Joining a Vampire Group
Lately I have seen a lot of new people joining various Vampire e-
lists or Groups but the actual activity for the groups is either
declining or staying the same. Rarely will someone that is new post
an introduction or merely get involved in a current discussion. This
can only mean that there are a lot of people that are not fully
benefiting from being on a Vampire E-list or Group. The reasons for
this could be all too many, but for those of you that are newly
entering the Vampire Community I thought I would shed some light and
give a few pointers on what you could do to fully benefit and
discover what it is that you are seeking to learn. Whether you do
have the Vampiric Condition, think you may have it, or are merely
interested as to what the Vampiric Condition is. This article will
cover what I have seen to be beneficial to everyone.
I think back to when I first stumbled into the Online Community. I
had checked out a couple of groups and kept finding ones that were
really well laid out and informative, but just didn't meet my needs
or understandings. Then I came across the Vampire Church and I read a
lil and studied the site, and felt that it was a safe place in which
I could finally be active and begin to ask questions. But I wasn't
sure of the right way to 'Break the ice' or the proper way to
introduce myself. I remember asking myself questions like, "what if
they don't accept me or believe me?", "What if I say something
wrong?" "Will they laugh at me?". I was very nervous about opening up
to complete strangers about what was going on in my life. But at the
same time I felt it was important to try and learn more about myself,
to find answers to all my questions.
One thing that helps is to familiarize yourself with the Website.
Read as much as you can about what the members in the group consider
as their understandings. Look for some type of list of terms that
they use and what these terms mean. Often these terms and their
meanings can vary from group to group, so its good to have a decent
understanding of the terms that they use. Find out if the group your
interested in becoming active in acknowledges a certain word or term
before you use it. If you don't than you leave yourself open to
speculation and ridicule. And this can lead to a lot of hurt
feelings. If you are unsure about where you can find a list of terms
and definitions than its always ok to just ask someone. Merely
explain that you want to become familiar with the Terms and
Definitions that are used by the members of the group and in most
cases you will be pointed in the right direction.
When your newly entering the community, a group, or an e-list be
polite and try not to force your opinions too soon. If you disagree
with someone that is fine, but be respective when disagreeing with
another individual and you will surely receive the same respect in
return. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and we all want to
merely be respected for our personal understandings. Also, if you
disagree with something or someone and you feel that you
need to say so, be receptive to what the other person is trying to say.
Really try to understand what they are trying to get across. Chances are
if you let the person explain, maybe you might begin to see things
differently and actually understand why the person feels what they feel.
When you join an E-list or a Forum, Introduce yourself to the other
members. A simple hello and why you joined is a good start. If your
just curious, than say that your just curious, or if you feel that
you might be a Vampire...just say so. And most importantly, if your
not sure or if you feel that you want to learn more before you become
active than merely say so. Almost everyone can relate and understand
if that's how you feel, and that is actually encouraged. If you don't
know something than don't pretend, its better to say that you don't
understand and then ask a question. The key thing is honesty,
everyone appreciates honesty and as long as your being honest than
you should be safe. It's also polite to post regularly, at least once
a month is expected. If you can't find time to post once a month than
you need to ask yourself if you are truly benefiting from being
there. If you have time to read everyone else's posts than surely you
can take five minutes out of your day to reply to a single post, or
to merely say hello. All in all its just common courtesy to stay
active on an e-list or a forum.
These are just a few suggestions and of course there are different
circumstances for everyone that might interfere with how active you
can be in a group. If your truly there to learn and share than these
suggestions should help you get started.
Desmodus
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