Theistic Satanism: Home > Forum Network



Theistic Satanism Forum Network



  1. Forums in the network
  2. How to get your forum listed here
  3. Terms-of-service issues to watch out for


  1. Forums in the network
  2. Below is a list of member forums. Except for the Theistic Satanism Blog Network, the forums listed below are NOT run by me (Diane Vera).

    • Theistic-Satanism-Public, a Yahoo group. Welcomes theistic Satanists of all kinds, plus symbolic Satanists, Pagans, and even Christians if they are willing to discuss theistic Satanism in a friendly manner, without attempting to proselytize. Moderated only to prevent spam, proselytizers, and assorted terms-of-service violations, detailed in the guidelines that are emailed to new members. (The owner may also intervene occasionally, at her discretion, in case of serious flame wars or other troublesome situations.) Discussion of both spiritual and societal matters welcome. Discussion of all theistic Satanist theologies and almost all social/political views is welcome, prohibiting only the promotion of race hatred or claims of racial superiority. (The owner is Hermetic-based in her theology and libertarian in her political views.) Membership requires approval. (No entrance requirements other than the brief note that Yahoo asks you to write.)
    • Your forum listed here?
    • My own new forum, the Theistic Satanism Blog Network, which, when I've finished writing the relevant script, will have pages listing recent posts with particular tags in all member blogs. These pages will serve as de facto sub-forums. (Until the script is finished, I'll continue to run my public Yahoo groups, which I would probably phase out after the blog network script is finished, unless enough qualified people have volunteered to be moderators by then.)

    A listing here does not imply endorsement of a forum's contents. Please note that I am not in any way responsible for the content of posts in any forums other than my own moderated Yahoo groups.


  3. How to get your forum listed here
  4. If you're running a forum devoted to theistic Satanism, a listing here is a good way to publicize it. For further publicity, it is strongly recommended (though not required) that you also partipate in the Theistic Satanism Blog Network, and, of course, have links back and forth between your forum and your blog.

    Forums listed here may be of any type (e-lists, message boards, etc.) on any forum host, or on your own website. Each forum listed here must be in some way relevant to theistic Satanism and must be unique, differing in some significant way from all other forums listed here. Possible ways that forums may differ from each other include such things as (1) type of forum (e.g. message board vs. e-list); (2) who is welcome to participate (e.g. theistic Satanists only, Satanists and Pagans and occultists only, or people of all religions and worldviews, or perhaps some subset of theistic Satanists); (3) the allowed role, if any, of discussion of political and societal issues; (4) the theological perspective of the owner; and (5) the sociopolitical perspective of the owner.

    To be listed here, a forum must have prominent links back to this page (e.g., "This forum is a member of the Theistic Satanism Forum Network," with "Theistic Satanism Forum Network" hyperlinked). On a message board, the link should be on a panel (side panel or bottom panel) that appears on every page (or, at least, almost every page). For an e-list (e.g. a Yahoo group), there should be link back to this page both on the group's home page and in the footers of email from the group.

    Every forum listed here should be run by someone whom I consider to be reasonably intelligent and literate, and who does not advocate violent criminal activity in the name of Satan or Satanism (or in the name of any other religion or god). Forums listed here should not be devoted primarily to personal vendettas against any other person or group in the Satanist scene.

    To join the network, please (1) set up your forum with the required links back to this page, and then (2) email me, giving me the URL's of both your forum's main page and a few sample posts of yours. (Please include "Theistic Satanism Forum Network" on the subject line of your message, to help me distinguish your email from spam.)

    I reserve the right to refuse membership in the Theistic Satanism Forum Network for any reason I deem necessary.


  5. Terms-of-service issues to watch out for
  6. The advice in this section should be taken only as advice, not as a set of rules to be enforced by me. I am not in any way responsible for the contents of forums not moderated by me, nor does a listing here constitute an endorsement.

    Satanist forums frequently get deleted by forum hosts. However, they usually get deleted not because of Satanism per, but because of terms-of-service violations that other kinds of forums might be able to get away with for longer periods of time. To reduce the likelihood that your forum will get deleted, please read the terms of service, and please keep the following typically-prohibited behaviors in mind:

    • Hate speech, including anti-Christian hate speech. It's fine to criticize Christianity as a religion, but it's a good idea to avoid genocidal sentiments, overgeneralizations about Christians as people, schoolyardish name-calling, etc. Ditto regarding Islam and Muslims.
    • Libel  -  or anything that might give your forum host the impression of a risk of being sued for libel, in the event of a complaint from a lawyer hired by whoever you were criticizing. I recommend that you require that any unpleasant personal allegations that a member of your forum makes about another person should be carefully documented, preferably with online sources that can be linked to. Be especially wary about any allegations, insinuations, or remarks having to do with illegal activity; or a person's job, profession, or business; or a person's medical conditions or sex life. (To be on the safs side, I would suggest avoiding even purely rhetorical accusations on these topics, e.g. "What have you been smoking? Must have been good stuff!" or "What's your problem? Did you forget to take your meds this morning, or what?") On the other hand, it is definitely not libel to say you think that someone's ideas are stupid (at least as long as you steer clear of challenging the person's professional competence or mental health). Also, I would suggest advising your members to distinguish clearly between opinions and allegations of fact. (Other factors being equal, statements containing phrases like "in my opinion" or "it seems to me" are less risky than statements without such qualifications.)
    • Harassment, including threats, giving out private personal information about other people, and announcing that you've put a curse on a specific named individual. Also, your forum as a whole should not be devoted largely or primarily to personal vendettas against any person or organization.
    • Copyright violations and plagiarism  -  a biggie, more so than many Internet novices may expect. Copyright violations and plagiarism are probably the number one reason why blogs, forums, and other websites get deleted. It is strongly recommended that you not allow your members to copy graphics, videos, music, or large amounts of text from other websites, especially without acknowledging one's source. Don't assume that the absence of a copyright notice means it's okay to copy something, especially if you don't know where your source got it.
    • In my forums, I've required members to post just a preview (possibly copying and pasting at most a small amount of text - several sentences at most) and then a link to the original page. In my forums, I've also required that original poems, stories, videos, etc., should be explicitly identified as original work, and that stuff copied with permission should explicitly say so as well.

    • Any promotion of illegal activity, or links to sites promoting illegal activity.
    • But remember that there's a big difference between promoting lawbreaking and promoting changes to laws in favor of activities now illegal. The latter is okay, at least in most cases, as long as you make it clear that you are not advocating that people break the law.

    • Hardcore pornography and other sexually explicit content, or links to same, unless you have an effective means of keeping minors out..

    Although a lot of people may be able to get away with all of the above, elsewhere on the Internet, it is wise to assume that a high-profile public Satanist website or forum, including any member of Theistic Satanism Forum Network, will be surrounded by enemies with nothing better to do than to hang around looking for things to complain about and report them. Such enemies could include fanatical Christians, fanatical Muslims, partisans of rival Satanist groups, and overzealous anti-"hate group" activists who mistakenly believe that all or most Satanists are neo-Nazis. So, everyone, please read carefully the terms of service of your forum host, and follow them.