NewBuddhist.com — NewBuddhist

General Banter filtered from home page

Linc — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:07:38 +0000

I've removed "General Banter" from the "All Discussions" list to help re-focus the site on Buddhist-related topics. They are of course still available by selecting "General Banter" from the Categories list in the sidebar.

No "new"

Talisman — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:11:15 +0000

On the main page, the threads are not displaying the "new" tag for threads with new posts. I'm not sure if this is an issue with my computer or with the site, but it's been going on for 2 days now and I've reset my comp already. Just figured I'd let you know.

Lost "new" label on RHS Bookmarked Discussions

Whoknows — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:13:46 +0000

Hi Lincoln, I used to get "xx new" on bookmarked discussions but it seems to have gone away recently. In fact its not just bookmarked discussions it seems all commented. Has the behaviour changed recently or is this only updated every day?

A few ideas

ThailandTom — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:10:22 +0000

When it comes to the personal side of this site, since it has been re-updated that is, it seems far less personal when you say for example look at somebodies profile. The DP image is rather small and the information on each person is sparse. There was also a count of how many posts you had done and little things like this. Maybe these are considered good changes to some I do not know. But personally, I would like to see the site being more personal

Why does it say "ANNOUNCEMENT" on one of my questions? Written like the "closed" symbol.

PeaceandLove — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 17:01:39 +0000

HOW CAN YOU BOOST THIS SITE UP FOR MORE MEMBERS!?

PeaceandLove — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:23:38 +0000

I think the web design is great. Would be nice to see more users on here how can we help? Open a Donate if u can thing for advertising..? Advertise?? pc

help to navigate here

tess — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:35:57 +0000

Is there any ''help part'' of this forum which will help to navigate here? I am sorry, I might be slow but I can’t find it.

Buddhist Teacher

table355 — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:13:40 +0000

I am looking for a teacher of Buddhism in or near Delaware. How do I find one?

Notice to ALL Members:

federica — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:02:20 +0000

Would all members take note: Please do not use/download/attach any emoticons/smileys which are not from this site. We have more than enough emoticons/smileys for use on this website. There is, or should be, absolutely no need to go using any others form elsewhere. Large moving/animated emoticons and smileys from any other location will be deleted. Any issues, please contact Lincoln.

COOL for the SITE,A button that you can hit which "bows" at answers, like facebook,but no dislike:)

FreeofwantWdumean — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:03:32 +0000

Maybe bow, or "praise" or something Buddha like? lol. It would be a lot easier if you didn't have time to thank everyone for their posts and show them some appreciation.

New Buddhist? Or something else?

Ada_B — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 11:08:28 +0000

Hello people, I have noticed that recently a lot of the discussions on NewBuddhist seem at variance to what I know as Buddhism. There seems to be a lot of Hindu, New Age, Daoist and other philosophies, not labelled as such (which wouldn't be so much as a problem) but presented as if they were synonymous with Buddhism. I know the different schools of Buddhism vary, but I also recognise some of the ideas that are being shared as coming from other religion's teachings, that I am familiar with. For instance, the term "avatar" is a Hindu one. As far as I'm aware, so is "Kundalini". The Buddhism that I am aware of has no concept of the soul or essential self or 'atman' as the Hindus call it. We are not "god within", neither do we have a "Christ consciousness" (or Krishna Consciousness). "I" has no independent meaning, it is simply a conglomeration of dozens of concepts that have come together, to do with "my body", "my mind", "my experiences" etc. I know some Tibetan Buddhists believe in reincarnation, but personally I cannot see how "reincarnation" is an appropriate translation when there is no concept of a soul. I am also not aware of "God" in Buddhism, as in a supreme, omniscient, omnipotent, eternal creator deity. The whole idea flies in the face of the Dharma, as far as I can see. We need to be extremely careful IMHO using the term "god" in the context of Buddhism, with people who have been brought up with the eternal creator God as their concept. I know my lay teacher and I have fallen out over her use of "god" to mean the Dharmakaya. As a former Christian, that's like completely redefining the word until it ceases to have any shared meaning at all! She might as well call it "flobberlob" (she sees my point but we've agreed to disagree). I am not concerned that some people are Hindus, or New Agers, or Daoists, or even Christian mystics or Sufis. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs. And I don't mind if people discuss their personal beliefs on NewBuddhist, provided they are labelled so that we all know what is being discussed. My concern is that this is supposed to be a Buddhist site, so if questions are posted, it is assumed the answers are from a Buddhist perspective. Unfortunately, as things stand, it can be very confusing for people who are not well-read in these subjects. Nothing wrong with having an eclectic approach to religion, but for those of us who want to stick to one at a time, it would be better to know where stuff is coming from.

Looking for Filipino Buddhists.

jimsband — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:23:41 +0000

I'm a Filipino. Buddhist. Very rare. Looking for others of my "kind". Most Filipinos areChristian/Catholic. I was one too.

better forum categories

patbb — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:07:36 +0000

People come here with very little ideas of what Buddhism is, and are often regarding this website as some kind of authority in the subject. I believe that many are mislead into thinking all kind of random things by other people who have no, or very little idea what they are talking about. There are some good advices but very often they are often buried under piles of nonsense. The problem with this is that people are looking for solution to their problems, sometimes real problems and they could actually possibly change their lives for the better, putting behind them years of misery and opening up a whole new beautiful chapter of their lives. But what happen when someone get misled may very well mean that this person will greatly delay or even put aside Buddhism forever and doing so abandon virtually all hope of finding peace and love in their lives. Which is obviously a terrible prospect and the direct opposite of what anyone would wish to happen in here. I believe this got worse lately, somehow this website had a pretty good balance of more advanced members in the past but now the balance have shifted. I see people left and right asking questions about the most basic teachings of Buddhism in one thread, and going into another to advice someone on very important subjects. My suggestion would be to change the forum categories to add categories such as "what is Buddhism", Buddhist philosophy compared to other philosophies, or simply re-direct most of the "Buddhist for beginners" subjects into the "general banter" subject because most of the threads in the beginner section are not related to Buddhism at all. I'd like to get the opinion of other more advance members on this if you would like to share. ps: The website have grown, and became a strange creature where people do not come to learn but to speculate enormously with very little understanding of Buddhism and Buddhism practice while giving advices that have nothing to do with Buddhism. Thank you

[disabled again] Return of the WYSIWYG editor for NewBuddhist

Linc — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:41:25 +0000

You can easily insert bold, italics, lists, images, quotes, and links again! Yay!

Caveat: If you edit a post, it'll break the comment box at the end of the page until you refresh the page. It's a known bug, but I didn't think it was bad enough to hold off on deploying it any longer.

For those lacking a firm grounding in web slang, WYSIWYG (pronounced "wizzywig") = What You See Is What You Get.

Vanilla Mobile

Cloud — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:41:32 +0000

Tryin' to get the site to work on my mobile device (Kindle), like it's supposed to work on phones and stuff. Can't seem to find/activate a mobile theme; I know I read something about Vanilla Mobile... is this not something the forum has or can do, or is there a special URL or something?

Not being a jerk [official admin thingy]

Linc — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:54:35 +0000

We just had a new member who over the course of a day or two made a nuisance of himself and got banned. We typically have a zero-discussion policy on bannings and discussion closings because it's simply not conducive to positive results. However, we welcome private concerns and the flagging of posts (the 'Flag' link above every comment - it works!) - it helps us inform those decisions. The moderators (Jason & Federica) and I often talk about what's going on privately and make course-corrections along the way. This time, I want to broach the topic of a particular ban because I think it really highlights our primary rule here: "Don't be a jerk" (aka "talk like you're in our living room"). A Nichiren Buddhist joined and started repeatedly bringing up the Lotus Sutra. Lest there be any misunderstanding, I want to clearly discuss why he got banned. His belief that "only the Lotus Sutra is valid" was fine. Annoying to most of us, perhaps, but not an offense. The problem started with how he chose to express that belief. First, he started a "discussion" on his belief that was really just a defiant blog post. This isn't a blogging site. You have many options like Blogger or Wordpress available to you if all you want to do is write diatribes. A discussion implies engagement and 2-way exchange of ideas, and that's what this site is about. I question the motives of someone whose ideas are so fixed when they join a discussion community. Second, his comments were obstinant and tone-deaf. Let me paraphrase how I interpreted several of his comments: "Your belief is invalid because it's founded on crap, this is the only right thing to believe, so here's the real truth." Now the question is "but if that what he thought, how can you say that without getting banned?" It's really not difficult: "I only recognize the authority of X, this is what X says about that, and therefore my belief is that the answer is Y." It's affirming your belief vs. disparaging others. If you understand the world of difference between those 2 approaches, then you will always find yourself among friends here, even when you sharply disagree. If this member understood it, I'm sure there could have been many more interesting discussions to be had.

Profile editing?

Echo — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:53:32 +0000

I am using android, apparently in mobile view, and i can't find a way to add avatar or profile. Thanks in advance.

Forum for emotional difficulties - Idea

Ada_B — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 14:54:55 +0000

I know none or few of us are professionals in the mental health field or marriage guidance field, but it seems to me we are regularly getting cries for help from people with difficulties. I wondered if it might be a compassionate thing to do to have a forum specifically for that kind of problem? To distinguish it from the run of the mill problems with meditation or other practice that we all experience? We could have some useful links to helpful sites members have come across, that deal with that sort of thing in a Buddhist-friendly way. Also, many of us have been mental health service users, had marital difficulties or emotional problems, who might be able to share our experiences and thus support others. We do this anyway, I'm just thinking a specific forum might be a more organised way of doing it. We could also have clear disclaimers that none of us are giving professional advice, and to seek the help of a doctor/counsellor/therapist if needed.

Chat?

Zayl — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:58:20 +0000

Does this website have a chatroom? I think it would be a good addition, personally. It would be nice to meet and to talk to a lot of you in real-time (more or less) and it would help us to get to know each other much better. If such a room already exists, then disregard this post. also: look, a tree!

Self-Sinking

Cloud — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 07:27:51 +0000

I had an idea... the ability to self-sink a thread so it just goes away. Or maybe hide it? Either one. The thing is with the new layout, I for one find myself always staying on the home page. I have threads bookmarked and such, but the home page combines bookmarked threads with new threads and ones I only "sorta" wanna keep up with. However if a thread comes along that is completely dis-interesting, there's no way to get it off that home page if it's active. Worse when there are several, then suddenly it's back to weeding through... It would be nice to be able to tell the software that you'd rather not have that thread show up on the home page at all, ever... Just a thought.

New member to this forum

missnikki — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 15:44:24 +0000

I am new to this forum so not sure if I posted this in the right spot... But hello! I am accessing this forum primarily from my Blackberry phone. Don't think I can view forum categories properly so will have to take a look later at home on my laptop! Glad to be here. I'm a 23 year old female from British Columbia, Canada. Namaste.

Why is it that I only get the short reply interface..?

Jeffrey — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 09:20:47 +0000

I only get the short reply interface a small text box and then I can't see a long posts lower portion. And I can't use smileys.

is this really what the site is gonna look like now?

TheJourney — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:39:04 +0000

it looks terrible...lol...

Errors on page

Linc — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:57:49 +0000

If you got a couple errors over the last error, that was my fault, sorry! :o Was updating to the latest version of Vanilla and making some requested changes. I realized halfway thru that I was doing it the reckless error-prone way but it was too late to stop then :p

odd debating thought!! - secret conversion?

lightlotus — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:56:20 +0000

i've been thinking of beauty of loving kindness meditation and the reasons behind me wanting to keep my conversion to buddhism a secret from my family. How can meditate on wishing all beings peace, calm and wanting to reduce their suffering when if I announce im now a buddhist this would potentially cause my family a lot of suffering? does this need to keep my new found way of life a secret make me less of a buddhist? I saw another post where anthony touched on this same topic but i'm actively looking to keep my lifestyle quiet?

bye

MindGate — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:49:53 +0000

my charger broke for my laptop. im using my kindle to type. i dont know when ill get a new one. it could be one day or four weeks. bye til then

Are there any forum rules or specific etiquette?

Fran45 — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:12:18 +0000

I have tried and failed to find any guidance regarding posts and discussions. Is there any?

things falling into place?

lightlotus — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:07:50 +0000

hi, I need your opinion, since being drawn to buddhism. Starting meditation and implementing detachment to every aspect of my life things are just falling into place. I cant make sense of this and wanted to know if anyone else experienced this? You know its like last night during a loving kindness meditation i adapted it slightly and said 'may i be able to see those who have caused me harm' what happens today at work a email was left at a printer in which 2 close friends and colleagues exchanged emails in which they had a free flow of pleasure at my contract being ended and literally slagging me off. Is this coincidence or something more? A few things like this have happened recently has anyone else experienced anything like this or am i reading to far into things? LL

I have no idea

pineblossom — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:14:10 +0000

I have tried to access my previous posts but cannot do so. I have a PM from Lincon which I cannot open apart from the first line so I have no idea what the PM is about. There appears to may faults with the program so I come back later when everything is worked out. Whatever was wrong with the old board? We have a saying in Australia - If it ain't broke, why fix it!

Less moderating please...

Mintyfresh0 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:35:28 +0000

I just spent a good thirty minutes editing and typing a thoughtful response to my "this community" thread only to realize a moderator has sunk it. There are too many threads being closed and sunk for no apparent reason. Please, unless a thread has become poisonous or completely filled with anger and hate, leave it alone.

Bookmarking

johnathan — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 09:18:54 +0000

How do i bookmark a thread? Can it be bookmarked if I don't make a comment in it but still wish to follow it?

Closing Threads

thickpaper — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 06:18:10 +0000

Closing Threads doesn't seem very dharmic. Could they not just be moved out of the way? In this world of censorship and propaganda it would be wholesome if this place alone could be immune. I would wager that The Buddha wouldn't close threads;)

This Forum

MindGate — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:31:33 +0000

I love NewBuddhist. I don't know why so many people say its full of mean spirited people. I don't see any, I just think people get offended too easily. Sure, many people may get a bit upset if someone tries to repute their beliefs, but they shouldn't get upset! No one here is genuinely perfect, we're all learning, and debating is a good thing. Until we start calling each other 'idiot' and such, I see nothing wrong with a debate. At NewBuddhist, I feel like most people are accepting. My only problem is: Answers seem to be repeated, too long and irrelevant, or very hard to wrap your mind around.

The little yellow New Post Button

MindGate — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:17:35 +0000

Just like Mario, it seems as though it is missing. It doesn't show up for me anymore right now.

Problem with email notifications

nuageux — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:03:35 +0000

Hopefully I'm putting this in the right category. Just wondered if anyone else is having problems with email notifications? I use to get them before the site was upgraded, but don't seem to be getting them any more. I've checked my account preferences and they appear to be set up correctly. The only thing I can see that might be a problem is the checkbox about bookmarked discussions. Am I supposed to be bookmarking discussions I contribute to on an individual basis? I'm not sure if it's just me, or the way the site is being displayed on my setup, but I can't find any option for bookmarking discussions anyway.

New forum software

Linc — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:55:52 +0000

To give you all a heads-up, this fall I will be migrating NewBuddhist from vBulletin forum software to a newer product, "Vanilla".

I regard Vanilla as being a much easier to use for new members and have a much lower learning curve. I hope it helps us attract new members more easily, and I'm really looking forward to being on board with this product moving forward. I plan to be a contributor to the project and moving Icrontic.com (the other site Brian and I run) to it as well.

I'll post more information as it gets closer to time. For now I'm still working on just getting to work on our development server

New style on this site or what?

TheFound — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:07:48 +0000

I am nuts or did something change with this sites layout? how cool tho, nice job Linc

Welcome

redfrog1971 — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 04:20:00 +0000

I would like to say hello to the world off Buddism. have been traveling a general buddist path most my life, with out the realisation. I feel more able to look with more open eyes. I will enjoy the time ahead :) Yours redfrog1971

Good News about Diacriticals...

LesC — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:33:59 +0000

I've done some research and have come up with some info that may be of use to some of you who are unfortunate enough to have to use PCs (sorry, my bias is showing).

If you would like to type diacriticals such as the é character at the end of Namasté, this can be very easily accomplished with an adjustment to your settings under Windows XP, by following the instructions to be found at the following link:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306560

In fact this post was typed on a PC after having made those adjustments. To get the é character all you have to do is hold down the right Alt key and then press the e character.

Good luck with this...

Namasté

Les

NewBuddhist.com's new look

Linc — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 23:47:24 +0000

Got a lot of work done on the theme for our forthcoming new forum software. I'm very much keeping the same style and color scheme, but hopefully the new layout will feel a little lighter, simpler, and easier to use.

Here's the header so far. The big white area is where discussions will go - I blanked them out since they still look icky as I haven't gotten past the header & page frame.

Darker default typeface?

Will — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 15:35:03 +0000

For the elderly and/or those with poor vision, I wonder if the default pale grey type could, at least, be bumped up to the darkest grey, if not black? Then we would not have to change it each time we post, nor squint at others postings.

Ban me please!

Ch-an_noob — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:31:50 +0000

Sorry don't know if it's the right section to post this request since I don't know who the admin is. As some who is rather attached to internet forum who is trying to be more diligent, I am finding myself using up too much of my time posting on here. I suppose it's a case of coming back to the "habit" way too early.

I would really appreciate it if you can ban my account so I don't have to use will power alone to stop myself from posting on here all the time and waiting for replies

Thanks!

"How to disagree"

fivebells — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:16:15 +0000

I found this essay on online disagreements, today. Seems pertinent.

question

naturelover — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:50:17 +0000

If I download an avatar and I get an "invalid file" message, does that mean the avatar is too big?

posting a link in a word?

RichardH — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:40:31 +0000

How do I post a link as a word in a sentence, instead of as an address?

as in......

If your chimp really needs grooming you can try here

instead of writing....

If your chimp really needs grooming you can try www.groomyourchimp.com

Thankyou

WRITING IN ALL CAPS EQUALS YELLING

Nirvana — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:07:21 +0000

Just tonight I deleted a post I made that had already been quoted (Not like you couldn't make all that up, though.)

The reason I did so really was due to a response using a line with ALL CAPS.

Don't people realize that when they do that it is perceived as hollering or as being irrational or angry or intolerant or dramatic?

Don't they realize that this can and usually does give offense, if it is any kind of response to anything anyone else said or wrote?

I'm sure most of you already know this, but unfortunately it's not clear that you care.

You know what that means?

You're not Bodhisattvas! (Notice that I was kind enough not to put this in ALL CAPS.)

Question re "Networking" in user cp

Artemis — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:22:26 +0000

What does it to mean in this context to be "contacts" with someone? To be "friends"?

Link to a specific post

Cloud — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 18:26:37 +0000

I know you can get the URL for a specific thread, but is there a way to link to a certain post so that when you click on the URL it loads the page and then focuses on that post (much like an HTML anchor, i.e. href=#top)?

Thanks for this Community

ATLANT3AN — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:52:33 +0000

I want to thank everyone for being part of this community, I am really glad that I found this place and can talk with like minded people in a way that simply wants to create inner peace and be more humanstic. I love how Buddhism is open to challenge and debate and is not stuck in one view only and is flexible as truth itself is dynamic and fluid.

Thanks everyone

Accidental redirect

Linc — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 19:58:50 +0000

If you were randomly redirected to Icrontic.com a moment ago, I apologize. I was playing with the server config files and caused all our domains to route there for a moment.