In May 2016, this went out to the daily-ish email

Recently, Paul Wheaton shared with us the need for community when fighting cancer.  It got me thinking a lot about community and about social credit.  How some people give back more to the community than they get.  Either with money or with time or simply by giving a shit and saying "I'll do it." when no one else will.  

Anyone can do this.  So few do.  The volunteers here on permies are a wonderful example of stepping up and saying "I care enough to put in the work and make it happen."

And then there's the hub of any community.  The person who makes it possible.  Maybe they provide a space where we can gather (like a website) or maybe they do some other background task.  I know we don't see paul chatting on the forums much these days, but he's always here.  Keeping things working.  It's pretty cool.

Anyway, hearing his announcement the other day reminded me of my early opinions of him.  

So here you go.  I sent this out back when the email list was about half the size it is now.  

I want to take a few moments to talk about Paul Wheaton, the Duke of Permaculture. "Yeh, yeh, yeh, boring, we know all about him." Well, I didn't. What I have to say is either going to make him smile, or you won't be seeing R. Ranson signing your daily-ish dose of permaculture after today. Maybe it's just being drunk with the power of the Daily-ish; sending out a message to so many people (over 30 thousand of you!) that's made me bold enough to say these things. Or maybe, it's just the kind of week I've had.

When I first came to this site, there was this big loud voice - to be honest, I tuned it out for the first few months as I didn't know if I was going to stick around or not. Besides, I didn't know what the heck permaculture was anyway, but there were rocket stoves, landrace gardening, and oh my goodness, could this be for real? Gardening in a dry climate without irrigation... gradually my interest increased. The atmosphere at that permies site was friendly and I felt I could ask total beginner questions without my enthusiasm being squashed. So I got curious, I wondered what permaculture was. It must be something positive because there are positive people practising it and they like the same things I like.

That's when I started listening to Paul. He is after all the host of this site that I've been enjoying, let's find out what it's all about. There are some things he's written that, and I am being vulnerable here I know, but these things have had a positive influence on my life. I can see why Paul Wheaton is an acquired taste, he does not suffer bullies or nasty behaviour on his site and has a lot of things to say. He is also a positive force in this world. He teaches people the importance of being nice.



The Be Nice rule on permies.com is based on a purely subjective idea. It's Paul's version of 'nice'. This is really strange to me at first. How do you know how to behave without a clearly outline set of hard and fast rules? How can one behaviour be 'nice' and another, almost, but not quite, identical behaviour be 'not nice'? Yet, this be nice rule works. This forum is, for some reason, a nice place to hang out.

https://permies.com/t/2296



Another thing to remember, is we all need somewhere to feel safe. There's a reason why the Be Nice rule is so strictly enforced. Sometimes I see people talking about things that just don't fit in my worldview. Let's face it, I think these topics are hokey, unscientific, and just, well, weird. I forget that a lot of the 'normal' ideas about the world, were considered foolish utterings not so very long ago. Be it a round earth, polyculture, or credit-based society. Yet, we accept them now. These ideas had to start somewhere, so when I see an idea a little beyond my comfort zone, I remind myself that even ideas I find weird, need somewhere safe to live.

https://permies.com/t/36971



Being nice isn't always easy, especially when I encounter someone who is so gosh darn clueless - not that any of them are ever on permeis.com, implying that would break the be nice rule. Yet, in the world, there are people who are completely misinformed about their environmental impact on the world and have no idea what they can do about it. When I stumbled on the Wheaton Eco-Scale, it finally dawned on me that this is why people think I'm a total nutter, um... I mean... we are all at different stages of our journey. Some people are just starting. Instead of telling them how foolish they are, we can make a better world by offer them help and suggestions. They have to make their own choices in the end, but we can encourage them by giving them helpful information in a friendly way.

https://permies.com/t/3069



There's a little bit we add at the end of each email. Have you noticed? "This is Paul Wheaton's daily-ish email that is usually about permaculture and making a better world..." As fun as it is to be angry at all the wrongs of the world, I find it just so darn exhausting! It must be fun, because I see lots of people spending their time being frustrated at the way the world is. They are willing to inform me of all the ways that it should be better because they know as they've spent a lot of time and energy thinking about how wrong the world is and how everyone else should work hard to make it better.

I too think the world should be a better place. I see the way I want the world to be, and I do my best to make my actions help the world become better. I hold the door open for people, I grow extra food to give away to people who need it. I can't do much, but I like to think that what I do make the world just a tiny bit better. This takes so much of my time, that find it difficult to find the time to worry about everything that is wrong with life. This isn't bragging, I acknowledge that I am pretty low down the Wheaton Eco-scale; however, maybe it might inspire one or two of you (or 30 thousand of you?) to go out there this fine day and do something, even if it is just a tiny thing, to make the world a better place.

https://permies.com/t/50881



These are some of the threads I find most relevant in daily life. When I encounter someone in the street who's rude, or someone else who doesn't get why photosynthesis is the most amazing thing ever, it reminds me of these threads. I'm still taken back sometimes, by Paul's boisterous nature; however, I've come to realize he might be on to something. Thanks for welcoming me into your inbox.


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Oi! This is the bit I was talking about! Right Here!
This is Paul Wheaton's daily-ish email that is usually about permaculture and making a better world through learning good things rather than being angry at bad guys. To learn more about this email (and possibly helping with devious plots on world domination) visit http://richsoil.com/email

Anyway, I just felt a desire to share this with you guys (or remind you if you've been here that long).