Theistic Satanism: Home > Email groups



As of Fall 2007, the forums described below are now defunct. (They're still there, so you can join them and look at them, but you can't post there.) I now have blogs (on which you can post comments) instead of forums.



Online forums
moderated by Diane Vera, et al.



We moderate the following Yahoo email groups for high-quality, low-noise discussion about theistic Satanism and related topics.



Lists of forums (Yahoo groups)

Of the forums listed below, the only ones that welcome posts by people of all religions and worldviews (including Christians and other mainstream folks) are Theistic-Satanists-and-others-2 Theistic-Satanists-and-others-3. All other groups limit who is allowed to post. (For example, the original Theistic-Satanists-and-others group allows posts by Pagans, occultists, and atheistic/symbolic Satanists as well as theistic Satanists.)

Feel free to join any of the forums that are listed as public (open-membership). Please do not apply to join any of the restricted-membership forums until you meet the stated minimal requirements.

Before you post, be sure to read the rules for the Theistic Satanism email groups, and be sure to read the additional topicality guidelines for the specific forums you have joined. See also Some computer technical issues.


  1. Public, moderated, open-membership general forums on theistic Satanism and related topics

    Messages posted to all of the following email groups are expected to adhere to these rules.

    • Our main Theistic-Satanism forum, for discussion about the many different kinds of theistic ("traditional") Satanism and our commonalities and differences.

      This forum is for discussion AMONG theistic Satanists and people on very closely related paths (e.g. theistic Luciferians) only. People other than theistic Satanists (and people on very closely-related paths) should post their questions or comments elsewhere, as follows:   Pagans, occultists, and atheistic/symbolic Satanists should post in Theistic-Satanists-and-others (T-S-a-o) rather than in the main Theistic-Satanism forum. People who are not only not Satanists but are also not Pagans or occultists should post in either Theistic-Satanists-and-others-2 (T-S-a-o-2) or Theistic-Satanists-and-others-3 (T-S-a-o-3). In particular, Christians and poeple of other relatively mainstream beliefs are welcome to post only in T-S-a-o-2 and T-S-a-o-3, not in the main Theistic-Satanism forum.

      The Theistic-Satanism forum also does NOT welcome ads, announcements, etc. from people who do not also participate in discussion. Ads and announcement relevant to theistic Satanism should be posted in Theistic-Satanism-ADS.

    • Theistic-Satanists-and-others (T-S-a-o), for dialogue between theistic Satanists and people of certain other non-mainstream religions, primarily Pagans (of all kinds, including both RHP and LHP), occultists, and atheistic symbolic Satanists. T-S-a-o welcomes in-depth discussion about these other religions too (whereas, in the main Theistic-Satanism forum, the focus should be primarily on theistic Satanism, with discussion of other religions and worldviews only insofar as they are somehow relevant to theistic Satanism). Note: Christians and other mainstreamers are NOT allowed to post in T-S-a-o (but ARE welcome in Theistic-Satanists-and-others-2 and Theistic-Satanists-and-others-3, described below).

    • Theistic-Satanists-and-others-2 (T-S-a-o-2) and Theistic-Satanists-and-others-3 (T-S-a-o-3), for dialogue between theistic Satanists and people of all other religions and worldviews, including Christians and other mainstream folks. In T-S-a-o-2, we aim for a high level of rationality and civility, whereas T-S-a-o-3 allows more satirical and more strident styles. If you're a theistic Satanist, these forums and the original Theistic-Satanists-and-others forum are good places to get some practice explaining your beliefs to others. If you're a Christian, Muslim, observant Jew, or mainstream atheist, these forums give you an opportunity to dialogue with a group of theistic Satanists and people of other minority religions without being overwhelmed by vast numbers of posts (since the moderation of individual posts slows things down) and (especially in T-S-a-o-2) without having to deal with crude insults. Note that these forums are usually pretty quiet when there aren't any Christians actively posting. But, as soon as a Christian begins to post, they liven up considerabley.

    • Theistic-Satanism-ethics-and-politics, for discussion about ethics and politics by members of the other forums listed here. By "politics" we mean everything from world politics to the internal politics of the Satanist subculture (though we aim to avoid soap opera when discussing the latter). Theistic-Satanism-ethics-and-politics, like T-S-a-o, welcomes posts by Pagans, non-Satanist occultists, and atheistic/symbolic Satanists as well as theistic Satanists.

    • Theistic-Satanism-ADS, for ads of interest to theistic Satanists. (All ads NOT relevant to theistic Satanism, in one way or another, will be rejected.) Ads of all kinds should be placed here rather than in other forums. Please make their relevance to theistic Satanism explicit.

    Again, here are the rules for all of the above groups.


  2. Public LOCAL forums for theistic Satanists


  3. Semi-private, loosely moderated, restricted-membership general forums on theistic Satanism and related topics

    Below are restricted-membership, loosely moderated forums. Please do NOT apply to join any of the following forums without FIRST doing whatever is required by a given forum's screening procedure..

    • Black-Goat, for an inner circle of intelligent and articulate theistic Satanists, plus an occasional select few friendly Pagans and occultists. Not for novices. Before you apply to join, you must first participate in at least a few rounds of reasonably intelligent dialogue in one or more of our public forums, listed above. (See also the complete listing of the Black Goat Cabal's forums further down on this page.)

    • Theistic-Satanism-questions, for newcomers to theistic Satanism and for people willing to answer questions from newcomers. Also for people seriously considering becoming theistic Satanists but undecided. This forum is not for debate with people of other religions and worldviews, and it is not for anything even remotely resembling evangelism by Christians, Muslims, etc. (People of other religions and worldviews who want to debate with us should do so in the appropriate one of our public forums.) Before you apply to join Theistic-Satanism-questions, you must FIRST either (1) participate in at least a few rounds of reasonably intelligent dialogue in one or more of our public forums or (2) send email to the moderators telling us a little about yourself and your present beliefs and religious background, and telling us at least one of the questions you would like to ask.

    • Theistic-Satanists-ex-hard-Xian, for theistic Satanists who were brought up in (or are otherwise deeply familiar with) at least one of the more hardcore forms of Christianity, e.g. fundamentalism. Also welcome here are people who have left hardcore Christianity and are exploring alternatives including Satanism. (Such people will not be pressured to become theistic Satanists. On the contrary, as explained on my page For Theistic Satanists from hardcore Christian backgrounds (as I am too), I urge such people to explore a variety of alternatives before committing themselves to theistic Satanism.) Before you apply to join, you must FIRST either (1) participate in at least a few rounds of reasonably intelligent dialogue in one or more of our public forums or (2) send email to the moderators telling us, in some detail, about yourself and your present beliefs and religious background.

    • Theistic-Satanism-adult, for adults-only discussion of sexual topics related to theistic Satanism and the occult. This forum is for discussion, not cybersex, and it is open only to people who have first demonstrated an ability to discuss non-sexual topics intelligently too, in one or more of our public forums.

    • Theistic-Satanism-soap-opera, the place to try to resolve any prolonged interpersonal squabbles that arise in the other Theistic Satanism email groups. This forum is intended ONLY for people who have participated in dialogue in one or more of our other forums.

    The rules for our public groups apply to our semi-private groups also.


  4. Private, unmoderated, restricted-membership general forums on theistic Satanism and related topics

    Below are private, unmoderated forums for an inner circle of people who have participated regularly in our public forums for longer times than is required for joining the semi-private forums. Please do NOT try to join the following forums unless you meet the stated requirements.

    • Theistic-Satanists-philosophical, a private, by-invitation-only group for those theistic Satanists who (1) believe that THINKING is of vital importance; (2) have shown evidence of deep, clear, and careful thought in the other, more public Theistic Satanism email groups listed on this page; and (3) appear to be in touch with practical realities. Please do NOT apply to join Theistic-Satanists-philosophical until you have participated regularly (at least 4 or 5 posts per week) in both the main Theistic-Satanism forum and at least one of our other public forums too for at least two months.

    • Theistic-Satanism-defenders, a private, by-invitation-only group for theistic Satanists interested in monitoring and responding to slanders against Satanists. Members must be articulate, rational, emotionally stable, and not given to undignified outbursts. With only very rare by-invitation-only exceptions, members of Theistic-Satanism-defenders must also be regularly participating members of the semi-private Black-Goat as well as one or more of our public Theistic Satanism forums.

    • Theistic-Satanism-defenders-core, for an inner circle of people who have been longtime active participating members of BOTH of the above two private forums Theistic-Satanism-defenders and Theistic-Satanists-philosophical (NOTE: that's BOTH, not just either one).

    • See also the private forums of the Black Goat Cabal and the Church of Azazel, listed further down on this page.

    Please do NOT apply to join thsee forums unless (1) you've been a regular participant in both the main Theistic-Satanism forum and at least one of our other forums (public or semi-private) for at least two months and (2) you meet all other stated requirements as well.

    The rules for our public and semi-private groups apply to our private groups also, except that the private groups are unmoderated.


  5. Black Goat Cabal's forums

    The Black Goat Cabal and its forums are intended ONLY for Satanists, Pagans, and occultists who share the aims of the Black Goat Cabal. If you do not share the aims of the Black Goat Cabal, you may still join most of the OTHER Theistic Satanism forums listed earlier on this page, as appropriate.

    • Black-Goat, a semi-private, loosely-moderated forum, Posts to the Black-Goat group are expected to adhere to the same rules as the other Theistic Satanism groups listed on this page, with minor variations as noted in the Black-Goat forum descripton. Please do not attempt to join this forum unless (1) you agree with the aims of the Black Goat Cabal, and (2) either (a) you have engaged in at least a few rounds of dialogue in one or more of our public forums, or (b) you have been invited by one of the moderators

    • Black-Goat-Cabal, the unmoderated private, members-only forum of the Black Goat Cabal. For more information, see Who we are and how to join. Plaese do NOT attempt to join this forum unless you meet the stated requirements.

    • BGCabal-membership - Black Goat Cabal's membership committee. Please do NOT attempt to join this forum except by invitation of the moderators.


  6. Church of Azazel's forum

    The Church of Azazel is a group (online only, so far) of people who share the specific approach to theistic Satanism outlined on the Church of Azazel site, whereas the other forums on this page are for theistic Satanists of other kinds too.

    • Church-of-Azazel, private forum of the Church of Azazel. Prospective members of this forum must first post regularly (at least a couple of times per week) in at least one and preferably more than one of the public Theistic Satanism forums listed on this page.


  7. Counter-Evangelism forum

    The following group is associated with the Counter-Evangelism Resource Page:

    • Counter-evangelism, forum for discussion of counter-evangelism strategy. Although it is run by theistic Satanists, this forum is not about Satanism. It is for people of all nonmainstream beliefs who are concerned about the growth of hardcore Christianity (and hardcore Islam). This forum welcomes Pagans, occultists, atheists, and even (on a case-by-case basis) some very liberal Christians. Among other things, this forum is a place to brainstorm ways to respond to pesky fundies in your personal life.


  8. Your forum listed here too, if....

    Do you too run a forum for high-quality, low-noise, intelligent dialogue among theistic Satanists or among some subset, superset, or overlapping category of people? If so, you might want to consider joining your efforts with ours, as follows:

    1. If you run an unmoderated or loosely moderated, private or semi-private, restricted-membership forum, whether on Yahoo or elsewhere, you can perhaps save yourself some hassle in the screening of prospective members by requiring prospective members of your forum to participate on one or more of our moderated, public, open-membership forums as a means of preliminary screening. If you're willing to make this an explicit requirement, with a link to one of our forums or to this page on both your forum's site and an associated website, then we, in turn, will consider linking to both your forum and your website here on this page. If and when you and we agree to such an arrangement, you may also require prospective members of your forum to mention their interest in your forum in their own introductory posts in our public forums, thereby giving your forum some additional free publicity. (But please tell them that their intro post must say A LOT more than just something like, "Hello, I'm a traditional Satanist and I'd like to join the ________ forum.")

    2. If you run an open-membership, moderated Yahoo group (all posts requiring approval), consider becoming one of the moderators of our Theistic Satanism forums, in exchange for your forum being added to the set of forums that we moderate and list on this page. Thus you could cut down the total number of hours per week you spend moderating your own forum, delegating that responsibility to other people at other times, in exchange for taking on the responsibility of moderating our forums during the hours when you also moderate your own.

    If either of the above arrangements interests you, please write to the moderators.

    In order for your forum to be approved for either arrangement, your forum should meet at least the following minimum requirements:

    1. It should have its own distinct focus, different from that of any of the forums already listed here. (For example, it could be a LOCAL Theistic Satanist forum for a locale other than the New York City area. Or it could be a forum devoted to a specific Satanist theological paradigm different from the Church of Azazel's paradigm, e.g. a forum for Satanic pantheists, or it could be a forum devoted to some specific school of Satanic magick. Another possibility would be a forum for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender theistic Satanists.)

    2. You should be willing to try to keep your forum focussed on its own particular topic or intended audience, at least for the most part.

    3. You must not be an advocate of violent criminal activity in the name of Satanism.

    In addition, if your forum is or will be a private or semi-private group using one or more of the public Theistic Satanism forums as an official gateway, and if you are not volunteering to help us moderate the Theistic Satanism forums, then we ask that the Theistic Satanism forums not be your group's sole means of publicity. Our arrangement should be mutually beneficial in terms of publicity.

    If you run a forum that is open-membership yet also unmoderated or loosely moderated, then consider changing it to either a fully moderated forum (all posts requiring approval) or a restricted-membership forum to reduce spam, flame wars, and other noise. Otherwise, the noise will doubtless grow worse and worse as your forum is discovered by more and more spammers, trolls, and bratty kids, especially if your forum is at all well-publicized.

    If you are THINKING about starting a forum -- think twice. Forums are easy to start, but a challenge to maintain unless the forum is just a bunch of old friends, A forum that isn't just a bunch of old friends needs a steady stream of publicity, or else it will simply die. But with publicity comes all manner of trouble. So, I would strongly advise against creating a new forum unless you have an idea for a forum that is truly unique.

    If you aim to advance theistic Satanism online, consider creating a website rather than a forum. The theistic Satanist scene has no shortage of online forums, But there is indeed a pitiful shortage of good theistic Satanist websites.



Notes



See also:

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