IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: The forum is moving

[Bernardo]

Dear all,

After over a decade, I made the difficult choice to end my formal association with the forum, for very pragmatic reasons: it has become impossible for me to keep up.

The forum will continue though, in a different and more advanced incarnation. The latest changes to Google Groups render it an inappropriate and cumbersome platform for the kind of discussions we have here, so changes were required anyway.

Simon will be the new owner of the forum, whose address is: https://metakastrup.org. Dana is taking over from Bob (RHC) and me as moderator.

I will continue to informally sponsor the forum and forward traffic to it, so to ensure we continue to have a community of like-minded individuals. I will also continue to participate in the discussions insofar as I am able to.

I will no longer be accepting essay submissions, as a similar task at Essentia Foundation is proving more difficult than anticipated. But I will still consider essays already submitted. I hope to return to them after the formal public launch of Essentia Foundation on January 24.

Bob (RHB) will post on this soon and take care of the more technical steps to turn the present forum into a repository, for legacy reasons. Shortly thereafter, we should all move to the new forum, as posting here will no longer be possible.

I am incredibly grateful to Bob for the work he has done here over the past many years. Quite literally, the forum wouldn't have been possible without him.

I am also grateful to Simon and Dana for their willingness to take the baton and ensure the continuation of our community, in a more comfortable and technically advanced manner.

It goes without saying, this is no end, but precisely a new, fresh beginning. 

I'll see you all over at https://metakastrup.org!

Cheers, Bernardo.

[RHC]

I’m sure all of you will join me in thanking Bernardo for creating and staying involved with the MS forum for as long as he has.  Its existence, his work and involvement, and the many wonderful, super smart people I have met here have had a huge impact on the story of the world I live from within, if not my way being in it, period.  I have no doubt many of you share similar feelings.

To say it’s been a privilege to be among you all and help organize the forum is truly an understatement.  And I can’t thank Bernardo enough for the moment he lost his mind and gave me the opportunity, and the total support he has shown me these past 5 (?) years.

When I decided it was time for me to move on, there was no question in mind that Dana was the perfect person to guide the forum forward, and boy are we lucky that he has agreed to take on the job.  I have no doubt all of you will agree with me on this.

Last but far from least we finally, Thank God, have a new forum platform completely thanks to Simon Adams.   Thank you so much Simon.

That’s all I have to say.  Let’s hope 2021 ends up being a Light increasing year for all of us.

Thank you all again.

In Community

Bob

[Dana Lomas]

To all members old and new, as mentioned the ability to comment here will eventually be phased out. However, it will be possible to comment here for a while yet, so if you're having difficulty registering for an account at metakastrup.org , or have any questions regarding the transition process, please contact me here for assistance and info. When this forum goes into read-only mode, an announcement will be made at that time. Meanwhile RHC will be redirecting any new MS applicants to the new forum. 

Thanks to all for your cooperation in making the transition, in which we hope most, if not all, current members will participate enthusiastically. I trust that you'll find the new forum and more user-friendly format worth the trouble. Hope to welcome everyone so inclined to join us there soon.

Kind regards 

Soul_of_Shu  :)

[Lou Gold]

Parabéns (for the good), deep gratitude and strong positive vibrations to all.

[Dana Lomas]

I see there are now at least 10 registered users at the new forum, so I presume that process is going smoothly?  Just a note about uploading avatars, which can be done by clicking the account icon in the upper right hand corner of the home page, and selecting 'user control panel'. As of now they are restricted in size to 300x300 pixels, and 60KB in size, and can only be uploaded from your device.

[martin...@gmail.com]

Good luck Dana!

[martin...@gmail.com]

have u guys considered temp-banning as a possible moderation strategy for the new forum? they are a strong signal; allows ppl to cool off; and gives them a 2nd chance...

[michaeld...@gmail.com]

Hi Dana

Is there an option on the new forum for a digest as there is here?

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 10:12:55 AM UTC-5 Dana Lomas wrote:

[Dana Lomas]

Martin ... Aside from obvious zero-tolerance violations, e.g. posting porn, promoting illegal activity, etc, the policy will be as follows: first infraction warrants a written warning via email; 2nd infraction will be another warning and/or temporary ban (decided in consultation with other yet to be determined adjudicators); 3rd infraction will be full ban. However, appeals may be considered at a moderator's discretion.

[Dana Lomas]

Michael, not sure what is meant by a digest, but if any help here's a link phpBBB forums entry regarding digests ... https://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/extension/digests_extension/

[michaeld...@gmail.com]

Yes, that's the feature, but the link looks like it is for the administrator to setup.

I currently use the digest, and I get 25 messages at a time, sometimes less (I suppose there's a cutoff time each day).

If it doesn't get added, it doesn't. Maybe there are others who use this feature? or Maybe not.

Mike

[michaeld...@gmail.com]

[simongr...@gmail.com]

I'm happy to add that extension if it would be useful to people....

[michaeld...@gmail.com]

Hi Simon

Thanks! if it's only me, I can adjust. But if there's little work, I'd appreciate it.

Is there a way for an administrator on this forum to see how many users have the digest setting on?

Mike

[simongr...@gmail.com]

Bob or Dana would need to confirm that.

It seems the extension needs cron jobs setup and I'm not 100% sure I can do that with the hosting I use, but I'll investigate a bit later...

[Dana Lomas]

I don't have admin access here, so only Bob can look into that question regarding digest users. I don't personally use it.

[simongr...@gmail.com]

I think we have Digests available on the new forum now.  You should see a tab to set it up at the end in your profile...

[profoun...@gmail.com]

Oh no, I had an essay I was just getting ready to submit. Now I am kicking myself for not putting the finishing touches on and posting it last weekend! 

If I'm understanding correctly - it's not just on this forum but there will no longer be essay submissions in general now right (not on the new forum nor with Essentia)? 

[Dana Lomas]

There were already several essay submissions waiting for Bernardo to peruse, which he has been too busy to pursue, and which he hopes to catch up on after Essentia is up and running, as time allows. But as it stands, he has stated that for now he won't accept any new submissions, either here, or in the new forum. Once Essentia officially goes online, I suppose there may eventually be a way to submit stuff there for publication, although I expect the bar will be set very high to make the cut. Also, if Bernardo does decide he's once again interested in new submissions for his blog, an 'essay submission' section can be easily added to the new forum. So stay tuned.

[michaeld...@gmail.com]

Wow, that was quick, thanks!

Only issue is that the digest time to send changes every time I go onto the panel, no matter what I save the time as. It says it's based on my selected timezone, so it's not that, it's just random times.
Besides that, I'll have to wait and see how it works.

Thanks again Simon!

Mike

[simongr...@gmail.com]

Mmm ... I've also noticed some PHP warnings coming up, so I think I was a bit premature.  I'd better disable it and 
hopefully be able to iron out the issues in the near future...

[profoun...@gmail.com]

Dana, thanks for the clarification. Either way, I will be excited to see what is in store with Essentia , the new forum, and anything else.

[Dana Lomas]

Just bumping this announcement to the top of the page, as this forum may be going into read-only mode at any time now. Thanks again to all for making the transition as quickly and smoothly as possible, and starting some good conversations in the new forum, despite some learning curve and growing pain issues.