A couple of points here, if I may.lyndon taylor wrote: ↑Thu Jan 18, 2018 2:55 pm the reason diversity is so important is that each race and gender has certain positive and otherwise attributes that they can bring to the table that a member of another race or gender might not even be aware of, its not about equality, its about welcoming diverse and differing viewpoints into the equation. The Idea of an Asian religions forum being run by all white Western men does not really bring the full beauty, viewpoints, and traditional history of what is almost exclusively in terms of numbers an Asian tradition. The idea that advanced English proficiency is a prerequisite for moderators, would eliminate 99% of the Buddhist monks and nuns in the world, including the Venerable Ajahn Chah if he were still with us.
1) What "positive and otherwise attributes" do particular races have, do you think? Would you like to specify a few races and then state their attributes?
2) If by "running the forum" you mean moderation, then you overlook the fact that everyone has a role in running the forum ("Be the change you want to see", etc., ) and moderation is just one tiny aspect of that.
3) If by "running the forum" you mean moderation, then are you assuming that I am a white western man?
4) I'm not sure about "advanced" English proficiency being required to moderate this forum, nor do I know about the percentages of Buddhist monastics who speak required levels of English. But Ajahn Chah would rightly be eliminated. He may have been a spiritual leader and teacher without parallel, but he would have been as good at moderating here as he would have been at deep-sea diving or tap-dancing.