I want people to put this into perspective.
The Lucidity Institute, founded by Stephen LaBerge; the institute founded for the sole purpose of expanding and keeping information on Lucid Dreaming, the very reason more than half of what we know on Lucid Dreaming exists today, and arguably the very reason this forum even exists today, is ranked below us on the Google index.
Dreamviews is the authority on Lucid Dreaming, Dreamviews is what introduces people to it and what helps make people veterans in it. Dreamviews is the most powerful resource for Lucid Dreaming information and discussion. we have the greatest archive of information, theories and hypothesis', tutorials, discussions and other resources on Lucid Dreaming and all its aspects, and we still continue to grow. Dreamviews is the flagship of dreaming and dreaming culture. This is why it is beyond important that we make the proper impression.
To say that it is no secret that I've rather agressively voiced my views on the subject before is an understatement. But I think it is important why people realize how many of us quit the staff, and how many more quit the forum, and why. Some saw the damange of their community, but with the founding of places like Mortal Mist, the reality became more clear. More people were afraid what would become of Dreaming culture due to, not simply the commecialization of Dreamviews, but the issues that arose from management of the community.
This place has a community and a culture of its own, but it represents something greater and is the gateway to a whole other world of possibilities. Given that this is, for the majority of people, their first step into the world of lucid dreaming. It is important that we give the right impressions. Ads about learning to be psychic, read minds, and predict the future with Tarot cards are not the way to go about this. Nor are some of the actions undertaken by the staff, the governing body, reflective of the personality that we should want associated with our community.
Let me explain what I mean by that last point. Our community, our forum and culture, is just as an important aspect as the content we keep. The entire purpose of this place is to introduce people to and educate people on Lucid Dreaming. The entire purpose of this forum is to serve as a resource for people to learn and further teach others about this ability. However, we are driving people away. Some of the most long standing and well known members have now left, and they felt like they were driven away. Many would tend to agree.
Unfortunately, the loss of these members was more than people realize. How many of those that left were more knowledgeable on Lucid Dreaming than any of us ever will be? Some of the wisest and most informative people have left, leaving a void in out community that is difficult to fill.
Changes happen. This is true, and things like this are bound to happen at some point. Sometimes we do need to just suck it up and move on. But to just let things go with the flow, take it as they come and do nothing to preserve everything this place stands for will be the downfall of this community. Try not to think of that in relation to its importance to us, but its importance to Lucid Dreaming.
Dreamviews is a commercial entity now. Its entire existence depends on how profitable it is, and how successful it is. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. But the current mindset by the higher ups of "TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC!" is detrimental and entirely counter intuitive to the preservation, and therefore, success of the community. If Dreamviews fails commercially, the Flagship sinks. Sure we can all hop back on the LD4ALL lifeboat, but there is forever a void in Dreaming culture which is being popularized by us, and everything this community stood for would be in vain.
This is why I get angry with some of the decisions made. This is why there is a very "Us vs Them" mindset between members and staff nowadays. Which is unfortunately another problem that is going to be more difficult to fix. This mindset was being born while I was still on staff and has only continued to develop.
All this goes beyond just the loss of long standing members, but the keeping of new members. People feeling like they're walking into a civil war aren't going to stay. People who have experienced dreaming, come in and see ads giving the impression Lucid Dreaming is some New Age form of Magicks or Witchcraft, are not going to stay.
The failure to build a community is the same as the death of a community, and will have the same effect in the end.
This is why it is of the utmost importance that we do everything we can to fix any problems we have, and improve Dreamviews where we can. It is important that all of us take a stand and do what we need to do to live up to the role and responsibility that we undertake by simply being here.
My $0.02 CDN.
TL;DR: Get to work.
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