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alternatejayalternatejay
edited March 2012 in NewBuddhist.com
Maybe a live chat option?
I do love this site.

Comments

  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    I have seen forums with that, however maybe that would draw the attention away from the thread posting to the point where it is not much use for people who are new to buddhism and come here seeking advice do not get a good response..
  • alternatejayalternatejay
    There is always the option to not use it?
    Live chat seems to bring out the weirdness.. but so do forums and the internet in general. Definitely would need moderators to make sure people seeking advice dont get swept away or can point them in the right direction (discussion?) if it was implemented
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    Well it is an idea and it has been put in the correct category, so you have made a good start :p Now you just have to wait for the mods to come along and give their say. Good luck :thumbsup:
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    ...Elsewhere I organized a skype practice group. The idea being to drop opinion and just share the sound of a bell.. and a quiet sit... followed by "tea" were people can drop theory and just talk about day to day practice. It is an experiment, but has a future I believe, because this message board medium, no matter how great the forum, shapes our way of relating in a certain way, and is missing, obviously, the shared silence of group practice..

    It could work here.. a NB non-sectarian practice group. just a thought.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    ...Elsewhere I organized a skype practice group. The idea being to drop opinion and just share the sound of a bell.. and a quiet sit... followed by "tea" were people can drop theory and just talk about day to day practice. It is an experiment, but has a future I believe, because this message board medium, no matter how great the forum, shapes our way of relating in a certain way, and is missing, obviously, the shared silence of group practice..

    It could work here.. a NB non-sectarian practice group. just a thought.
    There was already a NB retreat a couple of month ago if I am not wrong...
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    It seems to me to be an inevitable development on the internet... just considering the wonderful potential of this medium to connect practitioners all over the world. This medium can be sublime or mundane. .. it is open, and I'm really interested to see where it can go. ..
  • possibilitiespossibilities PNW, WA State Veteran
    edited March 2012
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
  • genkakugenkaku Northampton, Mass. U.S.A. Veteran
    E-sangha used to have a chat room I often enjoyed. Just 'talking' simultaneously with someone in Norway, someone in Indonesia, someone in Australia and someone in Sicily was magical. The chat room did not detract from the creation or participation in the various informative threads, questions or pissing contests.
  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran
    i want more emoticons...i don't care about chat...that's what pm is for.
  • MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
    edited March 2012
    Haha, well, funny story about this, actually.

    A year ago me and a couple of other members suggested this, and we got a stern "no" for an answer. So, me and the other members made out own chatroom for NewBuddhist members to use and we posted it here on NewBuddhist. We got scolded for this and our discussions were deleted. Instead we PMed different members with the link to our chatroom, rather than making topics about it. Eventually me and the other creator got banned from NewBuddhist for a couple different reasons, after a long series of events. Although, I was able to come back.
  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    We have no plans to implement a chat room. If you look at the frequency of new discussion creation and new posts, a chat room is really unnecessary.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited March 2012
    i want more emoticons...i don't care about chat...that's what pm is for.
    YESSSS! :thumbsup:

  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012
    We have no plans to implement a chat room. If you look at the frequency of new discussion creation and new posts, a chat room is really unnecessary.
    Would you object if at some point ..I organized, via a thread in the members only section, a once a week NB skype meditation group?


  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    We have no plans to implement a chat room. If you look at the frequency of new discussion creation and new posts, a chat room is really unnecessary.
    Would you object if at some point ..I organized, via a thread in the members only section, a once a week NB skype meditation group?


    I really like that idea.

  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    While I understand your concern. You have to understand. What you just mentioned above is buddhism. Who says what is and isn't Buddhism.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012
    We have no plans to implement a chat room. If you look at the frequency of new discussion creation and new posts, a chat room is really unnecessary.
    Would you object if at some point ..I organized, via a thread in the members only section, a once a week NB skype meditation group?


    I really like that idea.

    it can work and be a simple way of dropping view together. As long as it is acknowledged that whoever is facilitating is not an ordained teacher and does not self-appoint as a teacher... and there is a straightforward format without pretense.

    hearing a voice and sharing a bit of silence adds another dimension to our relationship... more regular... more ordinary.

    but.. it is just a suggestion.

    I don't know why I'm suggesting it here.. like there isn't enough on my plate, but as a general thought about internet buddhism.. it's a worthy one.


    :rolleyes: ...now back to that thread about assholes
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    a non-response is a response.. not a respectful one, but a response just the same.

    moving on. :)
  • possibilitiespossibilities PNW, WA State Veteran
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    While I understand your concern. You have to understand. What you just mentioned above is buddhism. Who says what is and isn't Buddhism.
    Emphasis on LEARNING about Buddhism. If you look at earlier threads they were about the teachings not about daily updates of how several people's day went. What I learn to practice currently is patience - to some degree - as in whoever irritates you the most is your (best) teacher.... A good lesson, but a bit limited.

  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    While I understand your concern. You have to understand. What you just mentioned above is buddhism. Who says what is and isn't Buddhism.
    Emphasis on LEARNING about Buddhism. If you look at earlier threads they were about the teachings not about daily updates of how several people's day went. What I learn to practice currently is patience - to some degree - as in whoever irritates you the most is your (best) teacher.... A good lesson, but a bit limited.

    This raises a question.... How long can someone discuss Buddhism online before a discussion about Buddhism is just as superfluous as a discussion about any old thing?

    There are people all over the internet who's "practice" consists of discussing Buddhism online, with no offline or online practice. There is one Soto teacher doing online practice/sangha... but it is specific style of Buddhism. There will be more of that kind of thing in the future though, in the different traditions.


  • possibilitiespossibilities PNW, WA State Veteran
    edited March 2012
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    While I understand your concern. You have to understand. What you just mentioned above is buddhism. Who says what is and isn't Buddhism.
    Emphasis on LEARNING about Buddhism. If you look at earlier threads they were about the teachings not about daily updates of how several people's day went. What I learn to practice currently is patience - to some degree - as in whoever irritates you the most is your (best) teacher.... A good lesson, but a bit limited.

    This raises a question.... How long can someone discuss Buddhism online before a discussion about Buddhism or just as superfluous as discussion about any old thing?

    There are people all over the internet who's "practice" consists of discussing Buddhism online, with no offline or online practice. There is one Soto teacher doing online practice/sangha... but it is specific style of Buddhism. There will be more of that kind of thing in the future though..


    The discussion *about* Buddhism isn't the problem, obviously, it's the endless chatter on personal issues (and I don't mean Problems of a serious nature where help is sought)....
    However, anyone who doesn't see the chatter as a problem, will find ways to debate ... That said - and since I refuse to give concrete examples - this is the end of discussion for me.

  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    i don't disagree with you Possibilities, and am clearly guilty of idle chatter here myself...





  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran

    I'm sorry but your expectations are set way to high of what you view as an acceptable new Buddhist forum. You don't know if knowledge is also exchanged via pm relating to Buddhism. Our "meaningless" chatter is a celebration of life! I come to this site, not only to listen and ask questions but also to find out how my new friends are fairing in their day to day. . . Sometime I'm too shy to ask publicly and send a pm.

    So your comment is hurtful on behalf of Tom, Aheerdt, zombiegirl and pretty much everyone that posts non Buddhist related stuff.
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    I've been on this forum about 1-1/2 years. In that time many changes in membership and focus have happened. When I joined, there were more discussions on Buddhism, of a relatively advanced nature, some comparative religion topics of a high intellectual level, and so forth. I think there's room for everything. If some people want more discussions on Buddhism, they can post the kind of threads they'd like to see. The forum is what you make it.
  • lamaramadingdonglamaramadingdong Veteran
    I think chat would be great for those that like that. I myself dislike chat rooms- talking on the phone for me with multiple people is hard for me, chat is unbearable for me. I find it very awkward.
  • weightedweighted Veteran
    @RichardH How would a Skype meditation group work exactly? The idea sounds good, and also like it would keep some of us accountable if we're being a bit "off" that week with our practice, etc.

    I'm not sure if a chat room on here is a good idea. I agree with @Brian that there are already so many threads. As much as NB is my touchstone, I find I can barely keep up with my NB friends here as it is! Add in another factor, and I'd be totally lost.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2012
    @RichardH How would a Skype meditation group work exactly? The idea sounds good, and also like it would keep some of us accountable if we're being a bit "off" that week with our practice, etc.
    It can't replace bricks and mortar Sangha, or the guidance of a teacher, but there is a supporting factor with group sitting even when it is through a long distance medium.. Even just learning to chant the Refuges with other voices is supportive, as is keeping talk at the end of the sitting to practical issues around maintaining regular practice. There is the story of the Buddha's bowl floating upstream against the current of human nature.... today I think it can seem more like having that bowl rise up through a waterfall, with our amped-up world so perfectly calibrated to keep us chasing our tails. Sangha, in whatever unsatisfactory form it takes... is better than nothing.

  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    edited March 2012
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    If you want, you can hide the "general banter" section of the site from showing up in your discussions. You can completely customize your NewBuddhist experience so that you see what you want. Nothing is forced on you.

    Click:

    http://newbuddhist.com/categories/all

    And then click the gear icon next to the category you want to unfollow and select "Unfollow"

  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    edited March 2012
    Would you object if at some point ..I organized, via a thread in the members only section, a once a week NB skype meditation group?
    While I certainly cannot control whether or not you create a skype meditation group, I can respectfully suggest that you not name it NewBuddhist. If there are any "official" NewBuddhist outreach efforts or community projects, it has to be something Lincoln and myself organize and condone. Think of it as a branding thing.

    In short, we don't officialy endorse a skype chatroom.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    I won't do it if there is any wiff of inappropriateness. So will drop the notion. Thanks for responding.
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    I won't do it if there is any wiff of inappropriateness. So will drop the notion. Thanks for responding.
    We can start up an emailing list where people who are interested to be on Skype chat can leave their emails through private messaging.
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    Would you object if at some point ..I organized, via a thread in the members only section, a once a week NB skype meditation group?
    While I certainly cannot control whether or not you create a skype meditation group, I can respectfully suggest that you not name it NewBuddhist. If there are any "official" NewBuddhist outreach efforts or community projects, it has to be something Lincoln and myself organize and condone. Think of it as a branding thing.

    In short, we don't officialy endorse a skype chatroom.
    Thank you!:)
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    I won't do it if there is any wiff of inappropriateness. So will drop the notion. Thanks for responding.
    We can start up an emailing list where people who are interested to be on Skype chat can leave their emails through private messaging.
    Hi Leon.. I suggested starting a practice group here, and am satisfied that it would not be appropriate for me to do that. That's where it's at for me. :)
  • zombiegirlzombiegirl beating the drum of the lifeless in a dry wasteland Veteran
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    If you want, you can hide the "general banter" section of the site from showing up in your discussions. You can completely customize your NewBuddhist experience so that you see what you want. Nothing is forced on you.

    Click:

    http://newbuddhist.com/categories/all

    And then click the gear icon next to the category you want to unfollow and select "Unfollow"

    I was going to suggest this but Brian beat me to it. :) Once upon a time, General Banter was always hidden unless you specifically clicked on it, but that was changed, I'm guessing, because of the majority wanting it integrated with the rest of the posts in "All Posts" I much prefer it this way, btw, now that we have the option to customize which posts we see or do not see.

    As a result of this, I will not apologize for posting material of a non-Buddhist nature. It would be nice to have a real life group of like-minded individuals on random topics, but I don't... and many other members are in similar shoes, I imagine. Sometimes it's nice to get compassion focused responses vs. the usual self-serving crap my friends say, lol. Buddhism doesn't stop at discussion of the dharma, sometimes I think the application to real life is the hardest part.
  • BrianBrian Detroit, MI Moderator
    This is an online community, not a Buddhist Church. That's the reason we have categories, so that people can talk, make friends, and grow the community, while choosing the experience they have with the site. If the site was to be a single, homogeneous "ONLY TALK ABOUT BUDDHISM NOTHING ELSE", why, it wouldn't be very welcoming, would it?
  • BekenzeBekenze
    If the site was to be a single, homogeneous "ONLY TALK ABOUT BUDDHISM NOTHING ELSE", why, it wouldn't be very welcoming, would it?
    Also, we'd all probably start arguing as to what constitutes as a Buddhism related discussion.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    @zombiegirl wel said :thumbsup:
  • zombiegirlzombiegirl beating the drum of the lifeless in a dry wasteland Veteran
    If the site was to be a single, homogeneous "ONLY TALK ABOUT BUDDHISM NOTHING ELSE", why, it wouldn't be very welcoming, would it?
    Also, we'd all probably start arguing as to what constitutes as a Buddhism related discussion.
    Well, if there's any disagreement here, we can just constrict the discussion to whether or not reincarnation is to be taken literally and which sutras are more likely to be actual transcription from the Buddha. Nothing can go wrong with this plan.



    (Warning: This is a joke and not to be attempted by anyone except under direct supervision.)
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited March 2012
    forums like this exist.
    there is one forum i used to frequent that was largely Mahayana (nothing wrong with that) but to say it lacked humour would be a distinct understatement.
    It's all very well wishing/hoping/suggesting that discussions focus mainly/primarily on Buddhist matters, but, oddly, one of three things happens:

    Repetitive -
    Argumentative -
    Excessively 'scholarly'.

    the first means you get gadgillions of different threads - all addressing loosely the same topic matter - and we already know what they are - Kamma, rebirth, vegetarianism, killing/5 precepts, abortion/different schools. (feel free to add any topic you might feel is 'same old same-old'....)

    Argumentative threads generally whittle down to two - mmm...maybe three, at a push - members, who actually end up going in circles, and even get a little bit personal and abusive.... ad hominem, strawman and smoke-and-mirrors type of stuff.... and usually relatively far removed from the OP!

    Excessively 'scholarly' - for this, read "so far over my head i wouldn't recognise prevarication, inaccuracies, insults or holier-than-thou-edness if it smacked me across the face with a wet precept!"

    furthermore, 'really seriously-focussed' websites have a distinct keep on topic please' policy. Admittedly, i try to do this with energetic and interesting discussions in advanced ideas - because we all learn more that way - but some forums are, to put it bluntly - anal.

    This forum feels like the Waltons' evening dinner table - loads of people eating dinner, talking about every subject under the sun, but enjoying the diversity of the different discussions....

    goodnight Johnboy.....

    I personally like it here.
    Sure, we've had some dicey moments - but we're all still here, huh?
  • zombiegirlzombiegirl beating the drum of the lifeless in a dry wasteland Veteran
    I couldn't agree more, Fed.
  • Lady_AlisonLady_Alison Veteran
    Here here, little wolf!
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited March 2012
    .....'little wolf'....?

    Oh, Good grief....! :facepalm:
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    All the recent non-Buddhist related chatter has led IMO to a severe deterioration of the site. Of course, I can go elsewhere and am looking to find a place where people are serious about learning about Buddhism rather than continuously chat about their daily ups and downs and draw others into meaningless exchanges.
    Sad, but so it goes, I guess....... Hopefully this is just a phase.
    If you want, you can hide the "general banter" section of the site from showing up in your discussions. You can completely customize your NewBuddhist experience so that you see what you want. Nothing is forced on you.

    Click:

    http://newbuddhist.com/categories/all

    And then click the gear icon next to the category you want to unfollow and select "Unfollow"

    I was going to suggest this but Brian beat me to it. :) Once upon a time, General Banter was always hidden unless you specifically clicked on it, but that was changed, I'm guessing, because of the majority wanting it integrated with the rest of the posts in "All Posts" I much prefer it this way, btw, now that we have the option to customize which posts we see or do not see.

    As a result of this, I will not apologize for posting material of a non-Buddhist nature. It would be nice to have a real life group of like-minded individuals on random topics, but I don't... and many other members are in similar shoes, I imagine. Sometimes it's nice to get compassion focused responses vs. the usual self-serving crap my friends say, lol. Buddhism doesn't stop at discussion of the dharma, sometimes I think the application to real life is the hardest part.
    Exactly!!!
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    This is an online community, not a Buddhist Church. That's the reason we have categories, so that people can talk, make friends, and grow the community, while choosing the experience they have with the site. If the site was to be a single, homogeneous "ONLY TALK ABOUT BUDDHISM NOTHING ELSE", why, it wouldn't be very welcoming, would it?
    Not just that, but it wouldn't last long either. How many times can one talk about meditation practices and the like. It's not about talking about it anyways, it's about doing it!
  • ethereaetherea Veteran
    Well, this discussion has certainly given me, a relatively new member, an eyeopener as to where a lot of you are coming from. No more needs to be said.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    @etherea, would you like to clarify or elaborate...?
    I'm no sure quite how we should take that..... :)
  • ethereaetherea Veteran
    Nothing sinister ;)
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