The Future Direction of Gaudiya Discussions - Important: To be read by all members

In the light of the recent discussion on the current status and aims of Gaudiya Discussions, we are presenting the following revisions and clarifications on the guiding principles of the forums. A link to this topic will be amended to the end of Our Principles and Guidelines page available from a link at the top of the forum view.

There are four main categories of people whose presence accounts for the vast majority of disruptions in the desired atmosphere and dynamics of the forums. If you can identify yourself as belonging to any of the groups mentioned below, we strongly recommend against your participation in the ongoing discussions.

1. Those who aren't traditional Gaudiyas and who come to advocate their own tradition. We request the followers of ISKCON, Gaudiya Matha, Kripalu and all other groups and denominations to abstain from advertising their traditions or debating the superiority of their conceptions on the premises of this forum. If they do not have a sense of respect and curiosity towards the Gaudiya tradition, there is little for anyone to gain of their participation.
2. Those who enjoy poring over controversial issues without aiming for reconciliation. While we are interested in studying and addressing the varieties of historical and doctrinal issues brought forth in academic publications, we are not interested in the company of people who enjoy poking holes into the tradition's views with little desire to harmonize the issues in a meaningful way for a practicing Gaudiya.
3. Those who aren't traditional Gaudiyas and participate in topics with little direct relevance to the tradition. While topics indirectly related to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, such as current events and general religious phenomena, are relevant to this forum when studied from the vantage point of a Gaudiya Vaishnava, those who do not identify themselves as Gaudiya Vaishnavas should rather discuss such topics on some other forums.
4. Those who are traditional Gaudiyas but preoccupy themselves with the critique of others. We do not encourage a form of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in which its adherents preoccupy themselves with criticizing either those outside the tradition, or those within the tradition with views differing from theirs. While careful doctrinal review is welcome and encouraged, condemnation and slandering of others is far out of the scope of these forums.

We request all members to honestly think whether they are making a positive contribution in the forums in the light of the notes above. While we welcome people from all walks of life and all denominations as long as they have a sense of respect and curiosity towards the Gaudiya tradition and as long as they behave tactfully, we do not welcome contributors whose participation acts contrary to our clearly stated aims.

With that said, we would also like to note that we'll be screening the members more carefully in light of the above criteria and may choose to turn a contributor into a moderated member more easily than we used to in the past.

With sincere gratitude,
The Gaudiya Discussions Staff