The Differ Honestly forum ("DH") exists to provide our members with an open and respectful venue for airing and exploring our differences on virtually any subject. When you start or join a conversation at DH we hope that you will benefit in several ways.

1. We hope that you will learn more about your own beliefs and why you hold them.

2. We hope that you will take an opportunity to develop and hone your powers of persuasion.

3. When you encounter someone who disagrees with you, we hope that you will each come away with an expanded understanding of the world and the diverse people who share it.

4. After participating in our community over a period of time we hope that you will agree that DH is a place to make friends from across the world.

In the context of our site rules and through the example set by the volunteers on the DH moderator team, it is the mission of the Differ Honestly forum to create the conditions for these hopes to be fulfilled for each of our members.

Welcome to www.differhonestly.com.

Namaste,
Will Irace ("spblat").

I have had a rather tepid founding sentiment (above). I have a post where I grind my axe. I have our rules. I have my high-minded calling. But DH currently has no real mission statement. Here's a stab at one. Comments solicited.



Comments? Suggestions?

Two thoughts:

1. At some point, I remember you informally analogized DH to the kind of discussion neighbors would have at a barbecue get-together. While it's a fiction, there's something positive about the way that analogy sets a tone.

2. The points raised above allude to this, but I think the importance of questioning old assumptions and being able to look at old problems in new ways are among the best functions of such a discussion.

Your observations are now part of the history of our mission statement and are very much appreciated. Do you have a suggestion for making your ideas a more explicit part of the mission statement in a way that doesn't significantly add to its length or complexity?

Here's a shot:

1. We invite you to consider this a safe social space to gab about the issues of the day, much like a Saturday afternoon barbecue with friends - blending high-minded thoughts with an appreciation that casual conversations are more open and earnest when they aren't taken too seriously.

2. We hope that you will offer new ways of looking at and questioning old problems and assumptions, while in turn acting in good faith to consider your own beliefs under different lights.

Might need some trimming though... hmm

That's very good, thank you. Some of that will go into the mission statement. C'mon folks, who else has something to add?

I went ahead and implemented the new mission statement, without Nramzi's suggestions. This isn't because I didn't like them (I did, very much), but because I quite like the concept of framing the mission statement in terms of the benefits which accrue to members, rather than what we want members to do. I urge all members to consider Nramzi's comments above as fully consistent with my aims for this forum.

I wanted to add that at least in my view, this place is not for typical ranting, raving, and arguing. I see it as more like a class in ethics or philosophy in that you discuss almost for the sake of discussing things and thereby (hopefully) growing and getting to know each other better in the process.

I'm not sure how to word it, though, as a positive/ "beneifts" type statement. I'm not very good at that sort of thing.

Why I brought it up was because I don't see anything in the statement that makes it clear to differentiate this site from many of the other sites that are riddled with flame wars and heated discussions. Perhaps a line about this being a more structured environment than a typical open forum or something?