Damien is the founder and elder
of the Vampire Church



Question: "With all the varied community organizations out there, is there a particular code of conduct you personally follow when dealing with them? Do you employ a 'Code of Ethics', so to speak?"

Greetings,

Well, I, like many, have my own guidelines and ethics when approaching other people or groups. I have been working around people with the subject of vampirism for thirty years and have been online for near ten of those years. The one thing that I have found to be a big problem in the community is the conflict I have experienced between people and between groups on the subject of vampirism. I have always been rather surprised by the depth and the extent of it but also it never ends.

One thing I have always made sure of is that I do not create the conflict and do not respond to personal attacks by other people and groups that causes this conflict. I don't allow it in my domain or the Organizations I have founded. I have experienced the personal bashing of myself and the Organizations I run, both through email and by other groups on their websites and forums. I have never returned the same. I try to encourage harmony between groups, and will try and contact others who have an issue with either me or someone else. I have accepted requests to be on forums where other groups are that may have an issue with my Organization in an effort to solve whatever the problem is. I believe in approaching people as individuals and treating people as unique for everyone and every group is different in their own philosophies and there is room for all to exist. I realize there will always be differences among groups but there will also be personal egos or the emotional baggage that some bring, however, if I cannot get past that, then I avoid the people who bring the conflict.

I believe we have to try and solve the conflict and issues that divide differing groups, but we also have to be true to our own expressed philosophies. I make road trips offline and spend as much time as I can offline in meetings with other people and so find myself sometimes in the very conflict I describe between other groups. I encourage other groups to "talk" it out and resolve differences. I approach other groups with the same right to exist as the groups I represent. We live in an online and offline community where others should have the right to be in it as long as they do not bash others. We will always have differences, but it is the way we handle those differences. If we are to be effective in the community, then it is imperative we all work with respect for others within that same community and try and work out the differences we have. That is what I try and work for.

Dark regards,
Damien Daville
Elder and Founder
The Vampire Church

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