White Dragon Magazine

Once upon a time, I used to read a magazine called White Dragon.  In fact, I was a subscriber, so I always received the magazine through the post at least one or two days days before it would arrive in the local shop.  Since Samhain 2009, however, I have not received the magazine and my emails have not been responded to.  I see that the forum is down, not that they were ever that active but, even so, it's another sign that the magazine is no more.

I have searched on the internet, in vain, trying to ascertain what happened, but, alas, all is silent.  If anyone does have any news about White Dragon, please let me know.  I especially want to here that it is to return.  I certainly hope that the website is not lost, as there are some interesting articles and reviews to be found there which indicate the kind of quality that will be lost if the magazine has indeed folded.

Moderating Fora

Further to my post of 14 October 2008, "Moderating Message Boards", once again I have been asked to join a moderating team. Its nice to know that people have such respect for me, and my contributions, to consider me for such a position.

Unfortunately, this time, I believe I am going to have to decline the position. As much as I would like to give something back to this particular forum, I won't have the time this year. I want to concentrate on my Gaelic in my spare time, and, to be honest, I have a feeling we will be very busy at work this year, leaving very little time on the internet to write my online journals, and participate in the various forums where I am a member, let alone undertake any kind of administrative duties for message boards.

Although I've not made any resolutions for this year, I have set myself some goals; one of which is to make headway in my "to be read" list of books, and in order to achieve that goal, I have set another whereby I will reduce the amount of time I spend surfing the internet. I haven't made a start yet, because I now need reading glasses and I am awaiting my prescription but, once I have my glasses, I will work out a timetable to ensure I meet my target of 20 books by December, which I feel is achievable.

So, if it appears I am not writing as much as before, its because I am studying (and practising) more. Either that, or work has indeed become manic.

Moderating Message Boards

Further to my post "Moderating Fora" of 27th May, 2008, I find myself being asked to moderate another pagan message board. Having just asked to "step down" from moderating the forums of a pagan magazine, I'm not sure I am up to the responsibility.

Although I have regular internet access, its on my work computer and my time on the web is limited to "free time" during my shifts at work. Its not the most suitable situation if you are a moderator and have to take action against trolls, mediate in delicate situations or just keep an eye on the messages in general. I'm just not always available and my situation is unlikely to change until the New Year, when I hope to get home internet access.

I felt honoured to be considered for this position, as the fora in question, and many of its members have been good to me. Its undergone several changes, owing to rifts, and its a kind of Marmite to pagans (they either love it or hate it), but those that I respect have remained true to its ethos and so have I. I haven't been privy to most of the rifts, as these seemed to have occurred behind the scenes and, as such, I have been sheltered from a lot of the personality problems of the site. This would all change were I to accept the position as moderator and its something I have to consider carefully, as I dislike personality wars, preferring to stay with those boards that relish good, robust debate based on facts or experience leaving all personal agendas aside.

I have gained so much from participating in said fora, and I feel a debt is owed. In repaying such debt, I want to give 100 per cent. and I am not sure I can commit to that, at this time. I've asked for some time to consider the idea, and its been granted, but, out of respect for administrators, I don't want to leave them hanging without any additional support. I just wish there was a way to cruise the position until 2009, but I don't think that would be fair.

Decisions, decisions ...

Another Message Board Bites the Dust

A few months back I joined a pagan message board specifically for pagans in my locale. I did so in order to keep up with any worthwhile/events groups that might appear on the horizon. Today, I asked them to delete all my posts and my membership.

Why?

Although the option is there for all members, they don't want the members to hide their online status. I always hide my online status as a barrier to internet stalkers. I have been the victim of internet stalking, which spilled over into real life and its surprising the tactics some of them use to get at you. Monitoring your internet usage - when and where - is one way they gain information, without hacking into a particular board.

Personally, I have never understood why all members of a particular message board need to know who else is online at any given time. So long as administators and moderators have access to that information to curb trollish behaviour, its not unreasonable for members to maintain privacy. Certainly, if all posts by members have their names attached, why do we need to know when they are online?

Well, nowhere on this particular pagan site was there a rule about online status until last week. The administrators said they would not tolerate anonymous log-ins:

There has been a spate of people logging in to this site so that other people can't see that they are there. All members doing this will be warned and have their accounts suspended and possibly deleted.

When I queried this, it was confirmed they were referring to the fact that although the status line showed a member logged-in, it didn't tell which member. I objected on the grounds of the possibilty of stalkers and was told to "... respect the wishes of the site owners ".

So, as a result, tonight I have sent a message asking for all my posts to be deleted (after all, I hold copyright on my own thoughts) and my membership cancelled. I know another member on the site and, once my membership is deleted, I shall ask her to log in and check my posts have been deleted. If not, I will have no hesitation in naming the site as "stalker friendly".

A New Class of Pagan Troll

At one of the message boards where I post, we have invented a few terms for various sorts of pagans. One that has been in regular use is IRAB an acronym for "I read a book ...", i.e. those who constantly spout they read this book and it told them all they needed to know about their particular pagan path. Usually, its only the one book or author, but you do get some who read two or three books, but they are always of the awful kind, i.e. bad history, mistaken facts, misguided exercises, etc. This particular message board frowned on these types and made light work of dismissing them from the forum altogether.

This week, one of our regular posters, Nelli, realised that there was a new sort of IRAB, only they used the internet. Nelli coined the term "Google Botherer" with the accompanying acronym "GB". These are those pagans who are full of their own self-importance and post whole swathes of information on message boards. However, the canny pagan poster can soon detect that this is not the usual writing style of the GB and goes in search of the text on the internet, only to find the GB has googled one or two salient words and then "cut and paste" the information from another website.

Rather than referencing the site to prove a particular point, the GB seek to affirm their position as the great know-it-all by blatantly posting information as though it were their own. The GB is often ignorant of the fact that most people know how to use Google and have encountered Wikipedia several times before. When someone else on the message board points out the copyright breach (and the possible legal ramifications for the owner of said board), the GB will claim ignorance; even when referred to the copyright notice on the website from which they pilfered the information in the first instance.

I've encountered these types before, mostly at the Pentacle message boards, where such behaviour is swiftly intercepted and the offending GB is told to desist posting without the appropriate links and/or acknowledgements to the original website/author. And, yes, they often claim ingorance, but they are soon reminded that "ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law".

What I find sad about GBs is that by cutting and pasting whole swathes of text belonging to others, it almost appears as though they have no opinions or thoughts of their own. The number of times I've questioned people on posts, only to find that they "read it in a book" (though I later find they cut and paste from a website) and its not really their own opinion. Then, why do GBs or IRABs bother posting? Its smacks of trollish behaviour to me and I find it offensive in some instances. Its as though the other posters are just there to be played with - the GB dangling tid-bits of information (from other sites) in front of them in order to keep them happy.

To paraphrase that old maxim: "If you've got nothing to say then keep your mouth shut (or refrain from posting) and be thought a fool, rather than post words that are obviously not your own and be known as an idiot."

I wonder how prolific this behaviour has become if others have noticed it?

Intolerance

I have to face up to it: I am intolerant. Having read Bo's thread, "The Enregies of Jupiter", gone to the BBC Pagan Boards and had a look at the various postings of the members, I have to admit I'm intolerant of fools.

I have to admit here that I did once upon a time frequent lots of pagan-lite boards in the past. Time being scarce, I have recently reduced my surfing to those boards where I am challenged and, as a consequence, expand my knowledge, deepen my practice and grow as a pagan. So, it has been a while since I've seen the bicce & bitchcraft that is out there in the ether. Thus it was, with great dismay, that I saw the offerings of the various posters (apart from one or two brave souls) and felt so angry I was ill. I was desperate to have a crack at the sheer idiocy of some of the posts, but, alas, it was not to be. The BBC boards have me on moderation (does my reputation proceed me?) and it was too much to tolerate to write all those posts and not have them seen because of some mod's overzealousness.

I had thought that with the growth of more serious discussion boards and fora in the pagan community that the general state of knowledge in the pagan community might have improved. People would see the wikkan misinformation, relabelled and recycled continously in a never ending loop, for what it is: new age, hippy trippy tripe. From what I can see at the BBC, a board open and readable by the general public (not just pagans), this is not the case and people appear to be getting a rather pitiful view of pagans. If you're reading the BBC Pagan Boards, you might end up believing pagans are freaks, uneducated, dyslexic, overweight, covered in tattoos, judgemental, intolerant, delusional (i.e. prone to "seeing things"), argumentative, ill-informed, vicious, vegetarian, vegan and carnivorous - all at the same time and, frankly, a very mixed bag of angry fruitcakes.

The recent troll incursion at the fora where I moderate, some posts from pagan friends of mine, at a different forum, on the subject of fundies of the "bessed be" bunny kind and the trouble they cause, has come to remind me why I don't: (a) go to moots; (b) attend a lot of pagan events (and why I get so sick after a few hours at pagan events and have to go home and rest for about a day to recover); (c) why I don't (pay to) join any pagan organisations; and (d) why I generally don't mix with many other pagans, choosing instead to keep contact with a very select few.

I just don't have the tolerance levels for it any more. It has come to a point where I feel I don't want to even refer to myself as a pagan, for fear of being lumped in with the general mêlée. Perhaps I should just stick to calling myself a polytheist and leave it at that?

In the meantime, I have realised I am intolerant of those fluffy bunny (yes, I use that term), wikkan, fundie, IRAB (I read a book), "more pagan/witch than you" wannabes and, should they get in my way, I will have no hesitation in cutting them down to clear the path for those that seek spiritual/religious truths. That said, I will not go out of my way to meet them, ever again. I just don't need the aggro.

While I'm at it, I should also admit to being judgemental, prejudiced, unforgiving, grumpy and tired. Ah, I guess I am a pagan after all!

***********

[Note: My definition of a "fluffy bunny" is one who only reads one author, or books from one publishing house, or one internet site and sets it up as the one and only authority, refusing to be challenged on fact or experience, and informing all others they are wrong to call themselves pagan/witch/druid/heathen/whatever if they don't follow the guidelines as defined by them. These are the people who scream louder when challenged, drowning out any reasonable discussion with cries of "persecution".].

Trolls

If anyone out there who owns a forum wants a particularly pesky troll to play with, or if you just want the pleasure of killing one, I've just encountered one in my new role as a moderator that I will be happy to send your way.

I have to warn any trollhunters who may be interested that this one is underage (being 16) and so its awfully clumsy in its attempts to gain access to closed fora. It does leave a trail in other fora wherein it positively states its is underage and living at home. However, it claims that this is a typographical error when told its too young for most occult fora and that this is a legal matter in some countries.

It also moans a lot about how difficult it is to learn anything [about traditional witchcraft] from the internet. This one is particularly annoying in that it continously changes its IP address in order to avoid being banned. Unfortunately, it doesn't change its spelling errors, syntax or remove its profiles from other fora thereby making it easy to catch out. Oh, and its tries to be tricksy in that it says its leaving your forum, it will leave you alone and within 24 hours its trying to get back on.

So, any troll hunters willing to take this one on?

Exploring Mythologies

An on-line friend of mine informed me she was starting up a new forum and asked if I would like an invite. Well, I am a member of quite a few at the moment, but given the help this person had offered over the last few years, I was interested to see what it would be like, especially once a description was given of what was intended.

So, on Monday I received an invite to this brand new forum. I've only been there for 48 hours and already I have learned more than I have at other fora in the last six months! It seems these fora are going to be full of useful ideas and interesting articles and I can already forsee spending much time participating. I just count myself lucky I received an invitation.

I am already considering dropping some of the other fora of which I am a regular participant, because I can see my friend's work will be far more valuable to my own line of thinking. The only problem is that I have already weeded out several useless e-groups and fora in the last 18 months, so I am not sure how I am going to decide on what to drop.

I can see I am going to have to do quite a bit of work over the coming months, but I look forward to it.