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The Physica Forum Physica is a discussion forum and study group. It revolves around discussion threads on a Yahoo e-list group. It also holds various features, such as bibliographies of suggested reading and sets of links to online resources as well as a privately posted files area for posting copyrighted material relevant to discussions. The forum is non-denominational and discusses lore from all cultures. We discuss things from folk-lore to the symbolism of high religious doctrine and all between. More than one discussion will transpire at the same time. The discussion may be expected to veer off course, to be reeled in by the moderator at their discretion according to circumstance. Most of our discussion has been either on demonology fairy lore, and related topics or about plant lore. The forum is open to other related topics. See the articles What is Occult Folklore? and Why "Physica"? for a better look at what types of discussion would qualify as "on topic." In general, the discussion topics are set by those who contribute to the discussions. See the article What We Are Not for some comments about where we do not want the forum to go and what we do not want to see in the discussions. For the first few years of its existence, the discussions have mostly centered around things that the moderator has brought to the table. It is my wish to see more discussions initiated by other members. People studying various things which fall within the scope of the list should feel free and be encouraged to submit queries, even if simply to fish out possible common interests with other members of the group. Members are also encouraged to post sources they have found, online or in hardcopy. Many of the most interesting things people on such forums encounter often comes by recommendation rather than simple surfing. Of particular interest to the group are current news sources on recent activities which may be related to older magical act or thinking, such as witchcraft accusations, modern superstitions, survivals of older superstitions exposéd, modern scientific discoveries that explain demonological or cryptozoologial lore and the like. As it is also the intention of the forum to be a reference resource where people may find large amounts of quality material on occult topics without having to sift through the rabble of Google keyword search results, members are asked to submit the best source references they find. These will be compiled into edited bibliographies and webliographies depending upon media and topic. The continual presentation of quality materials to read and peruse should function to the forum subscribers like a digest, a blog and a magazine subscription, wavering somewhere between and keeping an independant archive. Subscription to the forum should ideally be like an aperiodic magazine subscription, a research tool to query and an index to a growing library all in one. The forum contributors are expected to steer focus in the direction of their interests and studies. Posting on topics will generally initiate response postings on those topics. Physica is a moderated list. This is partially to cut spam and partially to maintain a certain quality of posting. Past experiences on unmoderated public forums have made me grow wary of that format. I would prefer to only deal with people that can speak intelligently and have some idea of what they are talking about. I would rather see one informative post than any number of posts of blind speculation or blatant misinformation. This is not to say, of course, that speculation is wholly discouraged. People who are thought capable by the moderating body may be moved to a non-moderated status. Chat and chatter by moderated parties will be deleted. Any parties may be put on moderation, removed or banned at the discretion of the moderator. Anything remotely looking like spam will be instantly deleted as well. For a more detailed look at our moderation policies see the article Moderation Guidelines. |