permaculture

["Graham Burnett" <grahamburnett@blueyonder.co.uk>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Wheaton" <paul@richsoil.com>
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 5:32 PM
Subject: [permaculture] a moderated permaculture forum


> I'm in powerful need of a large, healthy, active, caring, online
permaculture community.
>
> This list is the closest thing I have found, but it seems there is some
less than
> harmonious spirit.
>
> I've found that this can often be the case with e-mail, so I much prefer
forum software.
>
> I current manage some forums that have 500,000 unique users per month.
There is only one
> rule:  "be nice".  And that rule is managed with an iron fist.  Because of
the fist, the
> community thrives.

Just an observation Paul, but one English definition of the word 'nice' is
"a trifling and unimportant thing". Permaculture is far too important and
diverse a movement (philosophy? DEsign system? Call it what you will...) for
us all to 'be nice' to each other. We are talking about the permanent
culture that is just about the only way forward in an energy descent future
scenario, and that is something alot of us are passionate about, often in
very different ways.

 Healthy, active, thriving and caring communities don't stifle dissent and
transgression with "iron fist" imposed false 'hamony' (ever read 'Brave New
World'???), they work through the conflicts, the distress and the anger and
through often painful processes sometimes reach resolution and consesnsus of
a sort. Other times one or other party might just 'fess up, "yeah I was
being ratty yesterday, I'm sorry and today I'm going to try harder"- big-ups
to those big enough to admit their human 'failings' I say, isn't the most
wonderful thing about the human condition it's predeliction for
inconsistency?

Permaculture ain't just about sheet mulch and orchards, its about the whole
nitty gritty of human dynamics. Personally I'm not interested in a cozy
'permaculture comfort zone' where nobody ever treads on each others toes, I
want somewhere where we can at least make a start on working through the
dialectics of human sustainability, and if that gets a bit painful
sometimes, so be it. I know that on a deeper level everybody here is
actually part of the supporting community that is the international PC
network, and we're all capable of having our off days and fraught moments- I
have heated rows with my partner when we can both be far from 'nice' to each
other, but really we actually love and support each other deeply.

BTW I too am on a number of other PC forums, some where the heated debates
and arguments that occur here would be inappropriate (usually due to being
strictly about quite focused information exchnage, etc rather than
'debate'), but I thiink it is brillaint that this list continues to provide
this open debate forum.

Cheers Graham www.spiralseed.co.uk

(tempted to finish with "have a nice day", but thought better of it... ;-)