Welcome...

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Those of you who read my blog will know that I started this community blog because I felt there was some untapped potential for further communication, sharing, and knowledge. There are no restrictions on what can be posted here, or by whom (except a few, HA!). If you are looking to get an idea or a feel for this sanctuary, I will throw out a couple suggestions: Questions and answers; for those of you who have questions for us addicts, and for those addicts who have questions of those of you who stand by us, this would a perfect place to get input from a variety of people. Comments; if you have a comment from someone's blog that has turned more from comment more into a topic you would like to further discuss, this would be a prefect place (Don't forget the link back to the blog). Open discussions; my personal favorite and what I really would like to see here are ongoing discussions. Pick a topic, or a burning desire, post your opinion, or ask a question and start a discussion. By having the open forum, others are not limited to the comment section to discuss their feelings or opinions. The idea is to lessen the use of comments section. If you would like to respond to someone's post here, rather than leave a comment, leave a post. If you are not an author, find someone who is and get added, we want your valued opinion and experience.

I am sure you get the idea, or point, or whatever. As I discussed with Wayward, I see this as something that will develop into its own, come alive, become what it becomes. I don't want to have to police the blog, but if it becomes necessary I will in order to keep it a place people feel safe and comfortable to express themselves freely without the fear of being judged. With that said, here are some ground rules I have come up with this far (if you can think of something that should be added, by all means, add away):

I have added a new section to the Sidebar; "Community Mission," which contains a kind of Mission Statement, or the ideal behind this blog. I have also added "Our 3 Guidelines," to the bottom of the page. I do not want to police this blog in any way, shape or form. But thinking about my own addictive behavior, and since I did take the initiative to start this whole process, I believe it was up to me to set up a few guidelines for the sole purpose of protecting the community and the blog. As you can see there are 3 Guidelines thus far, and I believe that's all that should be needed; Anonymity, No Personal Attacks, and the all encumbering "Respect." Really respect should cover all the basis. Respect yourself, respect your fellow bloggers, and respect the community blog. Yes, the topics may get very personal, very touchy to some people, and that's great. But the basic idea is be respectful to everyone, treat others how you expect to be treated. We are all here for the same purpose, and that purpose is greater than any one person's ego.

That's it! Hopefully from this post you get the idea that this should be fun for all. Please have fun, email me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. (My email address can be found in my profile).

One last thing, and the best way I can put it, is to remember, "Principles before personalities."

Thanks to everyone who participates!

Ej.