Build it and They Will Come (or Not?)

I have been putting many hours of thought and work into this site. I have learned much, both about the technical "how to do this" aspects and about responding to and working with users.

Generally I get three kinds of feedback (sometimes from the same person): general praise, specific feedback (what someone likes or does not like about a particular feature, such as the slide show images), and requests for new features.

I try to shape this site by what people find works or does not work for them. But building and maintaining this container, while necessary, is useless without a fourth kind of response--one that as yet is rare. That response is the willingness to begin or continue a conversation here, whether in the forums or in a blog.

Right now there are only a handful of regular contributors (I'd like to welcome our latest, Faith Mason.)

If you have thought about contributing but have not chosen to, could you drop me an email at hrh@well.com and let me know why? Is the site too difficult to use? Something not clear? Are you afraid you'd have to learn some sort of complicated procedure or commands (no, you wouldn't!)

Is it a lack of time or energy? That's a real issue for all of us. It is certainly not my place to tell anyone how they should allocate these precious resources. But I would suggest that a judgment about time or energy is ultimately a decision, conscious or not, based on the ideas and values that are alive in you.

If the idea of a Guild that has a response to the images of our culture and the realities of our world is alive for you, please consider the emerging space where ideas are increasingly living -- the Web. Consider how we can use these new media to keep in touch with each other and get in touch with those, particular young people, who might be led by Soul to find us.

And to those who are already reaching out ... my gratitude on behalf of Soul, and the hope that other minds will join you here soon.