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What happened to e-sangha?

edited October 2010 in General Banter
Is anyone here familiar with "e-sangha," the Buddhism portal?

I used to hang out there years ago, but now I see it's down, apparently the result of some kind of "cyber-attack".

I also notice that a separate website has been created, for the (apparent) purpose of denouncing e-sangha.

Does anyone know what this is all about?
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Comments

  • NiosNios Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Karma.
    Imperminance.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited March 2010
    You know about the defamation lawsuit, right? (I don't know that that was the prime cause for the shutdown, but it seems like a plausible explanation.)
  • edited March 2010
    fivebells wrote: »
    You know about the defamation lawsuit, right? (I don't know that that was the prime cause for the shutdown, but it seems like a plausible explanation.)
    No, I don't know about the defamation lawsuit.

    What happened?
  • edited March 2010
    It was by far the best Buddhist forum available.
    Someone who didnt like their policies, which were all correct and admirable by the way, sent them a virus.
    The "lawsuit" is a joke.
  • skydancerskydancer Veteran
    edited March 2010
    It was by far the best Buddhist forum available.
    Someone who didnt like their policies, which were all correct and admirable by the way, sent them a virus.
    The "lawsuit" is a joke.
    I'm sorry to hear all that.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Best forum for those who shared their cosmological views. :)
  • edited March 2010
    fivebells wrote: »
    Best forum for those who shared their cosmological views. :)
    nope. The best, in that it had a set of policies that made the forum conducive to Buddhist discussion for a vast number of people with different views.
  • 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 2010
    If it had been the 'best' then it wouldn't have been attacked would it?
    Anyway, as was so succinctly pointed out, the reasons for the demise of e-sangha are largely immaterial.
    Impermanence is the bottom line. It was, it now isn't.

    Finito, really.
    And frankly, attempts to recreate the same conditions here do not go down well.
    Either fit in with the policies of Admin and Mods here, or go away, lick your wounds, feel better and create something of your own.
    If that's what you want to do.
    Or stick around, but adapt.

    Choices choices, huh? ;)
  • edited March 2010
    federica wrote: »
    If it had been the 'best' then it wouldn't have been attacked would it?
    Anyway, as was so succinctly pointed out, the reasons for the demise of e-sangha are largely immaterial.
    Impermanence is the bottom line. It was, it now isn't.

    Finito, really.
    And frankly, attempts to recreate the same conditions here do not go down well.
    Either fit in with the policies of Admin and Mods here, or go away, lick your wounds, feel better and create something of your own.
    If that's what you want to do.
    Or stick around, but adapt.

    Choices choices, huh? ;)
    No wounds to lick.
    Any and all forums, like individuals and other communities have their shortcomings.
  • edited March 2010
    federica wrote: »
    If it had been the 'best' then it wouldn't have been attacked would it?
    Isn't it often the best things that get attacked?

    The idea of suing an online Buddhist community is very strange. The plaintiff himself admits that "litigation between Buddhists is always, always a tragedy"--and yet he's filing a lawsuit against a fellow Buddhist.

    Therefore, if one were to use his own words, one might say this man is deliberating choosing to create a tragedy.

    For a Zen priest to do such a thing, he must feel very strongly about it indeed; but it all seems a bit strange.
  • skydancerskydancer Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Deliberately causing a schism in the sangha is a serious act with negative consequences. I'm sorry to hear of the demise of e-sangha. Let's take care that something like that never happens here.
  • 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 2010
    zendo wrote: »
    Isn't it often the best things that get attacked?
    No. I don't think so.
    The idea of suing an online Buddhist community is very strange. The plaintiff himself admits that "litigation between Buddhists is always, always a tragedy"--and yet he's filing a lawsuit against a fellow Buddhist.

    Therefore, if one were to use his own words, one might say this man is deliberating choosing to create a tragedy.

    For a Zen priest to do such a thing, he must feel very strongly about it indeed; but it all seems a bit strange.
    I agree. but these are problems of his own making, He's going to have to deal with it.
  • 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 2010
    sky dancer wrote: »
    Deliberately causing a schism in the sangha is a serious act with negative consequences. I'm sorry to hear of the demise of e-sangha. Let's take care that something like that never happens here.

    E-sangha wasn't a proper sangha.

    First of all there were too many traditions to effectively call it a proper sangha. It was more a communal gathering of different traditions, some of which were permitted more voice than others.
    Secondly, there was so much ego-feeding going on, it deteriorated into a forum where temperaments overtook teachings.

    The bottom line is that it got too big for its own boots, overloaded and collapsed. It was just an internet forum.

    It came to an end.
    Fine.
    As I said, it's impermanent, and as such, needs to be let go of.
  • 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 2010
    No wounds to lick.
    Any and all forums, like individuals and other communities have their shortcomings.
    True, never said they didn't. But it still leaves the individual with their own choice of liking it, lumping it or leaving it. ;)
  • MountainsMountains Veteran
    edited March 2010
    federica wrote: »
    Or stick around, but adapt.

    Choices choices, huh? ;)

    As my 9th grade biology teacher wisely pointed out many years ago: when changes happen, you have but three choices - migrate, adapt, or die. That's been pretty much my life's mantra ever since :)

    Mtns
  • 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 2010
    Basically same-old, same-old, yes.

    But as a Moderator, I hesitate advising people that one of their choices is 'to die'. Bit extreme. I'd only use it as an absolutely last resort.
    :lol:
  • edited March 2010
    federica wrote: »
    No. I don't think so.
    Really? It seems to me the best people and things have often been the ones getting attacked by the ignorant thoughout history. Socrates, Jesus, Abelard, Galileo, Ghandi, King, etc. etc.

    By saying "If it had been the best, it wouldn't have been attacked," you seem to be linking the attack to the quality of the site, which is an interesting interpretation.

    Isn't it possible, though, that a "great" site could fall victim to a cyberattack just as easily as a lousy one could? I'm not sure I see the relation between how good a site is, and whether it can be attacked.

    Maybe I misunderstood your comment, though--that's always a possibility!

    It's interesting to examine some of the arguments we put forward on this site. Often, our thinking is biased (the human condition), but we're not aware of the bias, because we simply haven't noticed that side of ourselves yet. It's a "blind spot". I fall into this error all the time.
  • skydancerskydancer Veteran
    edited March 2010
    federica wrote: »
    E-sangha wasn't a proper sangha.

    First of all there were too many traditions to effectively call it a proper sangha. It was more a communal gathering of different traditions, some of which were permitted more voice than others.
    Secondly, there was so much ego-feeding going on, it deteriorated into a forum where temperaments overtook teachings.

    The bottom line is that it got too big for its own boots, overloaded and collapsed. It was just an internet forum.

    It came to an end.
    Fine.
    As I said, it's impermanent, and as such, needs to be let go of.
    If you have a gathering of practitioners you have sangha. If you put a bunch of gold nuggets into a bag and walk with them they will rub against each other and make noise. You also have a gathering of egos in a sangha. The point is to realize that.
  • 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 2010
    The point is, I don't care.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Someone who didnt like their policies, which were all correct and admirable by the way, sent them a virus.
    Unless the site was stupendously badly managed, this explanation for the end of the site doesn't hold water. You restore from backups, figure out how the attack worked, and patch the vulnerability. It needn't kill a site permanently, unless the owner simply decides it's all too much trouble.
  • GlowGlow Veteran
    edited March 2010
    I never actually got to register an account on that forum. (My I.P. address was apparently banned and I never got any response from the admin there as to how to work around this.) But, from what I remember seeing, it was quite immense and had many interesting topics and sub-forums with considerable traffic. Personally, I don't really understand the actions on either front that precipitated in the forum's demise. Suing a privately owned internet forum as zendo said, is rather strange. As is attacking the site. I am equally perplexed at the way the administration felt compelled to handle opposing viewpoints.

    IME, forums like NewBuddhist with a relatively laissez faire approach to moderation tend to outlast the more restrictive forums. I think, with a moderate amount of traffic, issues of doctrinal disagreement tend to work themselves out and visitors appreciate the freedom to make their own decisions about what they agree with.
  • edited March 2010
    One minute you would be communicating with a particular member as an equal, everything completely fine, the next thing you know they're a mod, and oh wow they would change, really change. (Almost 'invasion of the bodysnatchers' strange, in some cases.)

    The way some of the mods behaved, it was the equivalent of a complete stranger walking up to your group in the middle of conversation and putting their hand over your mouth. Just think of how absolutely rude that would be if that happened.

    They weren't all like that and there was definitely a lot of lenience and high quality posting there, and in light of the egregious (had to fit that word in sometime) abuse of power there, it still worked. When it didn't a lot of people must have been really disappointed. Never mind.
  • bushinokibushinoki Veteran
    edited March 2010
    I do have to agree that it is wrong to sue a buddhist org for defamation when you claim to be buddhist clergy. this whole thing doesn't bug me though. It was a web forum. I never got particularly fond of any of the posters. Now, if New Buddhist went down, I would cry.
  • edited May 2010
    I had enjoyed a (brief) membership at e-sangha a few months before it closed down. It was probably the largest Buddhism forum up to date and because of its sheer size it was a valuable resource for many. However, it was also the most overmoderated forum I have ever come across in my 15 years of Internet experience. There was considerable arbitrariness and censorship from moderators who believed their mission was defending the pure teaching, or whatever they took for it. After I had received a few deletions and red-ink reminders myself, I considered it wiser to retire from e-sangha.

    It appears that other people had made similar experiences with e-sangha, as I have heard it being referred to as "e-stasi", "big brother sangha" and other similarly charming titles. Well, this is one thing that can happen if a forum gets too big and if policies don't get managed well. I have recently seen the same development in another Buddhist forum that has apparently seen significant influx of former e-sangha members. Presumably also a policy and management problem. Just as in the real world, history often repeats itself in cyberspace.

    Cheers, Thomas
  • edited May 2010
    I left E-sangha about three years ago because of the toxic atmosphere of the forum. Yes there was lots of good info and great people there but it was over moderated and some of the mods themselves were downright intimidating.
  • edited May 2010
    I never had a problem with it. I found the forum to be first class where I received a lot of valuable information.

    Maybe they just got tired. It takes a lot or work to run a website every day, especially one of that magnitude. Sometimes you just get sick of doing it every day. Maybe the loss of data (this is what I heard happened) was the final straw.
  • edited October 2010
    nope. The best, in that it had a set of policies that made the forum conducive to Buddhist discussion for a vast number of people with different views.
    This.
  • edited October 2010
    i thought to myself "if newbuddhist went down i would be pissed" than i remembered impermanence lol
  • edited October 2010
    What I miss are the forums that e-Sangha had, they were really nice :D Theravada forum, Tibetan buddhism, etc.
    The forum even had a system to be sure if the people who were posting where monks, lamas, or not; I think it was by far the best buddhist forum to the date..
  • MountainsMountains Veteran
    edited October 2010
    federica wrote: »
    Either fit in with the policies of Admin and Mods here, or go away, lick your wounds, feel better and create something of your own.
    If that's what you want to do.
    Or stick around, but adapt

    As my 10th grade biology teacher put it SO well...

    When your environment changes, you have only three choices:

    1. Migrate

    2. Adapt

    3. Die
  • NirvanaNirvana aka BUBBA   `     `   South Carolina, USA Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Why repeat your Post from months ago (#17 above)?

    "Migrate, adapt, or die" seems so animalistic. Perhaps apt for wildlife, but certainly not for people. Our human response —adaptation— comprises a very wide field indeed.

    One adaptive measure for people of good will is to accept their situation with a kind of humility and good humour that realizes that it is in giving up the need to control every facet of our lives that some real joys are thereby allowed in.

    We human beings have manifold choices. Animals have neither reason nor laws to protect or guide them.

    I find this triad of choices quite dismally incorrect, although I fear I don't see any connection with the topic of this thread in it.
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Maybe e-sangha has been reborn as another website due to it's kamma?? I use ot be on it from the very start of my buddhist awareness, it helped a lot in fact.
  • edited October 2010
    I really hope someone archive the whole site / keep a copy of it.
    Does Google cache help?
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    edited October 2010
    I left E-sangha about three years ago because of the toxic atmosphere of the forum. Yes there was lots of good info and great people there but it was over moderated and some of the mods themselves were downright intimidating.

    I never really found it to be overly moderated or intimidating, but I joined it maybe 2 years ago, a year after you left. The only one negative thing I remember was a thread about a group or sector of buddhism that was cult like and should not be mentioned. It was like something from Harry Potter lol, I was not allowed to ask or speak of this movement and case closed right there.
    I in fact find some people to be greatly condescending on this site sometimes and ultimately intimidating. Other times I feel the scope for discussion is cut short as there is too much emphasis on not being able to say certain things. After all, it is a discussion site...
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    edited October 2010
    I suggest you say it anyway, well type it out and have a think about it before you post ... sometimes I find typing it clarifies if I need to post it and then if I don't I am not left with thoughts or feelings of not being able to discuss certain things - if that makes sense -lol.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited October 2010
    I was never really on e-Sangha, but a lot of people on Buddha Chat and the Buddhists livejournal group complained that expression of heterodox views was censored and fiercely discouraged. That certainly seemed to be the basis of the eventual lawsuit against the site. (Which I didn't agree with.)
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    edited October 2010
    fivebells wrote: »
    I was never really on e-Sangha, but a lot of people on Buddha Chat and the Buddhists livejournal group complained that expression of heterodox views was censored and fiercely discouraged. That certainly seemed to be the basis of the eventual lawsuit against the site. (Which I didn't agree with.)


    That was what I was told about about E-Sangha too- I never visited there either and heard about it at Buddha Chat. The demise of BC was a loss for me, litigation was a factor that was raised in the mix that I heard about there too in the end :(
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Yeah, but that threat was much less serious.
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Pleased to hear it did not proceed to more for the administrator/s of the BC site
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Oh, it was a central factor in the site shutting down, so it did have an impact. But there was never a serious possibility of litigation.
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Can understand that a threat of litigation, that a threat of litigation against administrators of a site, would have an impact and pleased to hear for all involved it went no further.
  • edited October 2010
    I never really found it to be overly moderated or intimidating, but I joined it maybe 2 years ago, a year after you left. The only one negative thing I remember was a thread about a group or sector of buddhism that was cult like and should not be mentioned. It was like something from Harry Potter lol, I was not allowed to ask or speak of this movement and case closed right there.
    I in fact find some people to be greatly condescending on this site sometimes and ultimately intimidating. Other times I feel the scope for discussion is cut short as there is too much emphasis on not being able to say certain things. After all, it is a discussion site...

    Out of curiousity which group of Buddhism was this? I've seen a few movements called "cult like".
  • edited October 2010
    Rob3rt wrote: »
    Out of curiousity which group of Buddhism was this? I've seen a few movements called "cult like".

    Probably he is referring to the NKT tradition (although there where other so called "traditions" that were banned, for example, fire sangha, dark zen, etc.). That's because in e-sangha the administrators and the mods considered themselves (as I do) proper students of the Dalai Lama, etc. And there is a long story about this so called "new kadampa tradition" (strictly in an historical sense, Gelukpa are the New Kadampa .P) about Dolgyal: http://www.dalailama.com/messages/dolgyal-shugden
    http://www.dalailama.com/messages/dolgyal-shugden/his-holiness-advice

    It is a heavy polemic that has its roots not only in tantric practice, but also in politics.

    Now, I don't want to resurrect this polemic, nor to start a discussion in this thread about this. It is only for information to this person.
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Too much negative karma...Nothing last for ever :)
  • edited October 2010
    caz namyaw wrote: »
    Too much negative karma...Nothing last for ever :)

    i-see-what-you-did-there.jpg
  • ThailandTomThailandTom Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Out of curiousity which group of Buddhism was this? I've seen a few movements called "cult like".

    I forgot until Alfonso suggested his opinion, there was an 'N' in the abbreviation for sure. I tried to ask about who they were etc but nobody would tell me. he thread was dedicated to a person who had a friend who had joined this movement and she was trying to steer her away, to no avail
  • edited October 2010
    Ah, yup, I've heard of them, they have a centre/group in my city I think. Thanks for the info.
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited October 2010
    Well, it seems there's many different views, but I can just say E-Sangha = bad
  • TreeLuvr87TreeLuvr87 Veteran
    edited October 2010
    fivebells wrote: »
    I was never really on e-Sangha, but a lot of people on Buddha Chat and the Buddhists livejournal group complained that expression of heterodox views was censored and fiercely discouraged. That certainly seemed to be the basis of the eventual lawsuit against the site. (Which I didn't agree with.)

    Buddhist LJ group whaaaaaaat?!?! Bout to go find it.
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