Community Policies

Drukama^™

Drukama Treasury^™ users have agreed to the current Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Our terms include these Community Policies set forth below in plain language regarding member responsibilities and expected conduct in private and shared discussion spaces.

About the Community Discussion Areas and Policies

Community discussion areas are provided for committed seekers to connect with experienced practitioners, instructors, and teachers within the group while working through the text. Discussion areas are managed to help preserve the stated intentions for our school and fellow members. Learn more about Drukama and the practice community here.

Discussion areas and purpose (subject to change):

Drukama Teachings & Related
- treasury-chat: real-time group discussion
- treasury forum: individual discussion topics with related replies
- lecture-chat: for use during live lectures
Special Use
- announcements: read-only chat channel for group news
- help-desk: chat channel for general information
- mundane-chat: casual discussion, world events, amusement, etc.
Private
- direct messaging (DM): within the Chat system, for one-on-one support
- direct video: within the Chat system, for one-on-one support

Keeping up with Activity and Announcements

Engage with the community proactively and set aside time to follow current discussions in your areas of interest. Contribute and ask your own questions when you feel ready.

To avoid missing special announcements and important personal messages, (a) turn on notifications in both the forum and chat systems, and (b) visit your site profile notification settings to ensure you are subscribed to email updates. For assistance with settings, inquire at the help-desk or contact the team.

General Participation

Interacting with other practitioners is an important part of the learning experience. Active participation helps foster supportive connections between members and can bring about deeper understanding of the teachings and applications. Discussion areas are provided for this dialogue and fellowship.

The practice community is largely self-supporting in that the group expects and encourages fellow members to share responsibilities and mutually uphold community standards:

prioritize discussions that are relevant to Drukama Treasury teachings and practices
prioritize personal, direct experience over belief, dogma, or echoes of another’s words or teachings
actively contribute by asking questions and offering peer support as needed
help each other keep conversations on track for the given discussion area
practice clear and concise communication for the benefit of those who are reading
contribute to a supportive, encouraging, and friendly atmosphere in the community

Treasury Forum Topics

Forum activity can spark tangential questions and discussions that drift from the subject of the original post. Help keep the forum organized for other readers, and respect the original member’s intention for their post, by starting your own new topics with clear subjects (topic titles). This is especially important whenever the existing conversation shifts away from the original post topic and title, or whenever you are inspired to begin a related discussion. Moderators regularly educate the group on best practices and can help guide these changes if needed.

Sharing Within the Group

Questions

Shared questions are a vital part of this living method, and practitioners benefit from reading each other’s inquiries. Feel free to ask whatever you need to move forward with the teachings and practices.

Asking well-formed questions takes practice, so start with the simplest version of your inquiry; the group will naturally step in to request clarification as needed. These conversations will help form supportive connections, so don’t feel shy to get started. If a teacher or instructor prefers to discuss your inquiry privately, they will let you know.

When you feel ready and have developed a good grasp on a concept or practice, based on your personal experiences and familiarity with the method, you can begin to contribute answers to other members’ questions. See the following sections for more information on sharing information and content within the group.

Peer Support vs Instruction

Supportive sharing is a natural part of our chat and forum discussions. It is useful to discern differences between interactions that attempt to teach, instruct, advise, or mentor, and interactions that offer encouragement, insight based on personal experience, and peer support.

Our designated instructors and teachers speak from experience and have received precise training relative to the complete system that is taught here. They can help settle confusion and elucidate specific teachings based on their assignment and personal attainment, and they are fully supported within the school to provide ongoing assistance to our members. With this in mind, members without such designations are not authorized to represent themselves as Drukama instructors or to represent the school.

We know that designated instructors and teachers are not the only people with valuable knowledge and insight, so we also encourage peer support among our members according to one’s own level of attainment. Those who have gained proficiency in certain concepts and practices are welcome to contribute their own personal experience and understanding to the group. Openly exchanging perspectives with each other about the practices and path can open a wealth of unexpected insights.

To help prevent accidental confusion and misunderstanding of the teachings, members offering insights and peer support are asked to practice sharing in ways that are not easily conflated with instruction; this means framing your understanding as your own, and encouraging others to gain their own personal experience, just as you have.

For example, instead of advising other members on what to do, when, and how, or on how they should think or feel, try getting curious about what they might see as the best way forward, perhaps offering them your own experience and views or how you personally accomplished something, and leave it up to the other person to discover a new perspective of their own, and determine for themselves how they will proceed.

If someone makes a statement that does not seem accurate or in alignment with our teachings, intentions, or policies, instead of correcting it outright, try asking questions to better understand where the other person is coming from. Consider sharing your own personal understanding to invite perspective, and leave further clarifications for instructors, teachers, and administrators to offer as needed.

There are so many ways to connect with fellow members and encourage their progress while we are undertaking this path for ourselves; try various approaches to find out what is effective and works for you. Our team is happy to help and may reach out with suggestions or advice whenever we see opportunities for clearer communications between members.

Content Sharing

In the same light, our members love to share inspiring content, quotes, practice tips, etc. But it is also important to remember that the Drukama Treasury is not meant to be an open social sharing platform; the school has a defined curriculum and intention.

Even when shared with the best and clearest intentions, content offered by members may be inaccurate, misleading, or harmful to others on the path. Rather than screening every content post in an attempt to qualify or censor what is usually heartfelt sharing from well-meaning practitioners, we each take ownership of our own content offers within the bounds of the site’s terms and policies.

To help prevent accidental confusion and misunderstanding about the teachings (and further to the point regarding instruction vs. peer support), do not simply “dump” content into the main Treasury chat and forum areas. This can apply to all types of content sharing, but we are especially concerned with content that can be taken as instructional or advisory in nature, regardless of how accurate a reinforcement or representation of the method the offer may appear to be.

Consider your posts carefully, and practice providing some kind of framing whenever sharing your own content or content from outside systems in the spaces that are intended to host discussion of the teachings. Typically, all that is needed is to add some of your own words to invite perspective. This might be your personal connection with the content or what it reminded you of, a question about the content, an invitation to discuss, what you are inspired to contemplate, etc. Attending to content sharing in this way helps us keep discussion areas more open and free, allowing members to post a wider variety of content with less interference from administrators.

If you are not sure how your offer relates to the teachings or helps the group, it might not be an appropriate share (or perhaps it is better suited for a more casual discussion area such as the mundane chat). Feel free to reach out to our team or to veteran members for advice or for help framing your post in a natural way that is unique to you. It can take a little practice, so we are all happy to help with this. Remember to attribute quotes as well.

Generally speaking, we are looking for something to be included that differentiates your shared content or advice from what is coming directly from the school’s instructors and teachers, something that shows us how you personally see your content offer tying in to the curriculum or path, in your own words and drawing from your own experience and insight. Intentional posts like this help grow connections between members, and the resulting discussions can deepen our understanding of the teachings.

We welcome these insightful and properly framed offerings to the group. Without such framing, content offers may be removed. Time permitting, we might try to contact you privately to invite you to amend your post.

Private Discussion Areas and One-on-Ones

The Drukama Treasury may provide private direct messaging and video messaging services, available through the Chat area of the website, along with occasional special events for optional:

peer interaction and fellowship
one-on-one practice support from teachers and lecturers
administrative and technical support

In keeping with our focus on community interaction, the majority of inquiries and support requests should take place in the group discussion areas so that all can benefit.

Personal support via private (one-on-one) discussion is a voluntary offer and is not intended to be an on-demand service; it is provided at the discretion of instructors and teachers, and with time permitting. Our instructors and teachers are not licensed medical or mental health practitioners, financial advisors, etc; they are here to offer support for your spiritual path first and foremost, with the understanding that when the spiritual is attended to correctly and with the right timing, mundane issues tend to resolve naturally.

For best results, whenever seeking personalized assistance from an instructor, teacher, or other experienced practitioner, keep inquiries brief. State your question or comment directly, and if they need more information in order to answer you, they will ask for it.

Discretion is advised whenever conversing privately on the site; spiritual practices and teachings could be misconstrued and misrepresented by well-meaning individuals who are just trying to help. Teachers, instructors, and administrators are available to offer assistance if confusion or frustration arises with other members or with the teachings—we are here to help clear things up.

If someone is using a private messaging feature on our site in an inappropriate way or is violating our terms, or if you have been unsuccessful in resolving an issue on your own, report the relevant posts and contact us directly to describe the situation.

Conduct Intervention and Enforcement of Policies

Discussion moderation is necessary in any large group, even among members who mean well, and newcomers and trusted veterans alike may receive requests or reminders in the course of any given discussion. In any case where our policies are infringed or our community discussion areas are being misused, administrators and/or fellow members with experience will naturally step in to offer support and kindly remind the community of the policies or expected conduct.

Inspiring or amusing links or other resources are often shared in the course of discussion. Members should avoid posting promotional, suggestive, inflammatory, or other content not in keeping with our intentions and not suitable or helpful for a new member to view on arrival in our school. According to our terms of use, all content offers, images, files, links, etc. are subject to review and may be edited or removed at our discretion without warning or explanation.

Unproductive engagements sometimes arise within the group involving differences of opinion, speculation, hearsay, comparative analysis, moral and philosophical arguments, judgements of certain individuals or systems, etc. If members are not quickly moving on, such discussions will be actively broken up and the discussion areas refocused. When in doubt, consider disengaging or agreeing to disagree.

Unlike open expressive platforms like Facebook or Twitter, our discussion areas are designated for specific purposes relative to the Drukama teachings. We do not indulge the use of our member resources for distracting, disruptive, divisive, negative, destructive, or otherwise questionable or harmful interactions or behavior. Input or content that overtly or covertly detracts from our purpose, such as debating beliefs; one-upping; promoting or disparaging other teachings, systems, or individuals; ranting; attention-seeking; baiting; trolling; spamming; and so forth is unwelcome. Further, our resources may not be used for soliciting, recruiting, or otherwise drawing members into separate groups or away from the site for any purpose.

Our experienced members are welcome to offer friendly reminders or suggestions to peers and new members, provided these are offered based on your own personal understanding of the policies and intention for the school. Please use discernment and do not try to represent the school or site with your offer to help; simply speak from your own genuine understanding and experience, and allow the other member to make their own choices from there. There is no need to enter into conflict with another member; it is often best to simply make your point and let go of the outcome.

To get the attention of an administrator directly for any reason, the following options are available to you:

‘Flag’ any forum post
‘Report’ any chat post
Contact us; include screenshots and urls

Administrators intervene on a case-by-case basis, often proactively. Common moderation actions include but are not limited to the following:

Request clarification of intention
Request framing for content offers
Refocus discussion toward the purpose of the site
Return to topic in a forum thread, begin a new topic, or convert off-topic replies to new topics
De-escalate or break up heated or lengthy exchanges
Request certain discussions be moved to another area or to private message
Address spam, recruiting, etc
Remind members to uphold community standards and other policies

The requests and reminders issued to our members regarding policies and community standards are part of the normal, everyday moderation responsibilities. These actions support the intentions of the group and the school and are not personal attacks; defensive, reactive, aggressive, and other types of immature responses to moderation actions will not be entertained.

We want the best for our group, and that includes wanting the best for you, the individual. In this spirit, we may reach out to you directly as we work toward solutions for certain situations. Members wishing to remain in good standing will find it helpful to cooperate and respond promptly to administrator inquiries as we work to gain clarity about situations, investigate intentions, and decide how to proceed. At our discretion, we take actions including but not limited to editing or removing content entries, issuing warnings, or following through with enforcement of our Terms of Use and related agreements.

We will gladly retain members who remain focused on this unique path and the associated applications and whose interactions are consistently supportive and relevant to the practice environment.

Individuals who avoid reciprocal commitment or engagement with the group, or who work against the intention for the site or the aims of the instructors, teachers, or administrators waste the community’s time; those who carry on using the site in such unproductive ways will not be accommodated. Anyone found demonstrating intentions not in keeping with the purpose of the site is subject to immediate and permanent removal at our discretion without warning or notice.

Our team of administrators works together for the benefit of the group and the mission, and great care is taken in each situation to determine a course of action. Members wishing to discuss or debate site or policy-related matters are asked to refrain from doing so in the group discussion areas. We are happy to address your questions, feedback, and disputed matters privately, where each instance can be attended to properly and thoroughly, and (if needed) escalated accordingly.

Additional Information

Community policies are revised as needed; please review this page regularly.

Review the Terms of Use for more information regarding chat, forum, and general use of the Drukama^™ website.

Review the Privacy Policy for more information regarding your personal information and privacy.

For further assistance you are welcome to reach out to us via Direct Message in the chat area or by using the Contact Us link in the footer of the website.

Drukama™