The summer OSFGroup started today. It’s not too late to join if you want to check it out. That said, I think I’m going to experiment with something, which is to post the study (not other people’s comments, but the readings and discussion points) here, too. So if you want to be part of a secure group where you can interact with questions and other people privately, please let me know so you can join the OSFGroup itself. But if you’re just curious about what the format is in the groups, and how we conduct our discussions, at least this time around, I’m going to post them here, too–slightly after the posts go out in the private group.
There are always introductory materials, however, and this document is one which all OSFGroup participants view and acknowledge before setting out on our journey together:
Most of this stuff should go without saying; however, as with most if not all things internet, we have to cover our tails here at the Pilgrimage. What follows are some basic rules of conduct here:
Rules of the Road
Be nice. We’re going to be talking about faith and spirituality and God and the Bible a lot on Pilgrimage. All of those things can be intensely personal, and not everyone here is on the same page spiritually. Not all of us ever will be. It’s okay.
Take a deep breath. Don’t take offense where there’s simple disagreement. You, too, are free to be open about your convictions. Simply be respectful in the way you express them, and be respectful when other people share theirs, too. No one will be removed from Pilgrimage for specific views on anything, but excessive profanity, personal attacks on any member or admin, or any other threatening behavior will not be tolerated.
Also:
We’re people, and so we’re relational. We hope that here on Pilgrimage we will be able to foster some good friendships and even support each other through the things life throws at us. We anticipate that in some sort of internet-y way, we’ll be able to share our lives with each other. This necessitates a few other cautions, however:
Confidentiality. What’s said in the group stays in the group, unless you have written permission from a person whose info you want to share. We pray for each other in these groups, but please do not share someone else’s prayer request unless you asked them first, even if you have really really good intentions. EXCEPTIONS: 1) Some of us (including me) are mandated reporters. If you disclose in any Pilgrimage forum the intent to harm yourself or others, we are required by law to report this. 2) The Pilgrimage is made possible almost entirely (with a few exceptions–if you are here for Stepping Into the Story, you are familiar with the exceptions 😉 by donations, and donors deserve to have a general idea of what they’re supporting, so occasionally I will quote you in a communique to donors; however, I will always ask you first, and I will not use your name unless you want me to. 3) Both for the Pilgrimage (which offers other initiatives alongside the OSFGroups) and in another external ministry of which I (Jenn) am a part, I create a lot of written and spoken content. While I hope that you are learning things when you interact here, I have discovered that some of my best teachers are you. Your participation here assumes that you accept my potential usage of your expressed insights and epiphanies in context to teach others, including but not limited to future OSFGroup studies, sermons, workshops, and books. In every possible case, I will confer with you if I plan to make a direct quote; otherwise I will likely attribute teachings I learned from you to “members of the Pilgrimage group” or some such generality.
Copyright and plagiarism. The studies posted on this site are protected by international Copyright law. It is assumed that all written content (yours and mine) is original, unless we cite appropriate sources. (This isn’t a term paper, so footnotes aren’t necessary, but if you quote a poem that you didn’t write, please be sure you let us know who did.) Memes, photos, artwork, and music should either be your own stuff, in the public domain, or shareable via a site like YouTube. As for sharing each other’s stuff (and exceptions), see “Confidentiality” above.
Dating. The Pilgrimage is not a dating site. We do endorse healthy relationships, but it is not the goal of this forum to help you find one. Therefore, we do not accept responsibility for any romances (or failed romances) between members of the Pilgrimage.
Marketing. In spite of the fact that the Pilgrimage does sell certain products, this Basecamp forum is also not a store. Direct marketing is fun. Etsy is cool. My husband and I use Craigslist all the time. That’s all fine, and if you become such great friends with some folks here that your friendship moves somewhere else like Facebook or (gasp!) real life, you are welcome to share your vending ventures with them there, but any posts on Pilgrimage sites attempting to sell anything but specific Pilgrimage programs and products will be removed unless I am personally endorsing them and have invited the post myself.
Contact Info. Please keep your interactions with fellow “pilgrims” right here in the Pilgrimage unless you have directly asked them to be friends with you outside—and they agreed. No stalking, spamming or any other abuse of a person’s contact information of any kind is permitted.
Your participation in this group indicates your agreement to this post in its entirety. If you feel like any rule in particular is being violated, please contact me privately as soon as possible. Thanks, everybody! With your help, the Pilgrimage should be a spiritually formative, safe, and fun experience!