Dear All,

As the long-serving Chris Marti has stepped down from being a Moderator, so Linda "Polly Ester" Ö has decided to step up to help moderate the forum.

Many thanks to all Moderators past, present, and future for their service. It is an often somewhat thankless job, but their presence, attention, and judgement helps make this place better, and I am extremely grateful for them and any and all help they voluntarily lend to the DhO.

Daniel

Thank you Linda! All the best wishes to both Chris and Linda! 

hope Chris won't stop being active on DhO
I got kinda used to us disagreeing in pretty much everything

And for Linda


...you will need it

All love and gratitude and respect to Chris, for his generous service in an often thankless crucial role. May your next service gig involve umbrella drinks and beaches or something better, maybe counseling people overloaded with compassion and meekness and humility, who are recovering somewhere with a good climate.

Person: Chris, my problem is I'm just too nice. I just walk around all the time emanating love and light. 
Chris (sipping umbrella drink): Just be with that, accept it for precisely what it is.
Person (visibly moved, a satori moment, clearly): Oh, thank you, Chris!
Chris (sipping umbrella drink, accepting neck massage, as a balmy breeze eases in off the blue-green lagoon): De nada.

Thank you Chris.

Here is a welcome song for Linda she will find it funny I'm sure  
https://youtu.be/1XK5-n4rR7Q

lol, papaji, i had to homework to appreciate this! but it is wonderful, and very funny and weirdly a propos. Thanks.

welcome, Linda-bot! May your moderation, and moderating, and moderate middle way-ness, help keep the sangha's channel clean.

Boten Anna "Basshunter" 
Jag känner en bot, hon heter Anna, Anna heter hon
Och hon kan banna, banna dig så hårtHon röjer upp i våran kanal
Jag vill berätta för dig att jag känner en bot
Jag känner en bot, hon heter Anna, Anna heter hon
Och hon kan banna, banna dig så hårt
Hon röjer upp i våran kanal
Jag vill berätta för dig att jag känner en bot
Som alltid vaktar alla som är här
Och som ser till att vi blir utan besvär
Det finns ingen takeover som lyckas
Kom ihåg att det är jag som känner en bot
En bot som ingen, ingen annan slår
Och hon kan kicka utan att du får
Hon gör sig av med alla som spammar
Ja, inget kan slå våran bot
Ready for takeoff
Are you ready?
Då kom den dagen jag inte trodde fanns
Den satte verkligen kanalen ur balans
Jag trodde aldrig att jag hade så fel
Men när Anna skrev och sa: "Jag är ingen bot"Jag är en väldigt, väldigt vacker tjej
Som ju tyvärr är väldigt främmande för mig
Men det finns inget som behöver förklaras
För i mina ögon är hon alltid en bot
Hon heter Anna, Anna heter hon
Och hon kan banna, banna dig så hårt
Hon röjer upp i våran kanalJag vill berätta för dig att jag känner en bot
Som alltid vaktar alla som är här
Och som ser till att vi blir utan besvär
Det finns ingen takeover som lyckas
Kom ihåg att det är jag som känner en bot
En bot som ingen, ingen annan slår
Och hon kan kicka utan att du får
Hon gör sig av med alla som spammar
Ja, inget kan slå våran bot
Songwriters: Jonas Altberg

I know a bot,
her name is Anna, Anna is her name
And she can ban, ban you so hard
She cleans up in our channel
I wanna tell you, that I know a bot

I know a bot,
her name is Anna, Anna is her name
And she can ban, ban you so hard
She cleans up in our channel
I wanna tell you, that I know a bot

That always watches everyone here
And makes us out of trouble
There is no Take-over that succeeds
Remember that it's I who know this bot

The bot that no one else can beat
And she kicks even if she shouldn't
She gets rid of everyone that "spams"
Yes, nothing can beat our bot

(Ready for take off)

(Are you ready?)

And then came the day I didn't think was real
The channel was out of control
I never thought I would be so wrong
When Anna said to me

"I'm not a bot,
I'm a really beautiful girl"
Which is, unluckily, now very strange to me
But nothing needs to be explained
*Because in my eyes, you will always be a bot*

Her name is Anna, Anna is her name
And she can ban, ban you so hard
She cleans up in our channel
I wanna tell you, that I know a bot

That always watches everyone here
And makes us out of trouble
There is no Take-over that succeeds
Remember that it's I who know this bot

The bot that no one else can beat
And she kicks even if she shouldn't
She gets rid of everyone that "spams"
Yes, nothing can beat our bot.

A fine and fabulous choice! Her patience, understanding and wisdom will undoubtedly help all, and she knows how to lay the smack down when required.

Ha! You found the translation! Nice one!  

Congrats Linda!

I hope Chris will still be around posting every now and then. Thank you for your selfless services all these years!

Thanks Chris! Hope you'll keep posting.

Congrats Linda!

Enjoy a well deserved rest, chris.

Linda, i habe ni doubt you'll do a fine job, don't over exert yourself though

Best of luck to Linda in her new role.

Welcome Linda and many thanks to the long suffering (if i may use that word ;-) ) Chri sMarti, the voice of sanity.

Best way to learn is to teach and Linda now has a chance to practice loving kindness at the sharp end !

and +1 for Daniel's remarks.

Woohoo! This is awesome. Lots of love for Linda in the new role. 

And +1 to hoping Chris still sticks around.

Thanks Chris for all your hard work.

Thanks for taking on the job Linda, best wishes and good luck!

Thanks for your dedication Chris! You've done a yeoman's task. I'll miss being able to magically summon your presence by a mere mention on a thread.

It's not like we really need to "welcome" Linda, but welcome to this new role any way! I feel safe and confident having you serve in this role.

Thank you Chris.


Good luck Linda Polly Ester.

Thanks very much Chris and Linda.

Good luck Linda, and another +1 for hoping Chris sticks around.

Thankyou all for all the wellwishing and the warmhearted humor! I'm honored to be trusted with this responsibility. I'll do my very best, and I'm counting on somebody telling me if it seems to be going horribly wrong. 

Chris, thankyou so much for all the great work you have been doing as long as I have been a member here! There have been various points on my path that have felt like shaky ground, and you would very reliably be there with a couple of brief supportive and normalizing sentences, and that would make it feel safe. Thankyou for that! Like so many others, I hope you will still be a part of the community - for the joy of it. Now you get to cherrypick more and enjoy the fruits of the work you have already put into making this awesome arena for spiritual development possible.

Now I really need to keep my cats' paws away from the touch screen, because the "Ban this user" buttons are all over the place.  

"Now I really need to keep my cats' paws away from the touch screen, because the "Ban this user" buttons are all over the place."

Pick me pick me! me, me, pick meeeee  

Thank you to both Chris and Linda! 

I will certainly miss Chris' short but pithy replies to questionable posts, but I have been struck over the years by Linda's depth of practice and her skill in reporting on it so I am sure she will do an admirable job. Glad to see she has stepped up to take Chris' place!

Thank you Chris for all your service and being one of the people who put me on this path. Linda congratulations!

Thank you, Chris! Go Linda!

"I will certainly miss Chris' short but pithy replies to questionable posts,"

You have no idea how much that man helped me by saying so little His short, to the point replies left me wanting, urging, struggling, boiling, until I've cooled down  

Some comments here and in other threads make me wonder... You all do know that the moderator role is not the same things as a teacher role, right? I'm not suddenly a teacher, just a moderator. Chris resigned as a moderator, but that doesn't prevent him from making helpful comments based on his knowledge and experience whenever he feels like it. 

Ah, yes. There is an assertive presence in her.