I’ve seen several posts saying how this forum can be slow or not the best way to connect. I thought having a discord would be helpful. Even though a lot of people seem to lean towards the idea of living off-grid or free from social medias here, it is difficult to create a community when society so easily atomized everyone, making it difficult. So why not use the tools of modern society against itself? I’d like the server to talk about anything, welcome different perspectives, and find the right people. It is still a work in progress server and ideally will evolve over time if it gets bigger and such. I’ve joined a facebook group, but I feel like giving running a discord server a shot. If one already exists, I’d gladly join as well.
Perhaps taking the time and having a discussion to figure out why this forum is “not the best way to connect” would be appropriate. Starting another group may not solve anything. What if the same things happen to the new group, that have happened here. You’ve accomplished nothing but migrating the problem.
I’ll try to give one example. It’s something I’ve wondered about for some time now. --What do you do when people join your community (or maybe this group?) who are toxic? You invited them to come, but then they disrupt things one way and another. Work habits, language use, personality quirks, cultural differences, whatever. They just don’t fit. ~~But you invited them. So how do you get them to move on?
In this forum, there are several posters who seem to be conversation killers. There’s one poster in particular who has ended conversations 30+ times since January. I can only write from my point of view, but it seems to me that maybe what is happening is that what they post is so confusing, so hard to read and understand, that nobody seems to be able (or willing?) to reply to it. So the conversation dies.
I’m sure there are folks who will say that everyone should have a voice. Everybody has a right to write as they wish. Everyone can join in. Afterall, we’re pioneering a better way. But the problem is, we have to get along. Standing in line at the gas station, living in community, talking about the issues of the day, whatever. We have to get along. —And if someone is too much of a disrupter, there’s a point where it just gets to be too much. And groups, communities, discussions, forums, fall apart.
~So, for me, the question is not “can we build a better group” somewhere else. It’s more of how do we make this community actually function in a way that is viable and pleasing to its (potential) users? How do we remove the blockages to conversation, so more folks want to join in? Maybe, sometimes, when you are living in community there are folks who just have to be moved on, so the group can get back to a more balanced living.
Because not every community fits every life choice. No matter how much you wish it weren’t true, not every group can fit every need. Sometimes there needs to be a winnowing of the chaff. Sometimes people who are too far outside the bounds need to be asked to leave. It’s just a hard lesson I’ve learned during 60 years of active community.
I agree. It’s tough enough trying to build a community of compatible people without having to waste time and energy on people who are never going to fit in or feel they must disagree with every idea or suggestion that is not their own. Let them go find a forum or community more suitable to their personalities. Forum moderators should have the ability to delete inappropriate posts and unsubscribe disruptors.
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Ah, I feel I know they types you’re talking about. Concerning removing blockages, I think a potential blockage is the type of forum posting. I used to be on this website called gaiaonline where the posts were long and you could take your time, which I actually think is much healthier way to converse with others. However, I found that other methods of communication like discord lets one “take another shot” at sparking conversation faster after the convo gets killed or deflated.
Everyone can have very different ideals of what kind of community they’d like to be in. So, I have to agree that winnowing of the chaff is important. Not just for people too far outside the bounds, but also within individual groups who want to form a community, just having a completely different vision from you.
My intention isn’t to “build a better group”. I’d like to find or form one which everyone shares the similar vision, so that starts off with finding more people who share a similar vision. Even if it is just one other person to brainstorm, think, and be ready if the iron is hot.
It’s more of how do we make this community actually function in a way that is viable and pleasing to its (potential) users? How do we remove the blockages to conversation, so more folks want to join in?
If ic forums had a real time mobile chat forum, Id like that. Discord is super convenient and less friction since it is also a mobile app. Lots of the more traditional long form forum platforms are becoming less popular it feels like(popular doesn’t mean better). Also, I didn’t see an intentional communities server on discord yet, so I figured why not? A lot of people I’ve chatted to do see the appeal in starting a community. However, I think that they are a lot like me in that they are so atomized from modernity & that seems like a pipedream.
Also, ic.org feels like a hub to me. This might be the first place someone stumbles on if they dream of or are curious of intentional communities.
I would like to address my thoughts to Lychee as well as StoneGardenFarm. And I admit to being a fairly long-term member/lurker (mainly the latter) here on IC.org, since the late 90s, and having watched changes occur here.
So to Lychee, I saw a similar Discord posting on Reddit’s IC group, which may have been you. I tried following the invitation to Discord, but apparently my email was previously registered there, and I’ve lost the password. So I’m waiting on Discord for a new password link, i.e. the glitches are everywhere.
To SGF (I hope the acronym is ok with you), IC’s audience is transitory. They show up for a class on CoHousing, for example, not part of general discussions. The lucky ones connect and go off to live happily ever after, never having posted here. That’s the simplified version, anyway. And IC’s audience is REALLY diverse. So much so, that it’s difficult to post, maybe at all, for fear of offending someone. I mean between, age, race, gender, religious beliefs, diet, orientation, income distribution, the list is long. For example, back in the 90’s, I remember a significant subgroup calling itself “queer in community”. So MAYBE, isolating some of these issues into their own subforums with appropriate constraints on expression (if not membership), MIGHT make it easier for them to be discussed? In fact, that may be happening already with no notice on this general forum?
MONEY seems to be a constant complaint, as low as the amounts here are, as well as ample proration based on ability to pay. And we all know nobody here has deep pockets. At least I’ve never seen signs that the Billionaire Class is lurking in the background? Elon, are you here? And instructors, presenters, tech support staff deserve compensation. For one, I’m really glad those folks are here.
I’ve seen complaints of the “professionalization” or “corporatization” of IC.org. That this is a venue for lawyers and architects to offer services. As the housing crisis progresses, I think we want/need MORE of this. I’m impressed with other professions, for example, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which has developed a world wide network of Physicians and other medical professionals with the same message. In other words, the problem is that there’s too few lawyers and designers not too many. Speaking only of America, when you consider that there are really very few states, counties, areas where you can build anything without a Building Permit or without following Universal Building Code, it becomes very apparent really fast that you need professional guidance. And, no, a UBC is NOT the problem.
Nope, the discord I made is new and wasn’t posted to reddit. & bugs are always everywhere. I lost my google password a while back and haven’t gained access back into it and just made a new one. (I lose and forget thinks frequently; i have audhd. So far since my phone is essentially glued to me, I haven’t forgotten my current yet lol)
Part of the dysfunction of this forum is in my opinion due to a complete rejection of its original Ui/Ux design language.
What people see and experience here is not representative of the Discourse forum open source software community’s intention, and retreating to a corporate platform that profits from harvesting out data is not what I consider an ethical solution.
To be clear, a great deal of research and testing was, and continues to be invested, in how information is presented as well as the structure of social interaction encouraged through the design language of Discourse.
Why that was abandoned here from the start is not explained, and despite how disorganized and ineffective the current layout demonstrably is, there’s little evidence of its being actively curated by administrative staff to improve user experience.
I advocate for the forum being updated to current standards, if for no other reason concerns about data security.
In addition, the forum should restored to its intended functionality which includes a more secure registration, authentication, and login while offering now standard features like short-form chat.
Discourse can be configured for end to end encryption and feature rich integration with Matrix, ActivityPub and other Federated collaboration tools would support the organizing and founding intentional communities while vastly improving the safety, utility, and experience with no additional administrative overhead.
I was born in the first half of the 1900’s. I’ve read your post several times now, then re-read. And can’t make hide nor hair of any of it. ~~But then, computers didn’t exist (except for an extremely few “nerdly guys” when I was in college. Just punch cards and such). Would it be possible to write what you have in more farmer speak? I’d like to understand some ways more modern but just don’t understand the language.
The open-source Discourse Ғorum platform has an IOS and Android app, and my objection to Discord is that it’s a massive corporate platform where the best features are paywalled, and it also profits from harvesting user metrics - none of which really fit the broadly accepted ethics of the intentional community movement.
As mentioned before, many of Discord, Rocket Chat, Matrix, Mastodon, and similar platforms can be integrated into Discourse with very little effort. Even without addition plugins or updating, this current FIC forum would be a much improved user experience by just having more actively engaged Admins and Mods.