Posted originally on the CTH on August 2, 2024 | Sundance 

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”

1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRELY – and the full text of any discussion you wish to participate in.

2.) PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC – do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is 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 quite rude.

The Treehouse operates on the ‘old school’ standards and practices of civil discourse amid the original blogging community, long before social media took over.

3.) PLEASE 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; that allows people to respond to the specifics.

4.) PLEASE 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. Please 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.

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 because we do not want to break a continuity.

9) CITATIONS – There’s a big difference between an opinion and an assertion of fact.  Obviously, most comments are providing opinions, the discussion expands when we hear them.  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 random 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.  Do not disparage our conversation with vulgarity, profanity, or any expressions of any “ism”.

In the modern era of the internet, there are many voices who try to shut down conversation and information sharing.  We put a lot of effort, more than anyone could imagine, into keeping this little corner of the internet open for you to research, share and discuss some pretty important stuff.  Please do not provide ammunition to those who seek information control through deplatforming.

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. There is a flag feature that helps identify trouble.  Also, feel free to 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 control issue is worse in 2024 for obvious reasons.

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 discomfort, is well regarded. Retain that distinction of intellectual armament.

We are The Conservative Tree House, not because of any 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 almost any 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, and most importantly, this Treehouse is a conversation.  A place to connect and realize you are not alone.  There really are more intellectually honest, kind and pragmatic problem solvers, than people who choose to be angry and comfortable with perpetual conflict.

Hopefully, a visit to this little corner of the internet is just like sitting on a porch with friends.  And because the “conversation” is the reason we are here, this 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 also a good way to avoid fear. A laugh in a foxhole is priceless.

Be kind and please be respectful… Manners really do matter… after all, this is a fellowship.

Love to all,