Many (too many, it could be said) of Tarot professionals have left the forum during the years.
The reasons are many.
And beside the Tarot professionals, there were many other interesting voices that disappeared. Again, the reasons were many.
But I think that the trend for Tarot professional has been that many more have left than those who came in.
Me. I routinely go histerical....
And yes, Tarot professionals always have an ulterior motive (it's no bad or something to be ashamed of, it's not that we are corrupted or impure). While most of my post are by Ric, the person, I still have loyalty to LS, and have to wear their uniform.
But I never tried to "sell" anything that I didn't believe in.
Getting back to topic, a board like AT NEEDS to be free.
It cannot afford any form of compromise in that freedom. If it were to bow to the rules of the market (but here I need to disagree with a previous poster: AT is not the market. It's a very small expression of the market), it would be terrible.
The ability to express dislike, to express even extreme criticism, is pivotal to the growth of any community. It's the key to have interesting discussions... and much more.
But with freedom cames responsability.
Not jsut individual, but from the community as a whole, not to misue that freedom.
Too many times (right or wrong) I have felt so much posion and hostility, and unfairness... And too many times just disguised by civil and proper demeanor.
And too many times that attitudes had been encouraged by the community, copied and reloaded.
There are ery few reasons for anyone to stand against that.
I believe that sometimes there is an undercurrent that despise any Tarot professional, just for the fact they are professionals. While an independent author is deemed a lot of encouragement and help, and sometimes of open-mindness... other people or realities are seen as a corporate evil, that needs to be opposed, censored, and defyed. No slight is left unpunished. (and I think this goes beyond AT. We live in a world where corporate evil is a reality, but... it just means that that reality managed to poison our world even here).
Other times it seems to me that there is "envy". Simply and subtle.
And, again, there are also many different ways to conceive the Tarot. One should think that after many years we have learned to let our vision of Tarot cohesist with different visions. But it's often not the case. Each time a deck happens that follow a different path, it may get kicked as it were a menace to path one follows. And a deck is judget against parameters that don't belong to it, and the crucified. That is the part that saddens me most, because when two different Tarot paths meet each other there is such a great opportunity for understanding and growing.
In the end, responsability is not dependant on the "how" and "why"... but it gets down to the consequences. Do we (community) want the community to be without the Professionals? If so, too many times, we have done an excellent job.
(and believe me, we that remained try to keep our posting to a minimum, to avoid conflict... and it's been yera since I've seen any of us discuss with each other on the board).
Or do we consider the partecipation of the Tarot Professional as an asset, something to be valued.
If so, it should be nortured. Not with blind compliance and sheep-like cheering. But with a kind of "welcomess" that is almost utterly lacking.
In the end, I believe that the solution is not "costructive criticism", or "cheering clouds", or "speak what you want", or "be civil", or whatever.
I think the answer is attention. And much less EGO (for any kind of poster, Tarot professionals as well). ---> write to learn at least as much as you write to explain.
Ric
@Lee
I always suffer when Mark treats me badly ^_^
