attract more quality this way.

Suggestions/Comments?

Since we all love and cherish democracy, let majority make this decision.:)

Namaste satay.

I would hope it will be to understand the person a bit better and not to dis-qualify them ( I know this is not your intent). If you choose to pursue your idea, perhaps it would be good to also ask the following:

What has been your involvement with Sanatana Dharma? How do you define it?
Are you comfortable with the principles?
Do you follow any one discipline?
What would you like to talk about on the forum?
Do you have any specific questions that are top-of-mind that you would care to ask the members?
Is there an area of expertise you feel you have?Things like that are friendly, allow the person to engage and gives you a sense for the individual. I am sure others may have an idea or two.

... just a few ideas.

dhanyavadah

[Bob G]

Hello Satay,

"I am wondering if at the time of registration (before their membership is approved) each new member should be asked for a little note explaining why is that they would like to join this forum i.e. the reason of them joining the forum, is it to learn more about hinduism, talk about their own religion, share their non-hindu ideas with other members etc"

This sounds fair and good to me. Also such is common when joining other forums.

Regards,
Bob

[Znanna]

Namaste,

Likely y'all never have let me over the threshold with such standards!

:)


ZN

/just saying

[saidevo]

Namaste Satay.

HDFPuri is already a public forum: its messages are open to the Internet public for reading. So what for would a new member like to join here?

1. If I am an Indian Hindu, I may share some of my own knowledge and get some of my doubts cleared.

2. If I am a non-Indian Hindu, I have perhaps more doubts that may be cleared here, and may also get some good guidance here in following my new-found dharma.

3. If I am a non-Hindu, I probably see something about my own religion not properly presented here, so would like to do better justice about it.

4. If I am a Christian missionery or a Muslim zealot, it is probably my duty to be here and try spreading the teachings of my religion as mandated. (Do we already have any members who fit this description?)

5. If I am a Hindu zealot, eulogizing my sect at the cost of other sects, I may proabably have a good time here.

6. If I am a plain reviler, I may easily try it here for sometime, though eventually be kicked out.

7. Last but not the least, irrespective of my affiliations, I may paint a rosy picture about myself and Hinduism if I really must join here and then do what I want to do.

So, will the registration check serve its intended purpose of quality? I doubt. A better way may be to have admin approval for the posts of new members until they reach a standard, which is usually decided by the number of posts.

Note: I wonder and envy the high membership of some Orkut Hindu communities that run to thousands or even lakhs. Young members join there at the drop of a hat! The contribution and the quality of discussions, however, is amateurish in most cases, and it is a pain wading through the garbage of typical youth slang and personal attacks in the messages, (and the interface is has very little space for serious discussions), but some ideas and messages are really good. Perhaps the membership number is inflated by the same user lurking under many ids, but what drives so many Indian youth to join those communities, when they have their scrapbook, personal profiles and albums for communication?

[yajvan]

Hari Om
~~~~~


Namaste,

Likely y'all never have let me over the threshold with such standards!

:)

ZN

/just saying

I think not ZN...
If a person comes to HDF and says I am interested in learning... this is a noble cause.
This I believe passes the common sense test and I am in hopes the goal is to quality not dis-qualify a persons attendance.

I do not think that many a zealot will offer up that he/she is here to really preach their wares or upset the apple cart , or ' I'll show them a thing or two about Hinduism' - this small-small thinking is exposed quickly.

If at the end of the day mischief is brought with the new arrival, so be it, and actions are taken to manage the situation accordingly.

...those are my views, I could be wrong.

pranams

[sarabhanga]

What has been your involvement with Sanatana Dharma? How do you define it?
Are you comfortable with the principles?
Do you follow any one discipline?
What would you like to talk about on the forum?
Do you have any specific questions that are top-of-mind that you would care to ask the members?
Is there an area of expertise you feel you have?

Namaste

I am not sure that such questions are necessary (or useful) before allowing registration. We will probably notice the answers from the member’s posts anyway. And anyone with malicious intent is probably not going to admit that in their registration! Problematic posts and posters could be dealt with on the forum as any problems are noticed (as is now the case) or the same kind of moderation could be applied behind the scenes, with every new post from all “unqualified” posters being checked first before publication (which would create a lot more work for administration). There are good points and potential problems associated with both possibilities, and again I am not sure that any change to our current policy is required.

[Nuno Matos]

Namaste all,

I think accepted members could propose a poll voted by all for deciding when a member should be censored or excommunicated leaving the actual performance resulting from the decision to our dear administrator.
I don't believe HDF should have permanent excommunicated participants and excommunication to happen should always be accompanied by some words of advice from our elder members and with a time fixed by them.


Om namah shivaya

[satay]

Hello Nuno,


Namaste all,

I think we should have a poll for deciding when a member should be censored or excommunicated leaving the actual performance resulting from the decision to our dear administrator.


Om namah shivaya

There is an option of 'reporting' a post and some members use that to report posts that break forum rules. Also, you can send a pm directly if you notice an offensive post. Because HDF has been a bit busy lately (average posts about 45/day), I can't read all the posts right away but do so eventually especially the ones on radar.

I don't like the idea of polling before deciding if a member should be censored, it undermines authority of the mods and implies that they are not qualified to do their jobs.

[Nuno Matos]

I don't like the idea of polling before deciding if a member should be censored, it undermines authority of the mods and implies that they are not qualified to do their jobs.

Namaste Satay

Thank you for the reply. Although what I don't understand is how it could undermine the mods authority? Plus it will be a less burden for you to carry!:rolleyes:

Om namah shivaya

[satay]

Hello Nuno,


Namaste Satay

Thank you for the reply. Although what I don't understand is how it could undermine the mods authority? Plus it will be a less burden for you to carry!:rolleyes:

Om namah shivaya

The site rules are simple and so if someone doesn't follow them they are always reminded of the rules by first private messaging and if they continue to ignore that by publicly pointing the rules out to the members. If a member still continues to break the rules they are given a warning or censored right away. The decision is always a judgement call. As the site rules state: "Site administrators will ultimately decide if something is appropriate or not."

I don't think that members should take the burden of censoring other members; that's the job of the mods. There are multiple mods on HDF, however, I am the one that always do the actual moderation and censoring because other mods are working on other focused activities e.g. styling, enhancing search results, creating and encouraging quality content for the site.

When censoring a member I always consult with other mods and senior members of HDF by private council.

Thanks,

[sm78]

If you want to hear another opinion, I would voice the same as sarabhanga and saidevo. Such questions when joining a forum doesn't make much sense to me. I

[satay]

Namaskar members,

Thank you for the feedback. And I agree that asking such questions will not result in anything different.

For those wondering the reason for my original post, it will become clear very shortly, if not clear already. Hint: watch the latest posts.

[Ganeshprasad]

Pranam Satay

I am glad of your decision.

I am also of the opinion that people should be able to register with ease.
But they should remember this is a Hindu site and give its due respect.
Let the views flow from all directions but I have faith that the Dharma is rooted so firmly that it can withstand any whirlwind. There are some very knowledgeable people here who makes us feel proud.

But off course, anyone who registers is made aware of the rules of this forum and it doesn’t hurt to be polite. that’s my take on it.

Jai Shree Krishna

[c.smith]

Satay and others:

I like the idea of the "questionaire" but realistically feel that a "mission statement" using those same questions be pondered. I feel that Satay has done an excellent job, both in past and present, and that this issue may resolve itself without much effort - good always triumphs over "evil"(intent).

Maybe a brief statement from the registrant for his/her reason for wanting to join HDF that is made "public" via an icon in the tray next to the scale, warning, etc. so a viewer has access to it while replying to a post. A response to a post IMHO could be benefited by knowing the posters intent and level of understanding.

On a personal note - glad to see you're back around Ganeshprasad!