by Nicholas Cockayne

Created on: April 25, 2008

Myspace Groups is a section of the massively popular social networking site that consists of self sufficient forums where like minded individuals can share and debate, chat and interact, with their virtual fellows. Each individual group has its own homepage which often features an introduction to the goals of the group and displays the most recently posted forum threads.

The Pagan Circle is the largest Pagan group in the religion and spirituality section of these groups, and with a membership of over 30,000 people it forms one of the largest and most important online Pagan communities on the internet.

A long established group, The Pagan Circle has found a format that appeals to its members and provides a stable and well balanced forum for discussion, debate, and general chat. This format is maintained by several policies (all of which are detailed on the main page of the group), a few of which are: no spam, respect and tolerance must be shown to other members and their beliefs - even if you disagree with them, and most importantly, a no 'violence' policy that includes zero tolerance of racism, sexism or any anti-religious behaviour.

If any of these rules are broken and the peace of the group is disturbed the group moderators, called The Circle Guardians, step in to address the problem. After issuing warnings the Circle Guardians have the power to expel a disruptive member from the group and delete threads that break the policies of the group or are otherwise considered unwholesome in some manner.

The nature of The Pagan Circle means that these measures very rarely need to be used however. Considering the diverse 30,000 plus membership of the group there is a remarkable atmosphere of tolerance and understanding in the group; and it is suitable to those over the age of 14. While there are occasionally heated debates, even these tend to end well, with the posters agreeing to disagree. Because of this atmosphere of understanding it is no surprise that The Pagan Circle has been the starting point for many young pagans on the path of their spirituality. With such a numerous membership there is almost always someone experienced and skilled in any given Pagan path willing to answer questions, provide information, or generally just lend a helping hand to those who ask for it. For many this is something that they just cannot find offline, and even for those who choose not to post to the group, but merely to read and learn, The Pagan Circle can be an on going education in

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