Here are some of my thoughts on the why of the matter and what prompted this idea, even though I suspect by comments here so far that my reasons are fairly obvious.

First, you have to understand something about me. I really like new and novel ideas and thoughts. I like new experiences, making new discoveries, learning and expanding the world between my ears. I seldom like to reread a book or repeat watching a movie, unless it is really, really good and I think I have forgotten much of it. I also don't like to have to repeat myself.

Second, I have grown very weary of logging on here and doing my usual check of the active topics only to discover dozens of new( ) posts that have nothing new in them, and new( ) topics that have already been pounded into the ground already, even recently, or multiple topics about the same topic in which the same people are repeating what they posted in the other same topics. 98% of what is posted in some of the seemingly most active topics is a virtual avalanche of post after post of nothing but quotes of previous posts, long collections of EGW quotes, lists of Bible verses, or the same 2 or 3 posters repeating the same things they have said, and what others have already said, for the last 30 pages of the topic, and often the same thing they always say, no matter what the topic. I either have to rapidly skim through to glean for any new thoughts on the topic or give up and move to another topic.

Would you buy a book or magazine or watch a movie that showed that utter lack of creativity or originality? Do you like hearing the same sermon at church, week after week? Do you like to have conversations with people that repeat the same old stories and jokes, or that repeat everything everyone else is saying?

So, um, Tom....you are asking us to ....THINK?

....and not hide behind the skirts of EGW....???


You realize that that thread wouldn't have much in it, don'tcha?

How do you expect to maintain bandwidth here????


[/tic]

Yep! Those who cannot think for themselves and express their own thoughts need not attend this gathering.

Imagine actually having to think! It's a think tank sort of thing.

As for being a place with not much in it... Hmmmmm, my point is that at least you wouldn't have to waste time wading through thousands of words to discover there is nothing here.

Silence is an opportunity to think. If people think, they might actually have something signifcant to say when they do break silence.

Good Suggestion Tom.

I think this idea will make this a much better place to visit.

Here is what I would envision for this sort of forum.

When I say no quotes or repeating, there would be no exceptions.

One would hope that participants would understand the premise so there would need to be little moderator enforcement. But, the moderation would be simple. Quotes and repeated thoughts would be deleted. Added topics covering the same ground as one already started would be deleted.

Teachers know of and use software to detect plagerism, including bad attempts at paraphrasing published works. That sort of thing could be helpful.


As for nothing new under the sun... Oh, really!?!? I wonder if Solomon if he came to life today would offer the same bit of wisdom? Even Rip Van Winkle discovered that things had changed during his 20 year sleep. You see, we let these quips and sayings flow forth without really thinking about them.

Which brings me to how it would be refreshing to use old ideas. Come up with a new way of saying things you've heard before. Think and speak creatively. Say it in your own words with maybe even some value added. But it is going to have to pass the most aggressive plagerism filter. Do you like that quote from EGW? Figure out a way of expressing the idea she conveyed in 21st century English and applications that fit a contemporary context.

For example, take the familar EGW quote, "to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men's thought." Isn't that what I have been saying? No real need to repeat it.

Or a less familiar EGW quote:



Yep, in other words I said that already...

Carry on!

So Tom I guess your the first to go against your own rule!!! hahahahahahahaha


pk

Hmm Tom... I've been reading the same Bible, living in the same house, and married to the same wife for some time now. You are making out consistency to be boring. I don't think it's a fair statement.

On top of that, you are constantly quoting someone. There's no such thing as an original thought. None. Zip. Every "original" thought is built upon previous not so original material. In fact, quoting someone else is how our learning process goes. All of the humans are repeaters, we repeat thought, words, and ideas. Even you do... in this very thread.

Now, we can make a rule against "Cutting and pasting", but why? I don't think any would like to rediscover let's say the Mendelyeyev's table on their own. We need to learn from people who came before.

But we don't need to copy Mendelyeyev's Table of Elements every time we say the word "oxygen."

I think you may being missing the point...


If you believe there are no original thoughts, you live in a rather small and limited world. That seems to me like saying that since there are only 3 primary colors, artists cannot create an original painting, because they are simply recycling old colors that have been used by every artist to have painted a picture before them.

Ever conscious of being forced to eat my own words, I seasoned them, cooked them well and savored the delicious irony myself before offering them for consumption of others.

Sometimes it takes a violation of the rule to best understand it.