Having been too ill even to boot my laptop for a month, I got a uique perspective on the state of our community while catching up on a month of posts. As a charter member, I care deeply about this board and this group.

My first thought was joy and gratitude that the community has grown, not just in numbers but in knowledge of and commitment to the method. That was our vision.

From the start we have had folks sign up who are not literally part of "A Community for Users of The Sinclair Method". These folks have been welcome additions: Some folks from MyWayOut who stopped by to wish us the best, e.g. Then there's Oceanaocean, who, while not practicing TSM, is a valuable member of our community. Her frequent posts are respectful and encouraging and she believes in TSM and wants to learn all she can. Now of course there's RR.

One of the first posts I read was when HE responded to a Dear Dr. Eskapa question. He either did not read or did not heed N101CS's "Please Read Before Posting" message to refrain from answering these posts (oh there have been a few minor hiccups but no biggie). Then, in his answer, he told the poster to get therapy. She already was, but RR did not know that. Eskapa says if you see a therapist, by all means continue, but therapy is not part of TSM. After I read his introductory post I hoped this was an oversight. But for all the reasons you all have stated, it was just part of a pattern.

As a moderator, I've only deleted one thread and it was mine. It was about dealing with doubts, but due to reaction I felt it was far gloomier than I had intended and pitched it for the good of the community.

I'm going to join with Marbella (also a moderator) and ask that GUESTS be respectful when they visit our community. If you have ideas about this please pm Marby or me. Let's not let this be a drag on us. Onward and upward!

Another thought: Is posting "progress" the first few weeks helping or hurting? While early progress can be nice, we don't all experience it. Eskapa says we need to focus on four to six months. How about keeping our tracking to ourselves until about three months, then posting our history and progress from there on out? Other ideas?

Take care all, Lena

Ummm, I just noticed that the drama continues . . .

I'm a big fan of free speech but I want this board to be true to its mission. How would everyone feel about a little "housecleaning" by moderators of irrelevant "storylines"?

I wonder what newcomers who drop by to learn must think.

Input, please.

Maybe as things get back to being more positive there will not be the reports of early discouragement. And yes it is important to learn from each other -- one of the main reasons we're here. If charting does that then I'm all for it.

I know of no plans for "protocol" to be established; I just want to help this community stay safe, supportive and true to its mission.

I did remove my own progress as I will be starting over after pain meds/another upcoming surgery. SpringerRider and started at about the same time so I envy him his progress.

Lena

Hmm. You say you want to help...but not to encourage anyone that is actually successful. Just to embrace those that are having a hard time. And we don't want to have any guests posting intelligent thoughts that we can not quite handle in a civil manner. Not a big fan of people controlling me, sorry.

I post my progress to help those lurkers who may be discouraged by the lack of progress by others, to help others learn that the method does work and to force me to write down subtleties in my progress. The thought that my progress is discouraging is really interesting. But... I'm just trying to quit drinking...I have no issue with continuing my progress offline.

This is what I was refering to. I have noticed some get discouraged if they do not see progress in the early weeks. I asked for input and discussion on this issue.

I'd recommend against this, unless someone is breaking the rules. I don't think I'm alone in that I'd take offense if posts I made just started disappearing. After a couple, I'd just go elsewhere. What's irrelevant to one person is relevant to another. Again, if there are posted rules and someone is breaking them, then by all means edit away.

I believe publicly tracking our progress serves as an important record for those coming after us. Many of us in this community have expressed frustration at the lack of real world results from people who have successfully completed The Sinclair Method. What better real world proof than a week by week diary, with all of the ups, down, challenges, doubts, and successes, for those coming after us to read and take confidence in.

Q

Here is an interesting article:

http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/tact.html

I think not posting weekly progress would be counter-productive to the community (and selfishly -- to me). I completely concur with both Happy4Once and Q's posts today (March 31st). We're here to help each other through shared knowledge and experience! I (for one), was really excited when I (initially) assumed that was the primary focus of the community. Then, the hyper-defensive nature of some community members' posts (I'm not referring to RR here) almost had me heading for "lurker-land" where I can deal with my own private SM successes (or failures) without fear of putting anyone else in an uncomfortable position because he/she may not be experiencing the same thing I am at any given point along the way to the cure. Let's continue to share our progress on a weekly basis, and also be open to the wisdom and knowledge of others who are not alcoholics -- but care deeply about spreading the SM word.

I am all for keeping things open -its just that this board in a matter of a couple of months has gotten so spread out. I get on everyday and want to keep up but it takes me several hours to follow the different threads. I don't know if that's typical of any other board out there, probably so...but much as I want to be an active member, I run out of time and concentration.

Happy4once, please do not be offended by the criticisms of Robert R. He is certainly an intelligent and repected researcher who has an interest in our progress. I sincerely believe he is just an innocent bystander, but taking notes all the while. At any rate, please do not go away because some of us are questioning him! I value your presence and posts here. I question we have driven him away at all - he is reading all this with great interest, I am sure. And I disagree we are "thin-skinned or just plain afraid"...we are, as said before, clinging to HOPE this method works. Reading the results from a few Finnish studies is kind-of hard to apply when your own life is in the balance.

Surely you understand our bristling, as we find our way here, when a non-Sinclarian, non-alcohol-addicted clinician chimes in with the observation that at "2 months if you haven't see any real changes, you are probably one of the unlucky ones"...

I get upset again just typing that. I am a former/semi-hippie from the 70s and very open-minded, but the guy has a picture of his long-haired self (is it real??) with a bird on his head!! I have a hard time w/ his credibility right there. Don't get me started again -