I don't think the Forum is too tightly monitored LOL Of course you all haven't been through nearly over 10 years of moderating members here.

The summer months are going to be a lull, because people are out doing something fun with their friends and family, and taking family vacations. Once September rolls around you see member activity spike, it's been the same trends for the last 10 years.

The single largest complaint of people who are members here is that new members come in and ask the same questions over & over that already have 10-15 threads that discuss the topic. Existing members don't want to answer the same questions over & over. They want new members to research and then bring NEW perspectives to topics rather than keep asking the same questions over & over.

The second would be that people have difficulty discussing controversial topics while staying objective and staying focused positively on topic; appreciating differences of opinions while having a healthy discussion.

Private Messages are meant for members who have been here, are loyal to the community, and care about this community. When Private Messages were open to everyone there were newcomers spamming members about all kinds of topics, over the course of 10 years there's been times when people tried to get other people's credit card information from them, there's been stalking & harassment issues (IRL), and it's just a liability that causes unnecessary drama when not all people can act right.

If you guys want a quality, amazing community, then you have to be part of that community. We do work above & beyond for all members who are tenured here and who are caring & loyal to this community. We take that into consideration when we do free upgrades or free work for people who we know are here and are really giving back to their fellow CH members. Because unlike most online communities, we actually live & breathe what we do, we actually care about spirits, magic, and the supernatural. We have weathered the storms of hate for years and stood proud & tall in the face of all that.

People who come here, feel at home, and welcome their fellow members openly and happily, is what makes this community stand the test of time.

Please stick to topic and be respectful to every member when replying. Locking the topic.

In actuality, it's the attitude of members who want to shame any other member here who has the experience and desire to speak up on issues & topics that cause problems here and stunt the growth of anyone who actually has tenured knowledge and experience from contributing.

Shaming Ash & I for speaking of our level of experience, and for actually knowing what we are talking about is parallel to the reason many seasoned and experienced people won't respond publicly anymore and stick to the private groups. Anyone who actually invests the time & energy into learning something (and no one knows everything, it's ridiculous to even infer that's what Ash & I say), is going to have experience. Would you rather myself, Ash, and other actually-experienced members just stay silent? Say nothing? Shrug our shoulders? Ignore something we know isn't right?

The new popular trend of shaming of members because they actually know something & devote their lives to it, is dangerous, and it's why experienced members here choose to not help publicly anymore, because they get chided for doing so. Which leaves the blind leading the blind until someone feels courageous enough to stand up, and I know that because we've had conversations where experienced members will say they don't want to help because someone is going to mock them for it. Anyone who is really here to learn and really wants to be successful in Spirit Keeping or magic, wants to read the advice of people who really know, who have been there, and who have experienced it. The majority of experienced people who respond here do so with respect for others, and rarely have I seen an experienced person belittle or patronize the person asking the question, even if it's the 100th time they've answered that question on this Forum.

Yes, we started Spirit Keeping in the sense it exists now, yes this website was the first, and while there may be "competition" it's not really competitive, because we're not a shoe business competing for the biggest & best shoe. This Forum is the single largest resource you'll find on member-driven contributions to Spirit Keeping & magic simply because it's been around the longest. It's not going anywhere. There isn't going to be a competitor more rich in resources because time has proven that no one else in this community is willing to put 24/7/365 into it. The other boards and social sites come & go, those groups swell & then disappear, the only constant in all of that has been this Forum. And all of those facts are to the credit of every single member who has been here, not just Ash & myself, but every member who has contributed over the years.

This is a community of people who are supposed to be working towards bettering ourselves, enlightening ourselves, and not feeding into the drama that other people find themselves getting caught up into. Ascension and evolution of the mind, body, and spirit means you want to move beyond the rhetoric of hate and you actually want to lift up your fellow members.

Anyone here should feel that same mission. We welcome everyone, including differing view points, but you have to come with respect and love in your heart, or you will be warned by the mods & we do take immediate and swift action. This Forum isn't about drama, it isn't about hating, it isn't about baiting people to join arguments or negativity, and we protect members who are here for the right reasons.