“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”
1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRELY – and the full text of any discussion you wish to participate in.
2.) PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC – do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is ALWAYS a daily open thread available for any subject you feel should get attention. Never place unrelated, “O/T”, or “Off Topic” comments on a thread unrelated to the topic. It is not ok to say: “sorry, O/T but”… or any iteration therein, it is quite rude.
The Treehouse operates on the ‘old school’ standards and practices of civil discourse amid the original blogging community, long before social media took over.
3.) PLEASE NARROW YOUR THOUGHTS – Quality beats quantity. Please construct your comments to target specific areas and not broad generalizations about the discussion topic at hand. If you have four or five disconnected points, break them up into individual comments; that allows people to respond to the specifics.
4.) PLEASE AVOID GENERALIZATIONS – Do NOT speak in riddles. Words like “he, she, they, it, them” should rarely be used. Spell out “who” using the name, spell out who “they” are at the beginning of every sentence in your paragraph; so that there is clarity as to who you are talking about. Please avoid using acronyms.
5.) BLOCK PARAGRAPHS – Do not post huge blocks of text. Think of the reader, and modify your presentation for understanding, not for exclaiming. Do not write to yourself, you are writing to others, so please structure your thoughts so other people can grasp and enjoy. NEVER post massive blocks of text without paragraph breaks.
Do not post huge blocks of text
6.) PARAGRAPHS – Should NEVER be longer than two or three sentences taking up three to five standard lines of text. Again, you are writing to be understood, the emphasis should be on the reader comprehending what you are sharing.
Do not post huge blocks of text
7.) SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION – This is not school, and we do not demerit for poor spelling, nor do we allow anyone to call others out for the same. However, if your construct is too poorly written the context is lost and important details can be missed. Read the comment carefully before you send it. Proofread it again. Does it make sense?
8.) TIME – Everyone ‘s time is valuable. Many of our discussion threads are 500 to 1,000+ comments long. We try to limit the comments to 500 and then post another related thread, but with some research threads it is challenging because we do not want to break a continuity.
9) CITATIONS – There’s a big difference between an opinion and an assertion of fact. Obviously, most comments are providing opinions, the discussion expands when we hear them. However, if you are making an assertion of fact, you must attach a citation for review. If you do not have a citation – don’t post; this avoids spreading rumors, gossip and unfounded claims. Also related, do not post random links without an explanation of the reason, purpose and content that is behind the link.
10.) THOUSANDS ARE WATCHING – For every person writing a comment, there are easily hundreds of thousands of reading lurkers on every discussion thread. Do not disparage our conversation with vulgarity, profanity, or any expressions of any “ism”.
In the modern era of the internet, there are many voices who try to shut down conversation and information sharing. We put a lot of effort, more than anyone could imagine, into keeping this little corner of the internet open for you to research, share and discuss some pretty important stuff. Please do not provide ammunition to those who seek information control through deplatforming.
11.) MODERATION / FILTERING THE HATE – Because of our honest approach at seeking facts and truth, and openly discussing various analytical theories along the way, we are bombarded by those with ulterior motives which include:
- Intentional efforts to distract.
- Intentional diatribes to affix labels to our objectives.
- Intentional expressions of rabid hate, vulgarity, and threats.
- Trolling and professional obfuscation.
- Concern Trolling as a tool of distraction and derailing conversation.
- Psy-ops and intentional efforts to diminish fact-finding.
We do our earnest best to stop the agenda-horde at the moderation gates, however sometimes they get through.
If you see something untoward say something. When a new comment surfaces that we view is likely presented only to argue, we watch carefully – but we also are not perfect. You can help. There is a flag feature that helps identify trouble. Also, feel free to alert us via email.
12.) MANNERS MATTER – Simple kindnesses and courtesy should always be present in tone and content. When writing, ask yourself before you hit send: does this add value?
13.) NO PERSONAL ATTACKS – Ever. The fastest way to lose commenting privileges is to ridicule, bully or personally attack another person’s opinion or comment. Unfortunately, people, often good people, let their passion interfere with good manners and personal judgement. If you cannot be polite or respectful, pause – and – do not comment.
14.) TONE and HONESTY – Often the information and research CTH provides are about challenges we face and/or events that are hidden from larger review. It can be frustrating to see the scale of corruption; however, only you control how that information is absorbed by you. The truth doesn’t care about our feelings. Try to keep an even keel and optimistic disposition.
15.) DEVICES – It is a reality that many people use their phones to browse information and/or comment. Cellular phones and iPads are okay for reading, but also present challenges in commenting. Please make every effort to avoid the run-on issue of text from these devices. Put extra spaces in your paragraphs. Also remember your service provider (ISP) may have filters to limit the websites they permit you to view. It’s not CTH, nine out of ten issues are related to your service provider.
This control issue is worse in 2024 for obvious reasons.
SUMMARY: The Tree House community has historically accomplished a lot. Through exhaustive research and analysis our accuracy and reputation for truthful fact-finding, regardless of discomfort, is well regarded. Retain that distinction of intellectual armament.
We are The Conservative Tree House, not because of any political affiliation, but rather because the word “conservative” expresses our outlook. We would rather be deep, than wide; we would rather be honest, than popular; we avoid semantics in favor of accurately presenting both intention and meaning.
We are bold in our willingness to go into conversational places where others do not, and we are brave enough to stand firm for principles which are time tested.
We would rather advertise our outlook, so the viewer can understand our perspective on a particular subject, than deceptively claim we are something else and deliver an inherently biased view. The entire spectrum of the MSM is based on the latter.
Every reader knows where we stand on almost any issue, and our opinions -while they may be unpopular- are based on solid research and analytical insight into the subject matter at hand. This is why our predictive analysis is routinely more accurate than others.
Lastly, and most importantly, this Treehouse is a conversation. A place to connect and realize you are not alone. There really are more intellectually honest, kind and pragmatic problem solvers, than people who choose to be angry and comfortable with perpetual conflict.
Hopefully, a visit to this little corner of the internet is just like sitting on a porch with friends. And because the “conversation” is the reason we are here, this means YOU are important; do not diminish yourself.
[Remember] …” However, each of us got here, it’s probably a fact that we have the turmoil of those storms in common, perhaps some unease that we could share and always, we also find fresh ground to cover from day to day.
We’re developing valuable relationships as we trust one another in our community in the woods. The chatting in the branches encourages, strengthens and equips for some serious walking.
We think the Treehouse is a good intellectual armory for those who doing long distance walking for the sake of our nation. We hope you’ll think so, too. Find yourself a good branch….or just pull up a rock to the campfire”.
Wolverines faithfully patrol the perimeter.
Humor is also a good way to avoid fear. A laugh in a foxhole is priceless.
Be kind and please be respectful… Manners really do matter… after all, this is a fellowship.
Love to all,
I appreciate you. Thank you
I still come here everyday 🙂
So what happened to the cat in the header picture? 🙂
It got more suspicious-er!
In true Tree House style, she let the dogs in, too.
Raven, good point, thank you.
Same common sense approach since day 1 of the CTH ❤️
Thank you Sundance. God bless you for all you do to inspire & inform us at CtH. I am forever grateful i somehow found this site.
I don’t understand Sundance. Can you explain that to me again? Kidding, lol.
I love this TreeHouse. It truly is a refuge in the storm.
Many thanks to Sundance and all moderators. This is just an incredible place during these times.
Ad rem or anyone that can help…is there a way one can change their email address but still keep the same user name? Should I post as usual and simply enter a new email address? We are going through some changes on this end.
As a program note, when ad-hoc moderators chastise fellow Treepers, as I’m currently reading in the ‘not about EV’ thread, they are also posting off-topic and, further, assuming duties they’ve not been assigned to by administration.
Thanks in advance for your attention and consideration.
iI have sed this many times here in this tree it always seems small and just simply not enough but it is all i have THANK YOU SUNDANCE
R.D.
These rules make this forum unlike another.
Can we add one more rule? No post can start with “I haven’t read the other posts” or some version following.
Its impossible to try to understand if you haven’t sorted through any of the wisdom others have shared.
Find 3 posts to give a thumbs up to before posting!?
“Seek to understand before demanding to be understood” has a lot of levels to it..
Robb, I think this is already included, rule # 1 ends with “and the full text of any discussion you wish to participate in.”
I would totally agree but one recent post had over ten pages of comments. I did read every one of them but I am retired and until yesterday had time to read. when I was young and working ahd raising my son I did not have anything close to that amount of time. I think it is important to hear from the young and the old like me, I think we can afford to cut young people working and raising childrenbin today’s
environment some slack.
Thank you.
My world would look very different if not for CTH. You’ve given me a place to feel so much less alone in this Bizarro World in which I find myself. Thank you a thousand times. I appreciate you all.
A phenomenal website, that’s all I can say.
My deepest gratitude and respect for Sundance and all his team.
Thank you Sundance, and I appreciate the hard work you put into things to bring it to my attention.
Thank you, MAGA Brother. We are all blessed by CTH.
👊👊🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️
I read your articles and often some of the comments.
Normally I don’t read the very long comments.
Comments include links to the comments often.
Sometimes these links backup the comment just like the links included on your articles.
Being informed is important when the information is factual and correct.
Information comes in various forms such as propaganda for those who believe and rely on information sources that manipulate and control information.
These types of indivudiuals come in various flavors.
Those who are deceived through their own ignorance without their knowledge.
Those who willingly are ignorant of factual information.
Comparing these types of individuals to a person who touches a hot stove and gets burned but keeps doing the same thing is one example.
They are like an addict in that they won’t stop until they want to, no matter how many times they get burned.
These people need help from a ficticious org called: Information Anonymous or IA.
Information Anonymous is a group of people who were addicted to information from sources that were manipulating them with false information.
People in “Information Anonymous” meet and discuss infomation from sources that are factual and are documented.
Verbal comments by people who don’t want to live in the matrix of deception any longer and want to help others to break free from the habit of just believing anything and everything you hear or see without thinking about it.
Information comes in many forms.
A sales pitch.
A high pressure sales pitch.
Its buyer beware because its you who will benefit or loose because of how you DECERN the information.
I am one of the lurkers, and I must say this is beautiful. If people followed these rules in “real life” we would still be America. I am taking the entire list with me. I am not sure why. Maybe because I like reading it.
Love to all.
Your information is so valuable. I am amazed with all you uncover. Thanks!!! I lost the password given to me. Would you let me know how I can recover it or get a new one?
Thanks!!!
Sorry if you’re talking about any of my posts, Sundance. Thank you for everything you all do. And I love that shot of the dog.
I love the Treehouse, and all my fellow treepers! Keeps me sane and calm. There just isn’t anything else like it. Anywhere. Thank you!
👍
Only my Bible study has a higher priority for reading.
Absolutely on board with each and every point above. This CTH “quality control” makes my monthly contribution not enuf. Keep up the greatness and without the garbage.
Seems like the United States of America has gone from Free Speech to Controlled Speech .
Is there any way to get the password? I’m getting old and I seem to have forgotten the password.
Email the Treehouse….
[email protected]
To all. Sundance and his body of work are far to important for us to allow impetuosness, or even malevolently placed poison to rob us of this treasure, this fragile lifeline to a path out of the darkness.
Resolve yourselves to police yourself first and then those whose lack of a filter jeopardizes what Sundance and the rest of us here have built. Use the flag system. Help remind those we align with when they miss a boundary and need some guidance. Thank you all. Also give what you can here first.