So
disenchanted rocketed past
Slicing Through Spiritual Elitism,
About spiritual teachers and
Did you know? to the top of my blog's
hot results - and I first want to share a very, very
heartfelt thank you to everyone who commented - for or against the system. I'm still catching up with the comments and the email, but everyone who spoke up - either on my blog or directly via Zaadz mail, or both - has been incredibly respectful and clear in their compliments and criticisms of the system itself and of the way I and Zaadz have handled things.
I specifically want to mention TextMage, who made one of the comments to which I took offense in one of the original threads. He went out of his way to accept responsibility for what he said and to explain his intent and to apologize for any hurt. It takes great humility to step forward and do those things, especially when you remain committed to the core of your cause.
Why has this all been so explosive? Because people love this community; I think a place of such high ideals and lofty goals quickly gains a passionate place in the hearts of people who care. And let's face it: we all really do care about this world, in myriad ways, and while the details of our beliefs and the methods of our expression certainly may not agree, the depth of our concern and care for the welfare of our community and for the world is unmeasurable.
In any controversy, too, it can be disturbingly easy to forget the humanity of the opposition group - to see them as 'oppressors', 'controllers' and 'fascists' for example - but that is the language of dehumanization. I wrote what I did to lay bare the fact that these words and allegations weren't striking into some monolithic giant with no heart, but were slicing into real people like me, to expose one of the faces involved in this whirlwind and display its imperfect humanity. And I think all of you who responded saw that and understood that our debate needed to return to civility and respect.
To those of you who felt I spoke directly to you in my damnation of disrespect: I hear you - we hear you - and we are listening and pondering what you are saying. A few people have already left and I think some more are preparing. I really felt pain noticing that one commenter, Dave, has already left. If I could satisfy each of you somehow, I would. Instead - even when I feel upset by how some of you choose to express yourselves, I listen to what you are saying and let it inform my decisions now and in the future. I have dismissed none of you, and I won't. That is my promise of respect to you.
I also do understand the dynamics at play - I discussed them in one of my first blog entries when I started working for Zaadz,
How to change the world, in which I wrote:
...there exist two types of people who want to change the world: those who seek to create change through direct and confrontational methods and those who seek change by creating environments that embody those changes.
Zaadz is unique because we wish to provide a space for both groups, to create connections between them and strengthen the channels that create change in this world. Some believe change is only possible within - and as a result, seek out teachers and education to better themselves in the hopes of improving one small corner of the world. Others believe that external change is possible and necessary and act in a larger amphitheatre of activism. Quite often these two groups mistrust each other's motives or commitment, but both want the same end result: to make the world a better place.
It's the weekend, and we haven't made any firm decisions about the seed/trust system; a few have noted that yes, negative feedback on users has been removed, and any feedback on admins has been disabled (No, not because we don't want you to call us on our shit if we're abusing our power, but because admins were getting a LOT of positive feedback and that skewed overall reputation of community members to seem lower than they actually were. (For those of you who gave away all your seeds and saw your lights 'go out', that's what happened.)
A few clarifications before I enjoy the rest of my weekend:
1. If you run out of seeds, nothing bad happens.
Seeds accumulate as a result of being active on Zaadz (every member gets a bonus once a week for visiting at least once a week), for participating by posting comments, blog entries, photos, and most other pieces of content, and - finally - positive feedback will sometimes grant you some seeds if you're not already at your maximum. But seeds are, in effect, a currency of feedback. They help balance feedback and moderate the system - you earn your seeds through your own activity and plant them wisely in the hopes that the community benefits from your feedback.
2. You cannot be censored or deleted because of this Trust System
First, the pieces discussed in the original document that talk about content folding and user limits are not yet active. Even if you reach the thresholds that were discussed, you won't suffer any automatic consequences. Furthermore, in the current system, you would need to have several dozen items of your content independently reach the negative thresholds for restriction before you as a user triggered any automatic restrictions.
Your content is never automatically removed from the site, nor are users automatically deactivated. Those things will always require human intervention and will remain so.
3. We're listening
Whether you agree or disagree with what Zaadz the company does with Zaadz the community (and I'm sure there'll always be something to discuss!), we know that we're building a community here - a unique one at that - and all of us remain keenly aware that our task requires equal doses of boldness and humility. We're here to learn just as much as you are. Sometimes we'll do what you ask, and sometimes we'll plow ahead on our own vision, and most of the time we'll build this together. All of the time, we're listening.
Thank you all again for hearing me and for rising to the challenge.
P.S. Several of my dearest friends and many of my co-workers weighed in to support me and share their views in extremely well argued, well-reasoned comments. And a few in particular (Gwen, Stella Luna, and Matthew) touched me with what they said about my character... to all of you, and especially to those two.. thanks again for being part of my life. I hope to stand alongside you too, if the time should come for that.
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February 2009 
Mila
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