Some random thoughts about promoting better conduct

Some random thoughts about promoting better conduct on the Internet:

• Working on improving my own conduct, and appealing to others to do the same.
• Learning from others, observing them and asking about their efforts and experiences.
• Looking for the best things I can see people doing on the Internet, and finding ways to help.
• Practicing the vision of cordiality that came to me, thinking about one of Alison's posts.
• Three vital issues in The Advent of Divine Justice.
• The Big Three: truthfulness, courtesy, fairness.
• Courtesy and kindness.
• Responding to abuse and injustice.

One of the best things I see people doing on the Internet is answering questions in help forums.

What about Covenant breakers?

I saw Baquia and Gerald discussing how to apply the writings about Covenant breakers, and the writings about unity, at the same time. It might help some people to have compilations on both topics, and some examples of how people have tried to apply them together.

I've done a lot of research and thinking about it, since the first time I thought of the possibility of encountering Covenant breakers in Internet discussions. Here are some of my thoughts:

• No one but the House of Justice has any authority to say who is a Covenant breaker and who isn't.
• I don't think that the requirement to avoid fellowship with Covenant breakers requires us to try to find out which people in Internet discussions are Covenant breakers according to the House of Justice. What we need to avoid in Internet discussions is not certain people, but certain kinds of discussions.
• In Internet discussions, I try not to make any distinctions in the way I treat people individually, between people who are promoting a Guardian after Shoghi Effendi and others. People who are promoting a Guardian after Shoghi Effendi rarely address me, but when they do, I try not to respond any differently from the way I would respond to anyone else.
• I have always strictly avoided forums which I thought were primarily gathering places for people promoting a Guardian after Shoghi Effendi.

Where to go from here

Since yesterday I've been wondering where to go from here with my "Deeds Not Words" pages.

On the goals page I wrote:

I'm planning to use this site to provide information, ideas and other resources for practicing and promoting better conduct on the Internet, and for responding to harmful conduct and to questions it might raise in people's minds.

Under strategies I listed:

• Moral leadership
  
• Using Internet activities to practice virtues and develop capacities
• Reducing and counteracting harmful behavior
• Responding to attacks on the Faith
• Responding to personal attacks
• Working with abused and marginalized people

One idea I had today about where to go from here is to practice and promote spending time on the Internet with other people besides Baha'is, including people whose interests and ideas seem contrary to ours. I'd also like to discuss ways of responding to attacks on the Faith on the Internet, and ways of responding to defects in the Baha'i community and its institutions.

To get some ideas about resources to put on my "Deeds Not Words" pages, I might start with reviewing my efforts and experiences so far, and continuing my efforts, and considering what resources might help me. I might also look at other people's efforts, and discuss with them what resources might help them.