A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

General discussions on Wado Ryu karate and associated martial arts.
claas
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:39 pm

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by claas »

Hi Gusei,

The problem is there is not much discussion left here. I agree that not all opinions have merit. They can be as well trashed easily. In this process we have seen some good stuff popping up to the discussion by the ones who know more. What is the function of a forum like this? There might be a few. Which ones are getting better fullfilled now that the names have to be shown and the forum is not as active anymore?

Of course it is possible that the reasons for the decline lie elsewhere, but I don't think so. My guess is it's because of the change.
Lasse Candé
Helsinki, Finland
Gusei21
Posts: 403
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:43 am

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by Gusei21 »

Not much discussion left where?
Here as in the forum?
Or here as in this particular topic of names?
Or do you mean the forum has been too quiet lately and the reason for that is because we are being asked to identify ourselves?
I am guessing you are saying that if we can be anonymous again then the board will get lively again?
And a lively board is better than a quiet board?
Just checking..
Bob Nash
kyudo
Posts: 224
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:00 pm
Location: Amsterdam

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by kyudo »

Every single one of all the lively online discussion boards that I attended for the last 15 years or so seems to have a natural eb and flow in activity. Until finally all activity ebbs away altogether. Just like the previous Yahoo group that many here remember well. Based on my experience, I don't think it has anything to do with using full names or not. However, there are some pro and cons for using full names:

Pro:
• People can be held accountable personally for their activity, any activity. This creates an environment of trust.
• You can Google participants, to see who you're dealing with.
• Less content crap.

Con:
• You can Google participants, thus introducing dojo hierarchy onto the board. This will intimidate some participants.
• Some people won't participate because, like Claas, they're not willing to disclose their identity.
• Some crap tends to contain nuggets of gold. Less crap, less gold.

One way to work around objections against using full names is to make it a private board. This tends to work quite well for some boards, and may work well here too.

All in all I support using full names. Because quality of content very much depends on trust. I also strongly believe in personal accountability. I can't think of any strong reason not to disclose a full name, except fear of making an ass of yourself. And I certainly can't imagine how disclosure could disturb my training.
Igor Asselbergs
http://kyudokan.nl/
oneya
Posts: 857
Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:31 pm
Location: Mornington Victoria Australia

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by oneya »

I hear what you are saying Claas and, as I have already said, it is sad when wado practitioners feel the need for anonymity simply because of fear of exposure especially when beyond this we have the issues of Integrity and credibility only ceded to higher grades being the norm on various forums plus the fear of any disturbed training. I am really having trouble getting my head around that ‘disturbed training’ notion Claas, seems to me that either I train with the right intent or I don’t, so attaching blame to some ethereal words on a forum has to be very troubled thinking or self-deceit of worrying proportions. It seems to me that credibility and anonymity are very incongruous bedfellows anyway if anyone is expecting their utterings to have any credence or integrity. I have no doubt these emotions of fear, regret and uncertainty are very real human feelings that we may have all experienced at one time or another in life and indeed some of them may have contributed to our reasons for our wado ryu training in the first place, if so, isn’t it possible that having and displaying the courage of our convictions gathered via our wado ryu training may well provide some stability for any flagging spirit.?

You are right of course: a forum is not a dojo and should not be mistaken for one, but here again the reality is a forum is precisely what it is: a gathering of people of varying experience in which experience will show differently. Whether we choose to give them more credence than their words deserve simply because of their rank (which is actually ‘non-existent’ here in the ether) rests with the reader but my feeling is that any forum does provide a comparatively level playing field in an abstract place where hierarchy carries no weight or real usage so should not be accorded any credence beyond the value and logic of any words.

As far as we need to consider ‘critique’ as a matter for concern: I feel here is where the dojo and the forum can have similar uses to wado ryu’s notion of kaisetsu (where kata theory is tested for pragmatism in its function) which may be a useful way to consider any critique that is given its rightful role as just another tool for learning.

Claas, I honestly believe that each one of us have a contribution to make here on a forum and although I can acknowledge your reasons and feelings are very human, I have to think that they stem from an uncertainty that we have all felt in the past but some of us have grown beyond, It may well be that this is because of a different level of wado ryu experience that has the appearance of some ‘greater knowledge’ but in my experience it is not ‘knowledge’ itself that is vital in wado ryu but it is more walking the path toward knowledge that you, as a teacher, can probably recognise as being more important.

oneya
Reg Kear.
Wado Kokusai San no Ya.

http://www.sannoya.com
claas
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:39 pm

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by claas »

I'm on my vacation now so writing with this phone is difficult. The main point is quality from quantity. I could ask questions from my friend who have trained Motobu udunti and from others who might be able to put this Okinawan stuff to the right context.

Don't talk about fear. You might like eggs. I don't. Igor might train whole-hearted and write with his own name. We're not the same person however.
Lasse Candé
Helsinki, Finland
oneya
Posts: 857
Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2011 2:31 pm
Location: Mornington Victoria Australia

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by oneya »

Claas, I wasn't talking about 'fear' as such except in the context of any human emotion being a means of motivation that can produce irrational action. I also mentioned regret and uncertainty to broaden and perhaps soften the context but in the final analysis what we really are talking about here is fear.

Have a great holiday.

oneya
Reg Kear.
Wado Kokusai San no Ya.

http://www.sannoya.com
wadoka
Site Admin
Posts: 696
Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:38 am
Location: Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Contact:

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by wadoka »

I've been away visiting friends and family this last week and only just had time now to catch up on things.

Whilst I do understand some people may have their own good personal reasons with regards to posting anonymously I have to continue with name disclosure as it means we all have to take one small step forward to participate.

We can see that there are people here from the many walks of Wado organisations. The history of organisations, people, politics, stories, grudges, viewpoints and so on is simply just that, history. Looking around the landscape of this forum, it shows that some have grown older, some wiser and use some precious time to partake this dalliance.
claas
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 4:39 pm

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by claas »

Hi wadoka,

Your decision looks good and fair. I suggest you come back to this thing after a while. The need to fix something depends on if something is broken.

I have never decided not to write. I simply haven't been writing. Now that the forum is active I'm happy. Writing is not that important to me. I hope some new people will come up.

Thank you for letting me write this stuff. :bow:

Happy New Year everyone!
Lasse Candé
Helsinki, Finland
Gusei21
Posts: 403
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:43 am

Re: A reminder on full names & site maitenance this weekend

Post by Gusei21 »

claas wrote:Hi wadoka,

Your decision looks good and fair. I suggest you come back to this thing after a while. The need to fix something depends on if something is broken.

I have never decided not to write. I simply haven't been writing. Now that the forum is active I'm happy. Writing is not that important to me. I hope some new people will come up.

Thank you for letting me write this stuff. :bow:

Happy New Year everyone!
Claas,

You are hopeless...lol. Good and fair?
Do you know that in Japanese martial arts it is considered rude and insulting to withhold your identity?
The first thing we do when we enter a new group is to introduce ourselves, our lineage and our hometown.
Even the Yakuza do that. They turnit into a major ritual called jingi.
They dip down and extend their hand as they announce themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf7z4FfYF44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfwonDp3NoM
Bob Nash
Locked