Forum Guidelines
Welcome to the RENSEP web platform. The forums on this platform are available to you to connect with fellow members about any topic you choose around esoteric practices and relevant research. We offer these forums for free to all registered members of RENSEP, to create a community and a space where members can work together on initiatives as well as connect, help, support, and learn from each other.
User Expectations
Above all, RENSEP members are expected to be kind, helpful, and respectful. We want to create an online space in which each member can feel safe, respected, and validated. Given RENSEP’s global perspective, its web platform consists of members from a wide variety of national, cultural, and religious backgrounds and traditions. For this reason, we expect each member to treat other members with open-mindedness and respect.
All members are obligated to follow moderator instructions. The guidelines below are not exhaustive since that would be simply impossible. Moderators will consistently request users to change behaviour if their behaviour is borderline to violation, to prevent such violations and promote a healthy online environment.
All guideline violations will result in posting access restriction. This means that moderators may block the account of a member who is in violation of the guideline. This restriction is meant to be of a temporary nature and will be lifted when the moderators feel the situation has been resolved. If a member cannot follow the guidelines after this incident, their account may be blocked indefinitely.
Contacting the Moderators
In case a post needs moderator attention, please send an email to moderators@rensep.org to report it. It often helps if you add an explanation of the issue and what you need.
If the situation is not reflected in a specific post, users should also email moderators@rensep.org.
Guidelines
Warn About Adult Content
Posts/forums may contain content that is not suitable for a general audience or for viewing while at work. To avoid creating problems for all RENSEP members, please add NSFW (Not Safe For Work) to the topic title of the post/forum, as well as tag the post NSFW, as a warning if a post/forum falls into this category. Please err on the side of caution.
Do not spam
The forums are here for providing members with a venue to communicate with other members. Considering, please refrain from using signatures, new topics, or responses to existing topics as a venue to promote your own initiatives, products or services that are not related to the forum in question. Your RENSEP profile provides appropriate space to add a link to your own site if you so desire.
Do Not Talk About Politics
RENSEP is an apolitical association focussed on the advancement of scientific research on esoteric practises. Our main objective is to create a space of inclusivity, respect, and openness, and we expect our members to behave in a way that aids in maintaining this objective. The forums are to connect, build bridges between practitioners and academia, and to communicate about esoteric practices and the research surrounding it. The forums are not to be used as platforms to further and promote any political agendas.
Do Not Offer to Pay for Help
Any thread/post/forum/group that offers any service for money can be closed at any time. We are not against paid services, although these forums are not the right place for them.
Do Not Offer to Work For Hire
Do not offer to work for hire on the RENSEP forums and do not offer employment on the RENSEP forums. The RENSEP forums are for all registered members and should be used in alignment with the RENSEP mission, which is to promote research and communication between esoteric practitioners and scholars.
We believe that everyone should be able to make a living, but the RENSEP forums are not the appropriate place for that.
Do Not Post About Commercial Products
To be good stewards of the RENSEP community, and encourage innovation and progress, we feel it is important to underline that RENSEP was created to promote research and communication between esoteric practitioners and scholars. As such, the RENSEP web platform is not for the promotion and selling of commercial products.
If you are a practitioner who sells products as part of their practice and observe someone asking questions about your products, please direct them towards your own personal website for questions.
Do Not Create Multiple Accounts (Sockpuppets)
Do not create multiple accounts, aka sockpuppets. Sockpuppetry is often used for disreputable reasons, and therefore we simply ask you to not do it. If a sockpuppet account is identified, it will be banned promptly.
When creating links to other resources
Public links in posts/forums/groups may only be posted if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
- The link is to the author’s own website.
- The link is posted by the author themselves to an external resource related to the topic.
- The link is to resources on the RENSEP website.
- The link is to books and/or articles that are not protected by copyright.
Why is this being enforced?
Links may come and go, websites change, URLs change, this all could mean that someone looking for information in the future ends up on a topic that only has links to a website no longer running, or to a site now owned by someone else with different content from what is expected.
Therefore RENSEP, similar to other web platforms, has guidelines asking members to post their answers in full, instead of linking to different places.
By sharing the information on RENSEP, you ensure that it is kept available for all RENSEP members.
Furthermore, regarding copyright, if a RENSEP member posts a link to document(s) or uploads documents that are protected by copyright, RENSEP does not hold any responsibility with regard to the infringement of copyright. Such responsibility will fall on the person who posts the link or uploads the documents.
What NOT to do…
We need to keep the forums friendly and respectful, so, occasionally, topic content will be moderated. In severe cases, members may be blocked. This could mean anything from minor edits to certain posts to complete removal of posts/topics/groups as well as deactivation of accounts. It should really go without saying, but the following are probable candidates for moderation or intervention:
- Never post, offer, or ask for any login information, even test IDs and test passwords.
- Do not post with the sole request for feedback on your personal site/products/services.
- Never post another person’s private information (job, gender, living situation, location, etc).
- Do not harass or abuse people.
- Do not talk about political topics on the forums.
- Do not post spam and affiliate links, offensive posts, posts without content, or insults.
- Do not write posts in all caps.
- Avoid post statements or questions that are more about opinion, especially those that may lead to pointless wars and/or attract spam replies.
- Do not disregard/ignore direct communication from forum moderators.
- Do not seek legal advice on the forums.
- Do not threaten lawsuits or any other legal action on the forums.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive. Every post is judged by RENSEP on its own merits.
Thank you for following and respecting these guidelines. RENSEP wishes you a pleasant, informative, and educational stay at the forums!
