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Damien is the founder and elder
of the Vampire Church
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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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