I don't really see how what you did was any different than what has been going on since day one. Yes, at first I strove to use the rep system exactly as it was explained by admin. But when it became apparent to me that there was plenty of rep going around that had nothing to do with the "reasons to rep" and it was being allowed, I started to play along as well. The purposes expressed for the rep system are not reflective of the rep system. As someone pointed out somewhere, there are some really intelligent, thoughtful, well-spoken, and helpful ladies on the high school board (the section of these forums that most emulates the theories of classical education) yet many of them do not have high rep. Why? Because for the most part they don't come to the general board. The rep system, again for the most part,is a fun system to let people know you like them and to let you feel like you have something to give someone that will make them feel good. Regardless of what the admin's initial intentions had been for it, this is what it is.

You're welcome, Jackie! I also wonder if they have changed how many people you can rep in a day since the board started. I know for the first day or two, there seemed to be no limits on how often you could rep, or how often you could rep a particular person. But then it got a little tighter. I know there were a couple of other people who timed it and found that they could only rep between 4 and 6 people per 24-hour period, and I think they both had 1 square at the time. But you definitely have to run out of rep regularly in order to be able to rep the same person within about a week. If you don't run out each day, it can take MUCH longer!

Click on User Control Panel (CP) up along the top of the board. Any reps you have been given will be listed there. Well, only the last 5 will be shown. But your total number will be on the top right of the box. You start with 10 automatically.

Well, I suppose I'm showing my inner geek now, but I have kept records, and it seems that no matter how many squares I've had or points I've been worth, it is about 6 people per day that I can rep. Some days it really doesn't feel like I have given that many, but when I keep the notes, it's pretty regularly that much. And while I'm being transparent about my nerdiness, I will also share that the wait for being able to rep the same person again is about 8 days. The key factor is to make sure you run yourself out of rep every day. That's how you spread it around. It doesn't seem to work by just waiting 8 days, although I couldn't possibly go 8 days without spreading the love, even to test my hypothesis. You have to spread it around, and spread it good!

When your 24 hours is up, you will only have one available, like in the example until 11:01. BUT if you have spent all your rep on a spree like this, then you will pretty-much be fully restocked at the same time. Each square is worth 1 point, and every 1000 posts is worth a point. So you are worth 3 points. You will earn your third square when you have 200 rep points. Now, that will cost you a rep. :D

It goes something like this... You don't have to wait 24 hours since your last rep, it just says you have used it all in the last 24-hour period. So, if the total number of people you can rep per day is 6 (which I think it is, or is close to) then when you have repped 6 people within any 24-hour period, you run out. You are able to rep again when 24 hours has passed since the rep you gave 5 people ago. Gosh that makes no sense, does it. Let me see if I can make a visual here. 10:00 rep Mindy 11:00 rep hsmom 12:00 rep Gretchen 1:00 rep Lolly 2:00 rep Tracy 3:00 rep rockermom Now I'm out of rep. But I don't have to wait until 3:00 tomorrow, just until 10:01. Because at that point I will have only repped 5 people in the previous 24 hour period. Does that make sense?

By the way guys, I will have more rep by this evening, and I never forget a friend!! Any latecomers to the party???

2 squares is 2 points. And then for every 1000 posts you are worth an additional point. Since *anj* have 5 stars and over 2000 posts, her love is worth 7 points!! She's awesome!!

What fun! But I have been out of ding-dong rep for HOURS!!! I love to give and give, but it's gone SO soon. And then I'm late to the party. But happy Fourth everyone!!

Okay, so for those who would really want a secular board, would you only want it if it were a part of these boards? I've been a member of the WTM secular yahoo group for years, and it just doesn't have much activity. Is it the yahoo setting that's the turn off? Would you be more inclined if it were using this V-bulletin software format? Is it that you would really like to have a group comprised of specific secular members of these boards? Or would you only be interested if it were a subsection on these boards? I understand the convenience factor. But I don't find it that hard to have all my little online haunts bookmarked together and displayed in the bookmark column on the left of the screen. I just click from one to the next, and it's not that much different than clicking the different boards on here.

That's really far too general of a statement. It would be correct to say that not everyone is welcome here by everyone. But come on, no matter how segregated you try to make a group, eventually someone will not like someone else, for whatever reason. We are humans. There may be people here who try to make you feel unwelcome, but really, how many? Out of thousands of registered users, how many have made someone feel unwelcome? I know it can only take one or two nasty comments to make you feel bad. But one or two nasty comments does not equate to someone being unwelcome on these boards. Want proof? If you've been lurking long, you'll know who some of the most outspoken secular posters are here. Go to the Member List and sort it by Reputation. I guarantee you that you will find all of the most outspoken secular posters within the first four pages. They got there because people like what they say enough to make the little effort to give them positive rep. So whatever negatives they received, and I'm pretty sure they've received some at some point, are few and far between compared to the positives. That tells me that, though there may be a lot of people who don't care for their views or their style, even more have taken the steps to let them know they are appreciated. So I can't just buy your blanket statement.

The short answer? They can take Earth, Life, or Physical in any order, but you would choose either the regular or the advanced. The long answer involves a little history of K12's science programs. The courses that are now listed as Advanced are revisions of their original middle school science program. So many people came new to K12 in middle school, and had not had their K-5 science background, and the students simply couldn't handle the rigor. There were also some experiments that didn't work properly, and some lessons that were too long and needed to be reworked. So K12 made easier versions of their middle school science courses, and those are the ones that are not labeled advanced. They were the only courses available to independent K12 users for a few years. They revised the original courses to fix some of the problems but keep the rigor. They offered them only to virtual academy students, using them as guinea pigs, since they did have access to a real-life teacher. They used them for a year or two, working out the bugs. My assumption is that they are now offering them to independent users since they are listed on the website like that. I haven't been on any K12 boards in a couple months, so I haven't read any reactions. But I do know that the advanced ones, as they were before, resembled high school level, easily. The Life Science was far more rigorous than my Biology class in college! But once they changed them, some longtime independent users of K12 had to change to a different curriculum because the regular classes were "dumbed down" compared to what they were used to in previous years. The regular science courses are great for students who don't have a lot of science background. For the science-nut kind of kid or one who has completed K12's K-5 science, the advanced is the way to go.

Okay, sorry it isn't the first one on the list like I had said. Here's what you do: Go to User Control Panel Click Edit Options Scroll down to Default Thread Subscription Choose No Email This will automatically subscribe you to any thread you reply in. It will not email you all the responses. It will simply show up in a box on your User CP when a new reply has been added. Let me know if you have any troubles with this!

Since I was one of the first who made a statement in that regard, let me further explain. It's not strictly Christians making assumptions that can irritate me. I think for me, it's more a style of writing in general. What I mean by that is any time authors write with the assumption that everyone thinks/feels/believes the way they do, well, it's not showing good logic. I promise you, Karen, I do work on showing grace. I'm one of those grammar- and spelling-sensitive people who would enjoy the job of editing. I used to read some posts and think, "Why the heck don't they correct that? Isn't it bugging them?" But as I worked on my tolerance levels, the thought process moved more to the level of, "Hmmmm, they're probably just really busy." And now, I'm proud to say, I have even left obvious errors and typos in a few of my own posts!! It's a process, and not necessarily a quick one. And I know that it is one I am working on in many areas. :)

The one you mentioned sounds much like the plan my family is on. We are a family of three and it is 150 per month. We never use it. We basically just self-pay and the doctors usually give us a little break because of it. But we have it for those "just in case" feelings. So if something catastrophic happened, we'd be covered. And if it's the same one we have, after your deductible, you pay NOTHING. All these other plans that are several hundred per month, WITH high deductibles, AND with co-pays, and you STILL have to pay a percentage after meeting the deductible. But like I said, we've never actually USED it, so all I can really say is that they are good at taking our money every month, but I have no idea how they are at handling claims.

If you have your option set to subscribe to each thread you post in, they will show up on your User Control Panel. (Click those words in the upper left corner.) I have mine set that way, so all I have to do it go to my User CP and if any of those threads have new comments, it will be listed there. I also picked the No email option. To change your options, go to your User CP and choose Edit Options. It will be the first one on the list.

Yeah, you could probably say she fits that category. But she is also moving cross country, so she hasn't been "around" on any boards for a while.

I have to agree with Starlashine. I have not found SOTW to have anything remotely pervasive in its religious stance. Is it 100% secular? No, probably not by most standards. But it is SO easy to work with. Hardly any effort at all.

And that's fine. You're a grown woman who is capable of deciding for herself if a certain board is worth it or not. But really, who does? Who fits nicely and neatly into any one category? That's why General is a good word. Because it is far too diverse to break up. You would need a gajillion subsections, and even then, most people would go from subsection to subsection because they still wouldn't fit nice and neatly into any one subsection. And if they did, they would probably be pretty darn lonely in there. :) But see, that's another positive aspect of the diversity of these boards. When I come across someone who seems to have the same views of religion that I do, they stand out to me! When I find someone with the same sense of humor, they stand out to me! When I find someone who uses the same curricula as me, they stand out to me! But it is the rare individual who will share ALL those traits. There are some Christian women on here that make my sides hurt from laughing so hard. If I were on a secular board, I might never have found them! My life is a little brighter because of them. The bigger the pond, the more chance of finding a fish just like you! Absolutely! Typically, those who have left Christianity will have some bruises. Avoiding places that push those bruises is sometimes necessary. Over time, the bruises start to fade, and you can be around things without feeling the hurt. But if I'm the one with the open sore, I can't put the responsibility of keeping my wound clean on other people. I have to take whatever measures I have to take to make sure the wound heals properly so I can move past avoidance and on to not only tolerance, but acceptance.

I think you're right about this, but I think things have to be in baby steps. (Unfortunately. I HATE baby steps. I'm a full throttle kind of girl!) I do sense that a large percentage of this community is Christian. I don't think anyone is denying that, and it is probably pretty representative of the population in general. But all of us tend to "edit" our dialog depending on the company we are in. If we know we're going to be completely outnumbered, we tend to be less vocal. (Well, most of us. Phred's an obvious exception! :)) But it works in the opposite fashion also. When you are in a group that you feel shares your beliefs 100%, you are going to speak with the assumption that everyone agrees with you. To me, that is offputting. I enjoy reading alternate views, but I grate a little at the assumption that I share them. The more visible non-Christians become on this board, the more aware Christians will be of us. I wouldn't want people to feel like they can't talk about their religion, but hopefully the realization that not everyone shares the same beliefs would lead to posts that don't make those assumptions. (And I'm not saying there are a lot of threads like that. Just speaking to the psychological aspect of it.) Right now, I don't think this board is ready for a lot of pagan conversation, because wicca and whatnot are seen as opposing Christianity. It is far more "scary" to Christians than simply someone with no religion. But that's the baby step. Increase awareness of just how diverse our online population already is, and respect that not everyone shares your beliefs.

No Pam, you're not wrong.

I'm not sure any of us were trying to say your only choice is to seek out other boards. I think we are saying that what we desire, we already are able to find here, just as it is. Yes, it takes some digging. And we feel it's worth it. And honestly, I prefer to see things for myself. So even if I had heard this board was thought to be an overly Christian board, I would not be "scared away". I don't scare that easily. I investigate and decide for myself. If someone has come here and decided it's not for them, that's really their choice. It is not the owner of this board's responsibility to try to make sure they please everyone. There are issues that I don't agree with in the management of this board, but being that it's not MY board, I choose to make the best of things as they are. I said in another thread that I feel the new format of these boards lends itself to being more inclusive. I used to be very worried about posting alternate views because I didn't want to deal with the backlash. I'm not sure if that was real or imagined, but I have found my voice on this board, and discovered that people aren't as negative about it as I thought they would be. "Be the change you want to see." If someone wants to complain that these boards are too overly Christian, then come here and be an alternate voice. If these boards have a feel, it's reflective of the people who post the most. Start threads about secular issues. Make your (our) presence more visible. Do your part in helping to create a truly inclusive environment where we can all learn from each other.

I don't know that I would say I find it offensive, but I certainly find it ironic. I mean, one of the biggest draws to this board is the sheer number of posters, and therefore advice/information you can receive. The thing is, there are plenty of secular boards out there, and they are very quiet, and have very little to offer. I like it here because I can get SO much information in one place. But I fully expect to have to "wade" through things. It's an obvious (to me anyway) side-effect of having a heavily populated board. It's like shopping at a large store versus going to a specialty store. I would have to go to 15 different specialty stores to buy all the things I can get at larger store. Sure, I have to walk past aisles and aisles of things I don't want in the large store, but I can get everything I need in one place. That's what I like about these boards.

I've heard "dash hound" also, now that you mention it. But I don't think I've heard that pronunciation since I've actually owned one. Nope, not gonna laugh at you! But I am still laughing at the reporter! :lol:

I completely agree with this statement. As far as losing its classical roots, well, I've been reading these boards for at least 5 years, and I don't see much of a change in that direction. If it has lost its roots, I think it must have happened long before I started reading. It has its cycles, where sometimes math is the big topic. And then grammar gets its fifteen minutes, then Latin. An ebb and flow of sorts. I agree with other posters regarding the increased participation naturally "diluting" the subject matter. But there is also the increasing number of homeschooling curricula to be discussed. There are more options out there every year, and certainly more than there was when these boards began. And with the ease of website creation, even the little companies can get their product out for the world to see. It's possible that we lose sight of the forest for all the trees. I would love to see more philosophical discussions on these boards, because "classical" is more a philosophy than any set of curricula. Even SWB hesitated to list particular products in her book, because she didn't want the focus to be put on them. But the actual programs are the nitty gritty of how we get it done, so it's only natural to spend lots of time discussing them. And because these products are used by classical homeschoolers as well as traditional / eclectic / etc., many people will be drawn to these boards because they are chock full of great information. And so the spiral continues.