Guide

This is the Information Guide for new visitors to and potential members of the apithology.org community website.

Primary Intention

Q: What is this website for?

A: This is the official website of the apithology community of inquiry – the Apithology Practitioners Forum. It is the formal meeting place for an informal association of individual people interested in the practice of apithology. Mostly the website operates as an ecology of interest groups with each looking at different topics of inquiry. It exists because people find it more authentic to develop their understanding of apithology practice within a community of other practitioners. These are people who are conversant with the field’s essential principles, practices and ethics. This website is intended to be the main store of community knowledge and learning for those actively engaged in apithology practice.

Membership Levels

Q: What does membership enable?

A: At this time there are six levels of membership in the apithology community. These are Visitor, Member, Participant, Practitioner, Caretaker, and Curator. Details of the differences between these levels is described in this Blog post. Members change their membership status over time based on their level of interest and involvement in apithology practice.

Website Registration

Q: How do I register as a Member and join the community?

A: Registration for membership is open only to those wanting to learn in community and actively contribute to the field of apithology. There are a number of practice pre-requisites for membership, including having completed specific trainings, certain ethical commitments and a continuing history of contribution. To be invited into admission provide us with details of your practice area, interests and details of your pre-qualifications.

Website Architecture

Q: How is the website set out?

A: There was an extended period of inquiry to decide the design of this website. The design recognises that people have different levels of interest in apithology practice. They are also, at any time, at very different stages of practice – and so their questions and discussions are very different. The website design is, as a result, much like a public garden or a natural history museum. There are many entrances, different spaces, localised activities and purpose-specific amenities. There are also parts of the location used specifically for research and some locked off to store maintenance tools and valuable collections. There are also many volunteers and curators that do the cleaning, curating of collections and seasonal repairing. The cost of admission is related to the extent of contribution and expenses of degradations. Presently, admission is free (although there is a gate).

Types of  Discussions

Q: What Forums and Topics are there?

A: Presently there are over 12 Forums and 40 Topics in the website. These are visible to Members, but not visitors. There are public and private Forums and open and invite-only discussion Topics. Forums include those interested in formal Practice (e.g. Five Yogas, Nine Inquiries, Masterclasses) and Topics include discussions on specific practice areas (e.g. parenting, education, research, learning etc.).

Getting Involved

Q: What is the best way to learn more?

A: There is no fast way to ‘grasp’ apithology practice. Many people find a few of the basic understandings may take some years. There is a very useful introductory article in the Journal of Apithological Practice for an overview (link). In the community of practice the best way to learn is possibly to: gain admission to this site as a Member, join a Forum, be invited into a Topic of interest, opt-in to receive Notifications of ongoing discussions, participate by asking good (or even ‘great’) questions, wait for an opportunity to do (or re-do) the Apithology Practitioners Course, read the work formally published carefully and progressively and refine the idea of your practice area of importance to humanity. This is possibly the most direct and successful pathway.

Getting Uninvolved

Q: Why do people become unregistered from the website?

A: This community portal is for people actively interested in the practice of apithology. If your profile has remained inactive for a few months, if you have not responded to requests or discussion invitations (especially from Member-Support) we will check in to see if you want to retain your membership account. We also delete inactive accounts regularly. If a moderator has to delete more than two of your topic posts, we will happily block you from participating in wider discussions. As a voluntary group of people interested in generative contributions, active dissipation of the inquiry space or conduct in conflict with apithology ethics is also a reason for preclusion. We thank you for your general interest.

If you have specific questions, you can ask Member Support for more guidance.