Paradigm Rift

There seems to be a call to outline the rules or regulations behind EF. I’ve always been a bit vague about it, as generally I’m interested to see how things develop organically. So here it is, some detailed background.

Our little community is under attack; it always has been. Our perception of the level of the attack is normally proportionate to our proximity to it. As we get threatened, we feel it, even though it’s a daily reality.  To survive as a functional community we must determine our aggression level correctly. If we are too ‘kind’ the site will be abused; too ‘strict’ and we’re just another site. The level of ‘aggression’ must be consistent.

Englishforums - the Goal

·         Help people learn English.

·         Develop a comfortable, supportive community, without the typical arrogant & stuck up forum of ‘experts’

·         Put teachers in contact with willing students, and make sure help was archived for decades of future students!

·         Put students in contact with the language.

·         Connect teachers with each other.

·         Avoid chaos.

Society & Fear

Most people seem to be decent, but through fear are capable of ugly things.  We commonly feel this fear when we ‘feel’ threatened, rejected, ignored or misrepresented - some of us just feel it more than others.

We have 7-8 million visitors a year from every nation on earth; that’s a lot of egos, inquisitive minds, disturbed minds, love, hate, illness, creativity and a LOT of different beliefs and cultures. We aren’t going to find a hard and fast rule to establish in that kind of jurisdiction.

Nobody has managed to tie down a decent set of rules for one country, never mind one planet. But here are some simple things that might begin to help.

Also: A lot of what you like or dislike about yourself openly shows in your treatment of others!

PART I : DISSOLVE AGGRESSION!

1.       Most people won’t agree with you in one way or another - accept this.

2.       Don’t react if you’re feeling angry; wait, think and then reply.

3.       Treat others in the same way you expect to be treated.

4.       If things are getting ugly, be the first to drop your sword.

5.       If things are getting ugly, drop your sword, wait a day – try to communicate again; if not – walk away.

6.       If you think everybody is against you, see point 1 immediately.

7.       If you think you’re being censored, you might be – drop your sword and see point 5.

8.       If you think somebody else should be censored but nobody seems to agree, see points 1 and 2.

If all this fails, and you’re still fighting – there are probably better places for you to communicate – our little community probably won’t help you much, and you’ll end up getting frustrated!