Silence and forum

By being good to each other. We all know the limits of forum communication. It\'s like trying to take a panoramic photograph through a keyhole. All that I can see about you is the way you present yourself and how you react/respond to the way others present themselves. Likewise you only see that small portion of me in my posts. However, we both know that neither of us is summed up by our usernames. Let us be good to each other by leaving our assumptions of one another unspoken, giving as wide a berth for venting when we see it, and letting the typographical errors slide. Let us be good to one another by making the effort (off of the forum) to get to the bigger picture with each other.

I am finding that the longer it takes me to reply to a post (my silence) the more other people can join in the conversation. When I reply too soon then it becomes a dialogue or monologue, and not a forum because I\'ve monopolized the thread. It is my struggle.

I\'m new here and to me it seems very silent here. Rather few discussions in the forum and in the groups (as far as I have observed) as good as no entries. I\'m a little bit disappointed. Ioannis

In college, I studied electonic communications quite a bit (which doesn\'t make me an expert, only the holder of a few interesting ideas that I might not otherwise had had). One of the studies that we read said that 15-35% of everything we say electronically, in forums and emails and instant messages and texts, is misunderstood. I can try to dig through my papers to find the study, but I don\'t think that the actual number matters so much. My point is what we write isn\'t necessarily what other people read. The silence that I would encourage is the silence to believe that the hurtful comment in a forum may be only meant as a playful jab, the heretical declaration may be a typo, the personal slight may be a misunderstanding. -Kim

I am practicing silence, but I\'m not sure it is for the right reasons. My work situation is not comfortable. I am with only one other person during the day....and he makes me uncomfortable with his response to my questions. I have decided to just work in silence and pray the Jesus Prayer. This Lent I\'m going to work on not seeking his approval...he is not who I need to please. Christy

I\'ve been trying to take Presvytera\'s advice and wait a while before I post a response. More and more I see that the big burning issues we debate - pews, organs, liturgical niceties, and so forth - are simply means Satan uses to take our eyes off of the Person of Christ. I realize that it\'s difficult for new converts to leave behind the western legalistic mentality and adopt the Orthodox view on economia, but that\'s where it\'s at, and we must look away from attempts to make Orthodox teaching fit tidily into western categories of morality and rubrics, and fix our attention firmly on our Savior Himself. He alone, not headcoverings or pewless churches, can save us.