Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on January 8, 2021 by Sundance
First things first…. It is important to identify protection and favor when it surfaces. CTH is not only thankful for our ability to be faithful stewards to our community, but at this specific inflection point we are thankful to God for his providence. CTH stands steadfast!
Was it not for the notification and deplatforming in November, and the inspired members of the Rebel Alliance that came to our aid, we may not have survived the past 24 hours.
Thank you. We are humble and steadfast to our mission. Ever faithful.
To the larger CTH community, we are fortunate to have an anti-fragile system in place to withstand the deplatforming currently underway by Big Tech. So-far, so-good, fingers crossed.
Two recent features are interconnected. (1) There is now an internal flagging system in the comment section to draw attention to content that is outside guidelines. (2) Admins now have enhanced moderation tools to intercept that content.
With the enhanced focus of Big Tech to find justification, including in the comment sections of websites, to take down voices of the Rebel Alliance – it is unfortunately critical that we hold strong filters in place for tone and comment content at the moment.
As a reminder, here are the general guidelines for comments:
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.
1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD – and the full text of any discussion thread you wish to participate in.
Skipping to the comments to express an opinion without reading the content of the discussion is not helpful.
Often, unfortunately quite often, we find many of the points injected into comments are already outlined in the construct of the thread itself; questions asked while the answers are in the primary post.
2.) STAY ON TOPIC – please do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is a ALWAYS a daily open thread available for any subject you feel should get attention. Never place unrelated, “O/T”, or “Off Topic” comments on a thread unrelated to the topic. It is not ok to say: “sorry, O/T but”… or any iteration therein, it is actually quite rude.
The Treehouse operates on the ‘old school‘ standards and practices of civil discourse amid the original blogging community.
3.) NARROW YOUR THOUGHTS – Quality beats quantity. Please construct your comments to target specific areas and not broad generalizations about the discussion topic at hand. If you have four or five disconnected points, break them up into individual comments.
4.) AVOID GENERALIZATIONS – Do NOT speak in riddles. Words like “he, she, they, it, them” should rarely be used. Spell out “who” using the name, spell out who “they” are at the beginning of every sentence in your paragraph; so that there is clarity as to who you are talking about. Avoid using acronyms.
5.) BLOCK PARAGRAPHS – Do not post huge blocks of text. Think of the reader, and modify your presentation for understanding, not for exclaiming. Do not write to yourself, you are writing to others, so please structure your thoughts so other people can grasp and enjoy. NEVER post massive blocks of text without paragraph breaks. In the current comment system hit the return twice to put two lines between your paragraphs; when the comment posts it will only show on space.
Do not post huge blocks of text
6.) PARAGRAPHS – Should NEVER be longer than two or three sentences taking up three to five standard lines of text. Again, you are writing to be understood, the emphasis should be on the reader comprehending what you are sharing.
Do not post huge blocks of text
7.) SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION – This is not school and we do not demerit for poor spelling, nor do we allow anyone to call others out for the same. However, if your construct is too poorly written the context is lost and important details can be missed. Read the comment carefully before you send it. Proofread it again. Does it make sense?
8.) TIME – Everyone ‘s time is valuable. Many of our discussion threads are 500 to 1,000+ comments long. We try to limit the comments to 500 and then post another related thread, but with some research threads it is challenging to do so because we do not want to break a continuity.
9) CITATIONS – There’s a big difference between an opinion and an assertion of fact. Feel free to provide opinions; however, if you are making an assertion of fact you must attach a citation for review. If you do not have a citation – don’t post; this avoids spreading rumors, gossip and unfounded claims. Also related, do not post links without an explanation of the reason, purpose and content that is behind the link.
10.) THOUSANDS ARE WATCHING – For every person writing a comment, there are easily hundreds of thousands of reading lurkers on every discussion thread. There are thousands of CTH readers and a community reach of well over 15 million/mo. Do not write anything you would not say in your own living room. Do not disparage our conversation with vulgarity, profanity, or any expressions of any “ism”.
11.) MODERATION / FILTERING THE HATE – Because of our honest approach at seeking facts and truth, and openly discussing various analytical theories along the way, we are bombarded by those with ulterior motives which include:
- Intentional efforts to distract
- Intentional diatribes to affix labels to our objectives
- Intentional expressions of rabid hate, vulgarity, and threats.
- Trolling and professional obfuscation.
- Concern Trolling as a tool of distraction and derailing conversation.
- Psy-ops and intentional efforts to diminish fact-finding.
We do our earnest best to stop the agenda-horde at the moderation gates, however sometimes they get through. If you see something untoward say something. When a new comment surfaces that we view is likely presented only to argue, we watch carefully – but we also are not perfect. You can help. Feel free to flag or alert us via email.
12.) MANNERS MATTER – Simple kindnesses and courtesy should always be present in tone and content. When writing, ask yourself before you hit send: does this add value?
13.) NO PERSONAL ATTACKS – Ever. The fastest way to lose commenting privileges is to ridicule, bully or personally attack another person’s opinion or comment. Unfortunately people, often good people, let their passion interfere with good manners and personal judgement. If you cannot be polite or respectful, pause – and – do not comment.
14.) TONE and HONESTY – Often the information and research CTH provides are about challenges we face and/or events that are hidden from larger review. It can be frustrating to see the scale of corruption; however, only you control how that information is absorbed by you. The truth doesn’t care about our feelings. Try to keep an even keel and optimistic disposition.
15.) DEVICES – It is a reality that many people use their phones to browse information and/or comment. Cellular phones and iPads are okay for reading, but also present challenges in commenting. Please make every effort to avoid the run-on issue of text from these devices. Put extra spaces in your paragraphs. Also remember your service provider (ISP) may have filters to limit the websites they permit you to view. It’s not CTH, nine out of ten issues are related to your service provider. This issue is worse in 2020 for obvious reasons.
We are working to build-out enhancements to the current platform that will make phone and tablet users have a better experience while retaining the overall theme.
SUMMARY: The Tree House community has historically accomplished a lot. Through exhaustive research and analysis our accuracy and reputation for truthful fact-finding, regardless of where it leads, is well regarded. Retain that distinction of intellectual armament.
We are The Conservative Tree House, not because of political affiliation, but rather because the word “conservative” expresses our outlook. We would rather be deep, than wide; we would rather be honest, than popular; we avoid semantics in favor of accurately presenting both intention and meaning.
We are bold in our willingness to go into conversational places where others do not, and we are brave enough to stand firm for principles which are time tested.
We would rather advertise our outlook, so the viewer can understand our perspective on a particular subject, than deceptively claim we are something else and deliver an inherently biased view. The entire spectrum of the MSM is based on the latter.
Every reader knows where we stand on any given issue, and our opinions -while they may be unpopular- are based on solid research and analytical insight into the subject matter at hand. This is why our predictive analysis is routinely more accurate than others.
Lastly, this Treehouse is a conversation. Hopefully, just like sitting on a porch with friends. Because the “conversation” is the ends and not the means, this approach inherently means YOU are important; do not diminish yourself:
[Remember] …”However each of us got here, it’s probably a fact that we have the turmoil of those storms in common, perhaps some unease that we could share and always, we also find fresh ground to cover from day to day.
We’re developing valuable relationships as we trust one another in our community in the woods. The chatting in the branches encourages, strengthens and equips for some serious walking.
We think the Treehouse is a good intellectual armory for those who doing long distance walking for the sake of our nation. We hope you’ll think so, too. Find yourself a good branch….or just pull up a rock to the campfire”.
Wolverines faithfully patrol the perimeter.
Humor is good way to avoid fear. Be kind and please be respectful… Manners really do matter… after all, this is a fellowship. We are stewards. The Rebel Alliance is strong.
Throughout history large armies have been defeated through the process of division.
It is not a leap to see the same strategic objectives being deployed against social assemblies, on-line communities, and even religious congregations.
The bond of fellowship is needed more than ever.
Each of us has a different connection to our community. Each of us has a different level of internal strength… such is the nature of living. However, the distance between people is manifestly not a good outcome when combined with the lack of food for the soul.
The control mechanisms of social media was already troublesome; physically distancing from human engagement only worsens the impact. There is no digital or virtual replacement for the true fellowship of humanity on a personal level.
Ultimately it is the currency of human connection that is the true value in our lives.
We have each felt how our positive influence upon the lives of others nourishes our own sense of purpose and fulfillment… Do not lose that. Do not think you can compensate for that through other arbitrary measures; you cannot.
Give the gift of hope and light to those you love by first reminding yourself of the gift that a loving God has given us all. It is too easy in our human sense to forget the biggest gift we have been granted, the gift of life. The ability to live and choose how we engage in the lives of others.
Remind yourself of the kind of purposeful HOPE that would leave a throne to be born into a manger as a baby only to grow into a Man willing to lay down His everything for the wretchedness of humanity.
No politics or false sense of security can overwhelm the message of HOPE that a loving God has provided. No effort of man or human disposition can surmount the greatest love of all. “No power of hell, nor scheme of man” can come close to the purpose of God’s intent and love for you as a unique person qualified to receive that love.
Stand steadfast in faith and the Rebel Alliance will thrive.
Centinel2012 