Be heard on the issues that matter most to you!
The short answer is "yes."
This is a community and as a community it needs to have some of what we sociologists call "norms" -- basic expectations about behavior that help the whole community run smoothly.
We won't tell you what you can and can't talk about. (As long as it's at least somehow, even marginally, connected to issues of sexuality. And really, what isn't?) If you have questions ask them. If you have ideas share them. Don't be shy.
We also won't tell you how you have to think. We encourage debate, disagreement, and dissent. We want a free exchange of ideas and we want that exchange of include lots of people. In order to make that possible, though, there are some basic rules of etiquette that we expect people to follow:
That's it, really. Just basic politeness. It's very important given how difficult these issues can be for people to talk about, and when the topics raised are often personal and emotional as well as political and cultural.
...because public space really matters!
Elizabeth
This began as a comment on a post in JanieBelle's blog. You can read the post and it's comments here. The comment below is reprinted here so that a discussion about things like the language used in tags can be continued.
~~~
Posted by Elizabeth on JanieBelle's blog on July 27, 2007:
A couple of quick but important thoughts on the conducting of discussion on Sex in the Public Square: First, I think that dismissive or insulting name calling has to be unacceptable all around, so I am going to change the tag "fundies" to "fundamentalists." I would do the same if someone used the tag "homos" instead of "homosexuals" or "gays" in a way that was clearly dismissive. My point here is not to water down the criticism but to keep the "official" language of the site accurately descriptive as possible, and to maintain an atmosphere that encourages debate and dissent.
Second, I know that all fictional characters have back stories, and yet since JanieBelle has asserted herself as "entirely fictional" it sits funny with me to read her assertions about a past and a history to challenge the experience claims of another person. I don't know how we should handle this, but JanieBelle, I wonder if it would be useful for readers to be reminded your fictional status when you refer to your past -- or at least to the past that extends backward to the time before your online story begins, especially when you are using that experience to challenge someone else's experience claims.
Since this site is most definitely in its development stage I welcome responses to thse "procedural" questions.
...because public space really matters!
Elizabeth
I sometimes forget that not everyone reads my blog regularly, and that not everyone is aware that most of my fictional past is stolen directly from my author's factual past (with permission, of course).
The teacher, situation, and incident in question is factual, only the names have been changed to confuse the innocent, and I'll be more careful to reference that in the future.
:)
(Edited for early morning pre-coffee sloppy grammar.)
Kisses,
JanieBelle
...I'd swear the two of you just conspired to force this issue to motivate me to get off my lazy butt and register here.
Of course, I'm never really sure that I'm aware of everything going on inside my own cranium.
JanieBelle, you're welcome to continue swiping my memories for UDoJ, but let's keep that to a minimun here, shall we?
Plus, I could get away with stuff in the 80's you'd be arrested for nowadays.
Apologies, Dr. Wood. She can be a little difficult to keep a handle on, as I'm sure you're quite well aware.
Ok, everybody good now?
I've been meaning to add my own thoughts on circumcision etc for a while now anyway, so it's probably a good thing this came up sooner rather than later.
Peace.
Feel free to read whatever's left of my own thoughts at Crowded Head, Cozy Bed
The Boy in JanieBelle's head
Glad to have you here, Lou. And gee, I wasn't aware of any conspiracy, but then I'm not in JanieBelle's head. Maybe you were conspiring against yourself?
But you know, while you're here, in addition to the circumcision stuff, maybe you'd also contribute your thoughts on parenting teenagers.... lots of need to talk about sex there!
And you know, it'd also be interesting to have a conversation about what it's like to have JanieBelle in your head... No pressure!
...because public space really matters!
Elizabeth
Glad to have you here, Lou. And gee, I wasn't aware of any conspiracy, but then I'm not in JanieBelle's head. Maybe you were conspiring against yourself?
Someday a psychiatrist is going to be very happily putting his grandchildren through grad school because of me/us.
But you know, while you're here, in addition to the circumcision stuff, maybe you'd also contribute your thoughts on parenting teenagers.... lots of need to talk about sex there!
No doubt. I'm working on that, and it was obliquely referred to in the "etc" part, I suppose. I had it in mind, anyway, it just didn't make it to the keyboard. :)
And you know, it'd also be interesting to have a conversation about what it's like to have JanieBelle in your head... No pressure!
I won't promise coherence on that, but it's somewhere between being stuck in a very vivid dream and an acid trip, whilst attempting to gain control of a team of runaway carriage horses.
Feel free to read whatever's left of my own thoughts at Crowded Head, Cozy Bed
The Boy in JanieBelle's head
Oh there's no need to be so melodramatic about it.
:)
Kisses,
JanieBelle
