Ye Olde Inner Circle

[wiccachicken]

For those who are new and shiny members, before you came there was a system called the Inner Circle. It was put on the forum to keep spammers out and to keep all those annoying fluffies out who want a death spell to kill their aunt's lizard for biting them.

I liked it. To get into the circle you had to put a minimum of ten posts on the outer circle and then you could post on the inner circle topics. Since this has been removed though I have noticed no spammers (which is fantastic) but I have noticed an increase in the crazies that come here asking for such things.

People who do not understand the ways of Paganism or think that it some kind of easy way out come here asking for us to give our knowledge. It's wasting our time!!!
Ok so most of us just say dont be so bloody stupid, you can't fly to Australia and back without a jet plane. We all take the p**s and maybe have a laugh at them. But it's sodding annoying!

For example: http://everythingunderthemoon.net/forum ... b7da59fce0

My my my, what a friendly person and they certainly didn't take too kindly to being told to f**k off!!

I don't know what the admins can do?? We want to be a welcoming commitee but at the same time we don't want to someone's Yellow Pages for Stupid Spell Requests.

I try not to be too judgemental. I mean I did start out as a fluffy years ago and then read up a bit. I found out that it's not like in the movies but I still LOVE it. So I try to break it to them gently that you can't fly of the roof of a house like in Practical Magic. But when they're extremely rude...I tell them where to go.

I would also like to point out (in my defence) that I am NOT stabbing at new members - we all LOVE you. I'm only stabbing at new people who come in here demanding silly spells and being upset at the response we give them.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed a rise in this fluffy newbie situation???

[hedge*]

I certainly see your point wiccachick.
I'll raise my hand up and admit to it being me who asked if we could get rid of the inner circle.
The whole point of the inner circle being set up in the first place was to stop the spammers. Then implemented a new system that meant all accounts have to be approved and activated by 'lil ole me thus resulting in no spammers getting through onto our lovely boards. There's only been two accounts of spamming since this system has been in place so pretty good going really.

My main reason for ending the inner circle was that a LOT of topics were duplicated in both the inner and outer circles making navigating around a bit of a mare.
That, and me being a neat Virgoan freak who likes to keep everything all neat and orderly!

We're a democratic bunch here - lets see what the vote brings up and will take it from there.
So come on guys....get voting.

[Colubra]

I'm not gonig to vote because of only just recently returned as an active member, so I don't really know what's been going on "recently."

But I actually only just realized through this post that the inner circle is gone. I actually liked that to. It made it so that only those who were truly serious about learning and putting effort into that learning would stay.

[thatguy]

Maybe I've changed recently, but I don't mind anyone who's 'fluffy' at all.
In fact, I don't think they're any different from anyone else. We each
have misunderstandings about a great many subjects and I think this
forum is a great place for everyone to get themselves set straight on a
large variety of topics.

We have such a wide range of members from the serious to the silly, the
ignorant to the knowledgeable, the prosaic to the poetic, the pragmatic to
the foolhardy, the grounded to the deranged; sometimes each of us are
all these things rolled into one.

I think the best thing about this forum is that we're all here together,
sharing our experience with each other. So I say throw the doors wide
open and we'll all have a good time together.

As for those wanting to curse aunty's lizard for biting them, don't scoff,
you *never* know when some lizard *seriously* rubs you the wrong way.
Then *you'll* be the one begging for that spell

I love this place, so I'm all for sharing it with anyone.

cheers,

T. Guy

[AkanaAnash]

I think it's o.k....kids come in here wanting to raise the devil
or cause their enemies houses to burn down...they just
need some anger management.

However, does anyone have an idea as to how to deal with
this if we decide it is an issue?

Thet

[The Judge]

I merely said yes out of observance of what has happened, but I can't argue agianst the current system. It works.

Blessed Be,
The Judge

[oracle's child]

um, well, i'm new here and i certainly don't know all i need to. i tend to be impatient and don't read everything i should. now, i'm just thinking out loud here (like i tell my husband from time to time), but if people want only serious posters then maybe there should be some kind of criteria met before becoming a member. because i'm thinking, this is on the www. therefore open to all and in the world we live in, people want to know things and if your expectation is that they should do their homework first, well...........
i'm not being argumentative or confrontational. maybe we could just continue to gently guide certain people (many very young) and in some cases if you indicated that discipline is required in certain aspects, that will discourage some i'm sure.

[wiccachicken]

I agree that there are people in the world that do not know about our religion and only assume. it's great that we do have a site here to set them a little bit more on the straight and narrow. I'm only annoyed about the ones who come on here and don't like the answer they get. They don't like the fact that we can't raise the dead or create new life for some being that isn't human.

I'd think if you were interested in a subject such as this that you WOULD read up on it. If you read the replies from members in the thread I linked to....it's not exactly welcoming apart from Lucy's posts. Most of us are slightly insulted when things like that happen.

I wrote:
I try not to be too judgemental. I mean I did start out as a fluffy years ago and then read up a bit. I found out that it's not like in the movies but I still LOVE it. So I try to break it to them gently that you can't fly of the roof of a house like in Practical Magic. But when they're extremely rude...I tell them where to go.

So I do try and bite my tongue and sometimes it turns out for the better. People realise that it's not like that. Again I'm not stabbing at new members - just the ones that ask a question, don't like the answer and then are VERY rude or leave.

I'm not asking for discipline. Hell, I love a laugh. I think more people should use humour in their posts but it's not very funny when this happens. I usually wait a few posts or two before posting my thoughts when someone like this comes along...there's usually someone who's calm and collected who says....well, magick isn't like that. And then there's others (whose names I wont mention lol) that go blazing in, telling them to back off. I'm neither until I see what the person is like a bit first.

I am all for learning and asking questions (even if they seem obvious). Is it really expecting alot to just read a page or two about Paganism first before coming here? Surely someone would do that? Maybe it is too high an expectation....but it makes sense to me :p

[oracle's child]

you know what i think though? many people want instant gratification. we're not willing to take the time to read or much else, we want results NOW!
i'm including myself in this to a degree. as far as the discipline, i was thinking in terms of some type of ritual or meditation. many would like to just step over that and get to the point. i'm sorry that you feel bad about negative responses. i used to do dream interpretation on another site and sometimes my feelings were actually hurt or when the answer i gave was so obvious only to be told "no, that's not it". i started thinking, well, it was only a matter of time before something negative was going to cross my path and i have to decide how to handle it. i found i had to comfort myself too many times so i chose to step away. there are so many boobs out there. sigh, i don't know. just my thoughts. didn't mean go on and on. sorry.

[Kolohe Redux]

I think when the inner circle was in place people were more likely to read through some of the messages on the board, since it seemed like more of a committment. It seems like there are a few who assume it is a question and answer place for the list of spells on the .net site. I really don't mind the fluffy posters either though, the one Wiccachicken linked to was somewhat over the top. I think whichever way is easier for the moderators is fine.

Kolohe

[AkanaAnash]

Kolohe,

I tend to agree...maybe not the "circle" part, but something one must "earn".
Through careful examination and prudent posting...
I believe there's a consciousness involved...not a number of posts, ESPECIALLY not a consensus view point, but an understanding of
how a community works born from listening.
However, I don't feel a Council of Elders would put a stop to the
one-post wonderz by any means.
It might, though, help less experienced posters understand someone
who may wish to cause harm to another or need a 'quick fix' of majak.
I certainly understand them. I was once a crazy teen myself...at least...I think if I can recall that far back...teehee.

Thet

[Blazewind]

I didn't vote, because I really don't know how to feel about the inner circle idea. One one hand, you could be right about it keeping out those people who want to came on here and ask something like, "how do I curse my step father so he will leave me alone?" or other such misinformed questions, never to be seen again. However, is it not posible that some of them may come here, looking for that sort of help, end up beign told that it's not a good idea, and then wonderign whay,and trying to learn more. Some thing like that could turly inspire their interest in the true ways of the craft.

[Shaman of Bliss]

I know when I was here originally there was very few. There seems to be a couple now, and man that thread link. Dangerous stuff he or she has decided to screw around with...

[Colubra]

I didn't vote, because I really don't know how to feel about the inner circle idea. One one hand, you could be right about it keeping out those people who want to came on here and ask something like, "how do I curse my step father so he will leave me alone?" or other such misinformed questions, never to be seen again. However, is it not posible that some of them may come here, looking for that sort of help, end up beign told that it's not a good idea, and then wonderign whay,and trying to learn more. Some thing like that could turly inspire their interest in the true ways of the craft.

You make a very good point.

[Heka]

i liked the inner circle. when i first joined i had to work hard to show i was worthy. i dont agree with working your asre of to get into a coven etc but in an internet comunity like this i think you need to show your worth.

Blessings

heka