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Administrative: Topics not allowed in OPF

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
While we encourage photography of all aspects of the human condition, including celebrating cultural diversity, we cannot allow advocating one dogma over another or over atheism or agnostic positions. First, this is a photography forum and although discussion of controversy is allowed, it cannot be based on religious text or dogma, as these are divisive and sometimes even plain wrong.

Photographing any cultural event or place of worship is always welcome. Also, a reminder: denigrating any group or humiliating other members or people depicted in pictures in OPF is never allowed.

Thanks for cooperating with this clarification of OPF TOS.

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Not as effective as '**** off' but it will do.

I admire your succinct expression, one of the advantages of being brought up in Australia and having an upside down view of things! However, you'd quickly go bankrupt as a lawyer who gets paid by the hour as "'**** off" would generate very few billable hours! :)

Asher
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
While we encourage photography of all aspects of the human condition, including celebrating cultural diversity, we cannot allow advocating one dogma over another or over atheism or agnostic positions. First, this is a photography forum and although discussion of controversy is allowed, it cannot be based on religious text or dogma, as these are divisive and sometimes even plain wrong.

Photographing any cultural event or place of worship is always welcome. Also, a reminder: denigrating any group or humiliating other members or people depicted in pictures in OPF is never allowed.

Thanks for cooperating with this clarification of OPF TOS.

Asher

Understood. Just one clarification, please.

This does include an atheist or agnostic dogma/position over other dogmas/positions?
Am I correct in my understanding?

Thanks.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Understood. Just one clarification, please.

This does include an atheist or agnostic dogma/position over other dogmas/positions?
Am I correct in my understanding?

Thanks.

Correct! While such discussions are necessary in out society, they're not necessarily appropriate here. So while we can congratulate, celebrate and enjoy cultural expressions, preaching to others about religion or against religion are equally beyond the scope of OPF. It's one thing to participate or observe, appreciate or not, it's' another to advocate.

I hope that clarifies this issue. :)

Asher
 

Mark Hampton

New member
Correct! While such discussions are necessary in out society, they're not necessarily appropriate here. So while we can congratulate, celebrate and enjoy cultural expressions, preaching to others about religion or against religion are equally beyond the scope of OPF. It's one thing to participate or observe, appreciate or not, it's' another to advocate.

I hope that clarifies this issue. :)

Asher

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>?
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Amen!

A non-religious term meaning, "so be it" (subjunctive mood, you know).

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Amen!

A non-religious term meaning, "so be it" (subjunctive mood, you know).

Best regards,

Doug


Doug,

We do not want to see any less attention to the cultural celebrations of so many different peoples. While most of us have a hard time with monkeys in Nepal being holy, or cows in India being equally sacred, these practices would never raise cries that the adherents are "idiots" or "imbeciles". There are major practical implications to being respectful. It does not mean that we equate any belief with the rational standing of logic and scientific proof. However, all followers are adherents because of fundamental biological procliviities to belief. So there's enrichment, (or maybe diversion), of all cultures for explaining causality, existence, unfairness, mortality and bad fortune. Some religions have the following of billions of people.

As the late Rodney King asked, "Why can't we just get along?". There's no request for us not to hold weird ideas. But, we will be far safer being courteous in spite of such differences; that's the practical consequence.

Meanwhile, there are controversial consequences to religious beliefs and we just have to deal with them, but by generosity and adaption. We are not necessarily respecting the tenets other folk hold, but rather their own inherent humanity. IOW, we accept our brotherhood in spite of our logical failings.

So that's what we want to do here and take the best pictures as we make our way and pass each other!

:)

Asher
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
While we encourage photography of all aspects of the human condition, including celebrating cultural diversity, we cannot allow advocating one dogma over another or over atheism or agnostic positions. First, this is a photography forum and although discussion of controversy is allowed, it cannot be based on religious text or dogma, as these are divisive and sometimes even plain wrong.

Photographing any cultural event or place of worship is always welcome. Also, a reminder: denigrating any group or humiliating other members or people depicted in pictures in OPF is never allowed.

Thanks for cooperating with this clarification of OPF TOS.

Asher

I appreciate that you are trying to do your best to keep this forum civil yet alive. It is not an easy task.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I appreciate that you are trying to do your best to keep this forum civil yet alive. It is not an easy task.

Thanks Jerome for your reliable and helpful support as well as your insight to the challenge of trying to have free speech across our wide multicultural community. We can consider OPF as a kind of Yellow School or tour bus where we share journeys. The rule is to be nice to the others in the tour bus. That's how we in fact "love our neighbor as ourselves". Some folks will come in our bus just to get some clarification or feedback on a photographic issue, then leave. Others are long time companions we get to know and trust. However, we cannot expect, (nor do we want), to have one homogenized view of things. Only be celebrating diversity and being open to ideas and new ways of imagining and imaging things we value, do we grow. Our enemies are the infectious ideas that occupy our brains and limit our vision and ability to reach over and befriend strangers.

I trust openness in academia, but here, we have folk wounded so easily and then they go out and slam the door of the bus upsetting everyone. If one debates, one has to be prepared to hear contrary opinions without running off in horror.

So now we have drawn a line and will no longer tolerate self-destructive behavior in dealing with subjects we so freely allowed with no censorship. It's not practical in this small community.

Our job is to discuss photography primarily and the downtown area is to allow further expression but with limits where offense is caused, often knowing well the hurt it will inflict.

Jim has sought to portray one thing and Mark has expressed the idea that all religions are cults to the net result that both are unhappy! So we have learned a lesson the hard way.

I'll try to be far more strict in looking out for negativity and hope I'll be reminded when I'm asleep at the wheel or even add nonsense myself!

Asher
 
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Jerome Marot

Well-known member
Jim has sought to portray one thing and Mark has expressed the idea that all religions are cults to the net result that both are unhappy! So we have learned a lesson the hard way.

Quite frankly, I would not be so sure about the unhappy part. Don't be so hard on yourself.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Quite frankly, I would not be so sure about the unhappy part. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Well, they are, to say the least miffed to the nth and that's not repairable. Obviously, I'm in dreamland when I think we can have folk at extreme ends of the spectrum reveal their true feelings on religion and politics, without self-destruction. :)

Even old fools can learn, so there's hope!

Asher
 
You should be happy Asher. The topics of religion and politics usually get locked in the first one or two pages on most forums. The fact that it went to 90+ pages on this forums shows something....
 

Ben Rubinstein

pro member
To be honest I'd be happy with no more religion/politics, I am in regular correspondence with many people who politically are hugely different than myself but as we never discuss it we can remain good friends, not at odds to each other.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
To be honest I'd be happy with no more religion/politics, I am in regular correspondence with many people who politically are hugely different than myself but as we never discuss it we can remain good friends, not at odds to each other.

Ben,

Loss of friends, at our own hands, seems now to be inevitable when we deal with such emotionally laden topics. Of course I want to be open. However, now I realize, having learned the hard way, that this can only be done face to face in a protective environment with no pressing rights, conflict or advantage depending on the outcome of valid debate. The reality is that we still live in a much fractured world. We can all recall the brilliance of discourse in the National Constituent Assembly of revolutionary France. Almost all great orators, as they defined their principles, were writing their own death warrant! So the debate brought about intellectual progress, yet consumed the brilliant minds in the process by a disease of spiraling madness to feed the bloody arbiter of differences, the decisive guillotine!

I've seen tiny glimpses of that here and regret the losses it caused. Even "one on one" dabates are frought with almost too much danger. We must, of course do that and therefore, don't we hire politicians in our place? So, every so often, we can chop off their heads too!

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I cannot believe how smart we all were, already, in 2012!



What's missing to me is the biological survival advantage
to man of our widespread susceptibility to being won over
by ideas in the form of political movements or religions,
(highly infectious memes), that young men willingly die for!


As far as "rules for engagement" in anything touching on religion, we don't debate the rights of any religion to exist or mock their practices. Here in OPF, to keep the peace and to be able to celebrate photography, we have to treat both atheism and religious beliefs equally, except in advocating for human worth.

Instead, let's celebrate the rich embroidery that heritage gives us, as a buffer perhaps to the hard facts of life that even the finest silk has flaws and sometimes moth larvae too!

Asher
 
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