Informal Rambling by the Author May 29, 2004. Another year has passed, and the website has continued to attract a large number of visitors. Although Google’s change of their search algorithm (ranking the order sites are displayed after a query) caused Reasoned Spirituality to drop off most of the top search-result pages, RS has been bookmarked so consistently over the years that traffic remains strong, albeit down noticeably.
The “Bush problem” has influenced my writing over the past year. The only positive thing about the ongoing chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan is that it should lead to his defeat in the election, particularly when it becomes widely known that those truly responsible for the torture are not the simple soldiers. Even if Bush imposes a “democratic” government upon Iraq and then withdraws, the Iraqis will continue to fight for their freedom, and the issue will not go away. Being that the two Iraqis most likely to be elected via popular vote are Saddam Hussein and al-Sadr, true democracy will never be permitted by Bush. Hopefully, Bush and his cronies will fade into history, and I will no longer feel obligated to address specific political issues.
My current studies have focused on the point in history where Christianity became a dominant force. It has become clear to me that this occurrence reversed human progress, and then held mankind back for over a thousand years. I may do a series of articles on this and related topics in the upcoming year, depending on the amount of research I am able to complete. I am also currently debating some controversial ideas, about resolving the universal problem of poor leadership, with others on the Internet; which may result in an essay, perhaps even co-authored.
As I mentioned to those who use the update service, a poll of my readers indicated that an open forum linked to this website was a decidedly unpopular idea. Reports from my domain host show that topics featured on Reasoned Spirituality are frequently discussed in numerous external forums, so any demand for such a venue is already being met.
Regarding my musings from last year’s anniversary: no I have not done any further work on a ‘Reasoned Spirituality’ manuscript. There is, judging by correspondence, a significant demand for a book version of this website, so I will continue to plan on it for the future. It is simply a matter of finding the time to do so.
Little has been done in the way of producing RS merchandise via the graphics company we acquired last year. There is a considerable inventory to be disposed of, and being that all of the novelty apparel has nothing to do with the themes found on this website, I am hesitant to directly market it through the domain. The company has most of its capital tied up in retail assets, so I would prefer to see a healthier cash-to-inventory ratio before producing new products. After all, I would not have been able to afford the take-over of a profitable venture :-).
June 2, 2003. The Reasoned Spirituality website is now five years old. I’m a little late in posting my anniversary comments this year, and hadn’t realised that it mattered until my domain traffic reports indicated that people started checking this particular page on May 29th, whereas normally it receives very few visits.
The website has shown a steady growth in popularity over the past year, which is partly due to having grown into the search engine loop. For those who don’t know how this works, I’ll explain. With the exception of websites that have purchased placement, pages are ranked by relevance and popularity. Gradually, as a site is picked more and more often from search results, its placement moves up. This obviously becomes cyclical, since when a page turns up higher in a search, it is more likely to be picked; which then moves up its ranking. More hits equals a better position, and a better position creates more hits.
The Reasoned Directory is developing in the way I had originally intended. Although it is infrequently used by visitors, those who do tend to bookmark it. The directory is not supposed to have broad appeal, but rather provide access to classic works in specific social sciences, as well as related relevant material. It is difficult to maintain, primarily due to unique and complicated U.S. copyright regulations. Webpages featuring classic texts come and go because nobody, including publishers and lawyers, is quite sure what constitutes public domain in America. I may eventually add a website host from somewhere outside the U.S. in order to provide a home for some of the rarer works. Of course, access would be denied to U.S. residents; but all other nations of the world share common copyright laws, and hence ninety-five percent of mankind would still be free to read the material.
I am contemplating removing outside advertising from the website. Banner exchanges worked to a limited extent years ago but, contrary to what ‘bCentral’ reports to me, the service now only generates a handful of visits per month. I have not decided on whether I will maintain the status quo, do away with ads, or sell space to similar sites in order to help offset the costs associated with the growth of this website.
The next year may bring some changes. If I find the time, I may complete the Reasoned Spirituality manuscript and have it published. I, along with like-minded individuals, have acquired control of a small graphics company, so merchandise relating to Reasoned.org may become available. Otherwise, expect the occasional essay, and a slow expansion of the directory.
May 29, 2002 While contemplating the state of the publishing industry, I was struck by the significance of the Internet. In recent times, some books that have won prestigious awards have sold less than 100,000 copies, yet even slightly successful web sites can receive over 100,000 hits in a single month. Each of us who maintains a domain has the potential to reach millions of people, and the most humble of beginnings can lead to an unanticipated level of popularity.
I feel that every webmaster has an obligation to strive for accuracy, for it is far more likely that someone will be exposed to something we write, than the published work of an esteemed author. I am very fortunate to often have the ability to remember the most trivial of statistics, yet I always verify my information before posting it on the Web; and would suggest that everyone with a homepage do the same. Because the Internet is increasingly the source of what people believe, we have the ability to affect the future actions of our readers; hence what is found on our web pages should be based on facts and logical argument.
Reasoned.org has always been a rather plain web site, without Java, Flash, or audio enhancements. Everything is written in traditional HTML, and the fonts are generic to all operating systems. The reason for this is simple: the site is intended to be accessible to everyone. The majority of people access the Internet via modem, and according to the last survey I read, most were connecting at 28.8 or slower. It may seem strange to people in the United States, but there are a great many users in the world who still use Windows 3.1 on 486's. Older operating systems and computers cannot run newer browsers, so using the latest multimedia or Microsoft variations of HTML prevents most of the planet's population from being able to view your content.
On a related note, some Microsoft web page code appears to exist solely for the purpose of interfering with non-Microsoft browsers. Obviously there are people who do not use Explorer, either by preference or for security reasons, so when you assist Microsoft with their attempts at creating a monopoly, you block out potential visitors. The Reasoned Directory does not accept URL's that are incompatible with other products because I do not wish to encourage this practice.
The web site passed the first million-hit mark long ago, and lately about a quarter-million hits are logged every two months. There is an increasing interest in alternative views on spirituality as we draw nearer to 2015. Social and economic difficulties, caused by demographic patterns, will become dire for the poor and the elderly by that year; and there is a growing need for a different perspective among those who are now being affected by these changes in Western society. I am glad to be making a contribution toward fulfilling this need, and hope, along with the many others attempting to clarify spiritual views, that it will make a difference.
May 29, 2001 The website has now been in operation for three years. Some of the goals set last year have changed slightly, due to circumstances, but overall, things are on track.
Because of consistently poor performance by the Telusplanet server, the website has moved to A+NET (AKA: Names4ever, Abac, Websolo, etc.). Both servers host the website now, but the Telus site will eventually close. Due to seemingly endless technical difficulties with A+NET, Reasoned.org has only been functional for less than a week; but the problems should henceforth be a headache only for the webmaster, and hopefully not affect site accessibility.
Suggesting that people change their bookmarks in advance ensured a good start for the new domain, with 250 to 500 hits per day. Once it is listed in the search directories, and visitors to the old site are redirected, traffic should reach the same level as Telus.
The “FAQ” section has not expanded because I have determined that there are no “frequently asked” questions other than the one displayed there now. Of the twenty-two thousand emails I have received, no specific point has been addressed more than three times. I may, however, post the answers to some “infrequently asked” questions simply for the sake of argument.
Reasoned.org will eventually be expanded, as mentioned last year. The fact that I've given up on maintaining the original site separately means that I have to take a somewhat different approach. In the meantime, things will continue along the same lines.
Aside from the new URL, please note that I also have a new email address: “bwholmes@reasoned.org”.
May 29, 2000 The Reasoned Spirituality website has now been in existence for two years. There remains only the summarizing chapter (split into "parts"), before this condensed version comes to a close. In the future, depending on the level of demand for some of the topics left out of the main text, I plan on posting essays which will not be assigned part numbers; so my contribution to content will not end with the final chapter. Furthermore, I hope to solicit more guest articles from the many articulate people I have had the pleasure of corresponding with over the past two years. This, of course, does not mean that anyone who wishes to submit something should wait until I pester them; anything pertaining to human behaviour and the nature of existence is always welcome.
The most popular phrase searched for on this website is "meaning of life". It appears in the header at the top of every webpage, but is used sparingly in the text; therefore, using the site's dedicated search engine will appropriately list every page, since there cannot be a short paragraph summarizing the concept which will make sense without the supporting arguments. If you really want to know the answer, you have to read it all :-).
If anyone is curious about the icon distribution, I can tell you that people wearing them are to be found almost exclusively in the United States and Canada; Finland and Australia are the only other countries represented at this time.
It will likely be a while before I make a serious attempt at expanding the FAQ's section; there are over 375 pages of text devoted to clarifying points, in response to queries from readers, and it will require some free time in order to sort through the questions and determine what is "frequently asked".
Site traffic continues to exceed my expectations, and it's nice to see new websites linking to Reasoned Spirituality. The most popular parts posted this year were the "Relationships" essays. The Listbot announcement prompted a surge of hits above the normal traffic, resulting in an average of 100 additional unique visitors per Listbot member, in the days following release. I'm glad that so many of you found the text interesting enough to forward the email to so many others; thank you.
In the next year, I hope to have the reasoned.org domain up and running. It will continue to contain my own writing, but will also provide a gateway to the many personal homepages on the Internet which deal with spirituality, philosophy, psychology, and theology.
May 29, 1999 May 29, 1999 is the first anniversary of the main Reasoned Spirituality site. Overall, its level of success has exceeded my expectations for the first year. The intent was to establish a presence on the Internet, with fairly consistent traffic, and a proper support framework (i.e.: search engine listings, links on other sites, a backup site on another server); all of this to be accomplished while the website developed enough substance to warrant return visits: this has been done. The site is now large enough to allow for the next phase, which will be to increase its exposure: this is to coincide with a change in the tone of the text. To this point, each chapter has dealt, for the most part, with general aspects of life and behaviour. After Part 14, the theme will begin to shift toward the application of this knowledge in one's own life. Rewriting my earlier source material to suit the Internet format is proving to be somewhat challenging; therefore, initially, a longer period than normal may elapse between postings. Furthermore, there may end up being a Part "14A", or something along those lines, to account for text that does not fit well with the style of the newer parts.
There are a few projects going on, that are associated with Reasoned Spirituality, which some of you may have encountered. These are experimental, and may or may not become part of the structure of the site. For this reason, I do not wish to discuss these projects, which may never develop beyond the test phase.
Thank you all for contributing to the success of the website, particularly those who engage me in such interesting debate. A special thanks to the people who have been involved in Reasoned Spirituality since the early days, years prior to its appearance on the Internet: the frequent nitpicking from some of you has certainly been a source of motivation ;-).
March 28, 1999Now that this site's homepage has passed 10,000 hits, I thought I should make a few informal comments. I had originally intended to do this on the first anniversary of the website, but the visitor total seems like a more significant event (by the way, the mirror site has had over 800 hits in its 11 week existence). The number of visits has been a surprise to me; I had originally anticipated 3000 visits in the first year, and 8000 by the second.
Reaction to Reasoned Spirituality has been quite positive; particularly from pantheists, determinists, modern forms of Christianity, and "new age" belief systems. Having only recently joined the Internet community when I started this site, I was unable to judge what type of response people of diverse interests would have to what was written here. My prior experience had always been with "live" contact, and being a far better public speaker than a writer, it was always relatively easy for me to communicate the rather abstract concepts involved in this work.
Negative comments have been few, and confined to specific individuals from three groups: -- fundamentalist Christians, some of whom cling to the archaic, man-made rules of the ancient religion, which originally mandated intolerance of other beliefs (as well as races); -- Fundamentalist Muslims, who share the same core belief system with traditional Christians; -- and what I term "capital A" atheists (treating 'atheism' as a proper noun), who follow their beliefs in much the same way as any organized fundamentalist religion.
The comments from a few zealots in each of these groups have followed a pattern: fundamentalist Christians threaten me with eternal damnation in hell; fundamentalist Muslims threaten physical violence; and "Atheists" ridicule the concept of tolerating other beliefs. The aforementioned comments do not bother me as such, since a contrary position should be supported by some form of reasoned argument; otherwise it is empty rhetoric. What does bother me, is that these people remind me that the same attitudes that led to so much death and destruction in the past, still exist today. Of course, I hope it is clear that I am in no way suggesting that all members of these groups react in this way; but simply that the individuals who have been so negative happen to have these beliefs.
For those that have wondered about the structure of the website, I'll explain why it is so. The writing has been broken up, in order to suit an Internet audience. People will not usually sit down and read the entire work in one sitting; so Parts are kept short. For example: Parts 5 and 6 are actually one chapter, as are many other pairings; the preamble on the homepage is the foreword, Part 1 is the introduction, etc. There is repetition in the Parts, because people will not necessarily read the site in order, and because individuals may go long periods between visits, and need to pick up the thread.
I would like to thank all the people who signed my guestbook, even the generic entries (at least, those who took the time to actually look at the site, before promoting their homepage). I would also like to thank the webmasters who have added a link to my site, on theirs; I am very flattered. Thanks as well, to the many individuals that have provided me with interesting debate through email correspondence; I truly enjoy the intellectual stimulation. And finally, thank you to the detractors, for giving me insight into the psychological makeup of people who still hold intolerance as holy.
