I think that knowing the ritual of the GLO that you pledged prior to initiation would spoil the meaning of the whole ceremony for you - part of the fun of initiation is finally having everything revealed to you.

As far as knowing the rituals for other GLOs...I suppose I'd be lying if I didn't say that I had a mild curiosity about stuff. :) However, despite that mild curiosity I wouldn't actually try to find anything out b/c its none of my business. I extend the same courtesy to other groups' ritual as I would want extended to my own.

I suppose on some level it disturbs me a little that there are people out there trading rituals, but its one of those things that we just have to let go b/c we'll never be able to stop it. In the long run, our ritual is more than just what's written on paper...its the actual feeling and experience you get from being in the room with your sisters and hearing the words spoken by them, etc. I've seen written copies of our ritual (legitimately, b/c I used to have a role in my chapter's initiation ceremony ;)), and I can honestly say that reading it on paper pales in comparison to actually being there for a real live ceremony. Knowing some of the secrets doesn't give you the full experience.

This one. It could be a coincidence but I doubt it. We'll have to wait and see. This person was particularly active lately but has been suprisingly quiet since the posts started yesterday.

Well, she's already switched usernames once...who's to say she HASN'T posted since...just under another name.:mad:

I'm clearly missing something here. Anyone want to fill me in?

Exactly. I know that there are people out there trading my, and other people's rituals, but you can kind of just shrug it off. It doesn't mean anything to them and they're not any closer to being my sister because of it.

I think there are some people who legitimately are interested in rituals for more academic reasons, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hand mine out to them. (Not that I exactly keep one around either).

I suspect we're all nosy and curious, I am, but that doesn't mean you can't be mature about it. (And this sounds like the opposite of maturity to me)

hijack
When things like this happen, it makes me think there should be a thread where GC-questionables are listed... with all their aliases. At least then everyone would know who to watch out for. (Although, in reality, I think such a thread would quickly become a train wreck/flame war.)
end hijack

GC has taught me that recruitment threads somehow emit some kind of addictive drug. I haven't yet figured out whether the drug is ingested through the eyes (screen) or the fingers (keyboard/mouse), but I'm working on that.

I *think* there might have been a thread like that once but I don't know if it still exists. Still, if it is out there, we can add her name & her aliases to the list.

So true and funny.

You're right on so many counts. But it does bother me a little that we might have active plans in place about pins on E-bay, but nothing for ritual that I know of. I think part of what may bug me the most is that I think that while we all learn ritual as member, members don't even usually get a written copy as far as I know, so we're talking about someone with some authority being pretty casual about information members are instructed to hold dearly.

And I'm emphatically not asking anyone to explain, but it's the skulls as symbols that alway trigger my curiosity. Roses, pearls, and squirrels, while absolutely lovely and dear to my heart, just don't have the mystic impact of a skull on your badge or crest.

ETA: I feel obligated to note, I'm not goth or emo.

I hadn't thought too much about this until yesterday when this story broke on GreekChat and someone mentioned the idea or more "legitimate" ritual collectors in a pm, but it really would be interesting historically and symbolically to examine founding principles and social influences and aspirations in terms of representations in ritual.

What did the founders choose, out of what tradition did they think they picked it, (like AOPi's rejection of having a coat of arms as Medieval and some groups avoiding the term sorority as Latin not Greek, etc.), what contemporary (to the founding) vision of womanhood, manhood, or friendship do the symbols align with? etc. There might be Ph.d in there somewhere for someone who doesn't care about oaths they've taken and secrecy.

I don't mean to go all Da Vinci Code on your butts, but symbols and their significance is pretty interesting generally.

Yeah, and when I say legitimate I don't mean in the sense that it's necessarily OK for them to be doing it, just that they're not the point and giggle *OMG I Can't BELIEVE they wear CATSUITS* crowd.

Ok. I've reread this thread and I'm thinking some posts must've been deleted because I'm pretty lost. I don't really know what story broke here. Maybe you're referring to something in another thread? If so, can you point me in the right direction?

And, this brings me to something else I've learned on GC. If you want a direct answer, ask a direct question. Of course, you have to be prepared for the answer to be, "This doesn't concern you. Mind your own business."

I'm not sure what's still in the thread, but in essence, it has come to the attention of some GreekChat mavens that someone using the name of a frequent recruitment thread poster who had transfered schools and is planning to re-rush, solicited and received on a different message board copies of various GLOs ritual.

Post 90 has a list

You bitch!!! Thanks for revealing that part of our ritual!!! ;):p

Shut UP, they still don't know what color! :D :p

LOL, people will and do collect anything, just check ebay!!!!:D

I know some Ritual Collectors and they hold them very close to the vest. They have couth!:)

Yes, I have read some and for what it is worth, each GLO has their way of doing Rituals and that is thier business.;)

LXA has it's own as anyone else does.:D

I am a member of mine and that is the one I care about!

Oh, does anyone use candles?;)

Guess it proves how nosey some people are and more worried about others first.

Also shows the minds of some people who worry about people to much!

Thats the difference,Tom. I would say a vast majority of collectors collect for the beauty and appreciation of the ritual and the historical significance of the material, not just for spite.

You just said a mouthful.:)

It is just like appreciation of any art and is what it is!:D

I and others are proud of theirs as well they should be!

Oh, Mine is The Best!:D

GC has taught me to be careful of people on Sites!:mad:

Do I need to say anymore?:o

I'm not being accusatory, but it's still troublesome, isn't it?

It's not that the secrecy gives the ritual it's value, but it does contribute to the uniqueness of your experience. It's the level of the organization that unites you as a group and excludes others.

I see.

The only other question I have is how people knew for sure that it was the same individual on the other forum. In the posts on the other forum, did the person have the same user name as on GC? Or did the person reference GC? Or is it that someone here on GC already knew her real name, and thus put 2+2 together that it was this individual?

I guess I would just want to be certain that the information was correct/verifiable before condemning a person. (Not to say that anyone was acting without just cause...obviously there are people who have more details than I do!) I'm just curious how the connection was made between a poster on another forum and a poster on GC - I'm assuming perhaps it was one of the scenarios I listed above?

I agree with you for the most part. But, I do agree that I can live with the idea of someone reviewing rituals for historical reasons and being a person who handles the information with a reasonable level of respect. Versus a person who wants to obtain ritual to blab it everywhere, criticize it, try to spite or harm an organization, try to be a "perp," etc. If someone outside my organization were going to be aware of my ritual, I'd rather have it be one of the legitimate respectful collectors. (Though I'd still rather have it be no one outside my organization at all!)

Oh absolutely.

One of the above scenarios. If you're going to do this, at least be smart. GCers are all over the internet.

What other Forum?:confused:

There is a poster on GC who is a Ritual Collector and got all kinds of hell about it! He has also given some very great advice and I am glad to call him a friend even being from a different GLO.

But, He collects Rituals and will not divulge their contents. That is His thing as another I know. I have read some and I will not divulge them either.

While thay can be interesting reading it is still for those who are members and become Initiated.

The hatred that comes from some is so sad and uncalled for!:o

Well, have a good day!

So true. When I was in college I babysat for a family on a fairly regular basis. They had a room they called the library, and I remember looking at the books once and stumbling across a ritual book (I was a pledge at the time). So I pulled it of the shelf and looked at it. And quite honestly, it didn't make alot of sense to me- I got the gist of it, but not the emotion or the mysticism or whatever you want to call it that it would have when it was actually happening.

Would I look at it if I had the chance now? Nope. Once I went through ritual I realized what it means and how imporant it is. Mine is enough for me, I don't need to know anyone else's.

Bwahahahaha!

Me too. Me too.

Apparently you haven't been following what has been going on in the thread. This has nothing to do with the male GC poster you referenced.

There is a female GC poster who is planning to go through NPC recruitment in the fall, who joined a ritual collecting forum and obtained several NPC group rituals. (See pages 6-7 of this thread for reference.) Some people are offended that this person went about obtaining these rituals while she is in the process of attempting to rush several of those chapters. I'd hazard a guess that some people might also be concerned that the rituals will be used as retaliation (by publicly posting them on the web) if those groups choose to cut her.

We're not talking about a case of a regular ritual collector like the one you know. (Who some people may also object to, but I think most people would agree that a legit ritual collector who studies them for historical purposes and handles the information w/respect is a different situation than what I just described above.)

I do not know exactly why this person decided to obtain those rituals. The optimist in me would like to believe that they were not obtained for spiteful purposes - I'd like to think that it was misguided curiosity. However, I do think it was not a particularly wise act on her part, especially shortly before recruitment. Regardless of what her true intentions actually were, it looks very bad...and even the perception of something like that is bad enough.

That was very patient of you, I'm impressed. I doubt he gets it though.

You may be absolutly correct and there will be people who will be so sad and post some things or act Stupid.

I am not sure what her point was and why she was doing this other than be unkind?

Maybe she thought she was being funny?:rolleyes:

It that was what she thought, well it wasn't!:(

And yes I have been reading the Thread!:)

I've learned that some people don't learn and don't give up. :rolleyes:

:):confused::eek::mad::rolleyes::cool::o


^^^What? This doesn't get my point across? ;)

I've learned that PNMs whom people suspect will not make good members often have a way of proving these suspicions once they join a sorority. Meaning, they don't tend to last very long and either leave or are asked to leave within a remarkably short period of time.

Ok, actually I learned that when I was in college in the days before the internet... but it is still true.

Greekchat has taught me that:

A.) Puritans created censorship and are the reason why Americans censor material today.
B.) Wal Mart can freely edit copyrighted material as they see fit. Wal Mart = God?
C.) What the definition of "censor" and "censorship" are according to teh internets dictionary.

LOL, Youse spelled teh wrong!

Look out for the spelling poli:Dce!

oh the irony

With ANY other poster, I would give the benefit of the doubt that they were purposely being ironic.

In this case, not so much.

really? I guess I still have a lot to learn about GC

I meant to Papa Smurf......

Now go about your business.