Sanctuary Doorstep: HOT Levels and How to Acheive them

[Opsa]

Welcome to the Honorable Order of Toadfish  (HOT) Monastery!

Anyone wishing to register on this site can enjoy free use of our Open Water forum threads for fellowship and exchange of ideas and silliness. All we ask for is a modicum of humbleness and respect for others, as per the rules listed on our Home Page. In joining the Open Water forum, you may consider yourself a sibling (our gender-free title for what might be called a brother or sister in some monasteries) of the OWL, or Open Water Level catagory.

If, after a while, you find you like the attitude of this place and want to take it to another level of trust, you may take our more formal HOT Agreement and become a HOT Novice. To do so, you would simply read and agree to the following:


The Toadfish Virtues

    * Tolerance   I will accept that others have different views, opinions, and values from me. I will not seek to change, refute, or dismiss other peoples differences from me, in so far as they themselves show tolerance.
    * Humility My own views, opinions, and values have just as much importance as anyone elses. No more, and certainly no less.
    * Respect for Others When I wish to disagree with someone's posts or actions, I will do so with the assumption that they are as thoughtful and considered in their judgements as I would like to be in mine.


Toadfish Monastery Acceptance Agreement:
Since this is a sanctuary, we'd like to keep things civil. We are here to guide ourselves toward better communication skills using the tools of patience and humbleness. As we are human, we may occasionally slip up and fall on our faces, but this should be met with understanding and guidance on the part of the others and if the perpetrator is contrite and asks forgiveness, it shall be given. If however, problems persist, it is understood that the matter will be taken up privately with perpetrator and complaintant and an excommunication is possible.

We do not believe in telling people how to think, what to do, what to believe or what to disbelieve. This is a place of spiritual acceptence for all who keep our vows.

If you agree to these principles, and intend to pursue the Toadfish Virtues, please send a personal message to a HOT Global Mod saying so, and await acceptance into the Honorable Order of Toadfish monastery. On receipt of your agreement, you will be given consideration to take on the status of Toadfish Novice and be admitted to a  private sanctuary where you will be able to practice keeping the vows with the expectation that this will lead to full Toadfish status when the community feels you are ready.

Since we are not a secret society with any hidden agendas, we encourage any and all questions and will try our best to answer them to your satsfaction. What we strive to be is a siblinghood of trust, where we may open our minds to philosophical brainstorming in an un-self-concious manner.