MEMBERS FORUM – RULES & GUIDELINES
The Covenant of Hekate: Members Forum on Facebook
This Group is Secret, available to members only.

CoH Forum Admin & Moderators are listed at Volunteers. This document was created with input and through consensus of the current Forum Admin Team and Moderators in June 2017. 

The Covenant of Hekate Facebook Discussion Forum is a meeting place for members in which we share our experiences, ideas and research about the Goddess Hekate and closely related topics. You are asked to treat this space and those who share it with you as a sacred space, a place where your actions, thoughts and deeds reflect your personal devotion to the Goddess and the Covenant you made with Her when you joined the CoH, in which you agreed to the aims of the CoH which are:

1. To establish an international society through which the history and mysteries of the Goddess Hekate, as the Cosmic World Soul, are studied, shared and experienced;
2. For each member to strive towards fulfilling their full potential in all that they are and all that they aspire towards becoming.

At the time of writing the CoH have more than 400 members, of which about 70% are on Facebook.

The Rules:
R.1 Respect towards other members regardless of differences of opinion, experience or vision;
R.2 Respect towards the diversity of gender, sexuality, race, culture, political and religious traditions in the world – hate speech, homophobia and xenophobia will not be tolerated;
R.3 Personal attacks on individuals, specific religious or magical traditions (including those unrelated to the Goddess Hekate), and “baiting” or “trolling” will not be tolerated.

Guidelines:
G.1. Stay on Topic. If you are responding to a thread on the forum make sure that your comment relates directly to the original post. If not, start a new discussion. This avoids frustrating cross-communication and related misunderstandings.
G.2. Read it Again. It is easy to misread something on the internet, so if you find yourself puzzled by a post, or agitated by it, re-read it and spend some time thinking about what the person posting is trying to say and what their motivation for doing so might be.
G.3. Tell the Moderators. If you have an issue with something posted on the forum, please contact the moderator team directly to bring the matter to their attention and do not respond on the forum as this might contribute to further misunderstandings.
G.4 Reserve your judgement. Our membership includes devotees from six continents, speaking many different languages, coming from many different cultural, political and social backgrounds. This is a beautiful diversity, through which each of us can learn a great deal – however, it can also easily lead to misunderstandings. We have a lot of differences, but we have one shared passion: The Goddess Hekate. It is easy to judge someone, but when we do so we judge them through our own experiences and knowledge. So please: ask questions, make an effort to clarify and remember that both you and the person(s) you are interacting with are here because of their devotion to the same Goddess.
G.5. Keep it short. Most of us have busy lives, it is a fact of modern life. Keeping your responses short will allow more of us to read, interact and learn. If you want to share longer pieces, consider submitting an article to Askei Kataskei (our eZine), Noumenia News (our Newsletter) or to our website (www.hekatecovenant.com); or setting up your own blog and referencing/sharing a link to the relevant information. This way the information is also more accessible to members unable to keep up with all the online discussion!
Moreover, refrain from posting meaningless comments such as “I agree.” or “Thank you for approving my message…” or “I don’t like it” or just a “heart” or other emoticon. These kinds of comments do not add to conversations, use the “like / love / haha / sad etc. emoticons to express these kinds of comments. Alternatively, qualify your comment with more information, i.e. “I agree with this comment because xxxx…”.
G.6 History V.S. Experience. The Covenant of Hekate was created to be a community with its roots in history, but its branches firmly in the 21st century. Members are encouraged to learn about the history of Hekate’s worship, its origins and its development into the present day and to incorporate aspects of it into their own personal practices. Some members may practice their devotion in reconstructionalist ways, others might work in a more eclectic or inspired way. When claiming historical precedence for something you write, please include a reference to your source or be willing to provide the source if asked. When writing about something you have created or learned from other modern devotees or practitioners, please always clarify this by writing “In my experience…” or “I think…” or “I have created …” etc. This avoids misunderstandings.
G.7 Keep an open mind. As we grow in both knowledge and experience our perspectives change. If someone shares something you find challenging to your own knowledge or experience take it as an opportunity to learn and ask yourself: “Why do I find this difficult?” before responding. There is a lot of misinformation about the Goddess Hekate and both her historical and modern devotees; but there is also still a lot of misinformation about Hekate’s history which is perpetuated within the Pagan, Goddess Spirituality, Occult and Witchcraft traditions today. If you find yourself challenged, ask for more information – or go and look for more information and come back with a positive contribution to the discussion.
G.8 Avoid Generalisations. We are all guilty of generalisations sometimes, so this is not an easy guideline! Avoid saying “The Romans believed…” or “Women don’t like…” instead try and be specific: Example “John says that the Romans believed” or “Some Romans believed…” or “Romans who lived in London …” etc.
G.9 Forum Privacy. The Covenant of Hekate Members forum on Facebook is set to “secret” which means that non-members cannot read the information shared on the forum, and non-members can also not see who the members are. Members are asked to not share material created through discussion, articles, photographs and other images, or files shared by members for members without permission. The © of all content remains with the person who created it, so you should seek permission from the person (or each person) involved in a project before doing so. Devotional Group projects are usually aimed at creating content which will be shared on our website, so if you participate in such a project make sure to let the project leader know if you do not wish to be acknowledged under the same name you use on Facebook for reasons of personal privacy.
G.10. Debate, Discussion and Arguments are not the same thing. Whilst debate and discussion is welcomed on our forum, arguments are not. The differences are in the detail, the language and frankly can get incredibly pedantic. If you want to contribute to a discussion or debate on a topic you are passionate or otherwise feel strongly about, take care to watch your language! Make it clear that you are hearing the other person’s point of view (ex. … I hear what you are saying …) and make it clear that what you are adding is your opinion or perspective. And see all the guidelines above!
G.11. Trolls and Flamebait: Do not Respond. Trolling, Flamebait or Baiting are terms used to describe online discussions in which something is posted with the intention to create an argument by triggering an emotional response. This usually takes the form of sarcastic, ironic or deliberately incorrect information written in response to a discussion. Deliberate use of trolling and baiting techniques will not be tolerated – if you find yourself in heated discussions frequently read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_(Internet) and http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bait-this-is-bait
G.11. Private Messages, Personal Profiles and other spaces on Facebook. The Covenant of Hekate moderators are only able to act on discussions shared on the Covenant of Hekate Members forum on Facebook. Members who enter into private discussions, or interactions elsewhere on Facebook (or the internet) with other members do so as individuals, and the Covenant of Hekate admin and moderators are not able to intervene in disputes of any kind outside this, or other approved spaces in which at least one member of the Covenant of Hekate moderator team is present in an official capacity.
G.12. Sacred Space. The forum is a space of learning, sharing and creating, our actions, words and deeds in this space should be guided as they would be if we were together in a sacred space in which learning, sharing and creating is promoted for the benefit of all.

Sanctions:
S.1. Members who repeatedly disregard the Rules will be removed from the Forum; and may have their membership revoked by the CoH Admin team. [See “Moderator Duties” below]

Moderator Duties:
M.1. The moderator team consists of CoH Admin members (always to include our current Mediation Officer) and moderators. Please note that not all members with “moderator status” are forum moderators, some members with this status will be project leaders who need this function for technical reasons related to the activities they manage for the Covenant of Hekate community. See the website for details of the current moderators: http://hekatecovenant.com/about-the…/our-members/volunteers/

M.2. Members of the Moderator Team have the right to take action when a discussion is deemed to be off-topic by themselves, or they receive reports of a dispute, to “lock the thread” which will prevent further discussion on the topic. They will then report this action to Forum Moderator Admin Team, who will make a final decision. A thread might be locked temporarily to allow for a “cool off” period, or permanently – avoiding all future comments and might in some instances be deleted.
The Forum Moderator Admin Team will issue warnings to members who break the rules and guide such members with the guidelines as appropriate by PM and email.
Repeat offenders will be reported to CoH Admin Team (http://hekatecovenant.com/about-the…/our-members/volunteers/). This team reserve the right to delete and lock threads without entering into debate if they reach a consensus. The CoH Admin Team reserves the right to place a member on a forum sabbatical and in severe instances to revoke membership at their discretion.