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+===== Getting Started =====
+EpicureanFriends.com is the place for students of Epicurus to coordinate their studies and work together to promote the philosophy of Epicurus. All materials and posting here is subject to our **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/index.php?thread/1-community-standards-rules-of-the-forum/#post1|Community Standards / Rules of the Forum]]** our **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/gallery/index.php?image/362-not-neo-epicurean-but-epicurean/|Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean]] **and our **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/gallery/index.php?image/383-our-posting-policy-at-epicureanfriends-com/|Posting Policy]]**** statements** and **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/index.php?thread/1067-not-neo-epicurean-but-epicurean/|associated posts]]****.**
+Please understand that there are many different opinions about the meaning of Epicurean philosophy. This forum is dedicated exclusively to the study Epicurus from the perspective of [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/blog/entry/38-not-neo-epicurean-but-epicurean/|Classical Epicurean Philosophy]], which means we are committed to promoting truly Epicurean rather than "Neo-Epicurean" ideas.
+The unique perspectives and terminology of Epicurus take time to understand, and it is frequently only after significant study that the depth of the differences between Epicurus and other perspectives becomes apparent. That's why we have membership levels here at the forum geared to levels of experience. We welcome those who are new to Epicurus and wish to join so as to ask questions and get to know the philosophy and the EpicureanFriends community over time.
+Our basic level allows new participants to ask questions and clarify their own understanding of Epicurus, and our more advanced levels allow those committed to Epicurus to collaborate on deeper study and promotion of the philosophy. In some cases our standards will lead to closing of threads, and even removal of participants, when required by the interests of the community. Just as in the ancient Epicurean school, our purpose is to promote Epicurean philosophy, and all other theoretical considerations are secondary to that goal of having an online community devoted to happy living through the principles of Epicurean philosophy. The moderators reserve the right to make all participation decisions they deem necessary to promote the goals of EpicureanFriends.com.
+The best way to make the most of your time here is to participate in the forums. We caution everyone not to post personally-identifying details, but we do ask that when responding to your welcome message you tell us about your background in the study of philosophy in general and Epicurus in particular. It would also be helpful if you could tell us how you found this forum, and any particular areas of interest that you have which would help us make sure that your questions and thoughts are addressed.
+With that as background, and after reviewing our **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/index.php?thread/1-community-standards-rules-of-the-forum/#post1|Community Standards / Rules of the Forum]]**, our **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/gallery/index.php?image/362-not-neo-epicurean-but-epicurean/|Not Neo-Epicurean, But Epicurean]]**** Statement, **and our **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/gallery/index.php?image/383-our-posting-policy-at-epicureanfriends-com/|Posting Policy]]**** Statement, your next step is to set up an account (using any reasonable non-personally-identifying user name you prefer) and get started**:
+===== Getting Started List Of Things To Do =====
+==== Respond To Your Welcome Post. ====
+All new participants receive a personal welcome message [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/board/204-welcome-to-our-new-members/|in this subforum]].  Our moderators manually curate this section, so when you sign up for an account there may be a delay of several hours before we post your personal welcome thread, especially if you sign up for an account outside of regular waking hours in the North American time zone, where most of our moderators reside. When you sign up for an account we will post a thread welcoming you **[[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/board/204-welcome-to-our-new-members/|here]]**, and if you have provided us with a working email the system will send you a copy of that welcome to your email address. As we are unfortunately subject to spammers, we ask that you respond to that Welcome message within 72 hours of posting, so we can verify that you are in fact human and have a sincere interest in Epicurean philosophy. While we do not wish you to post publicly your email, real name, or any other personally-identifying information, it is always of interest to our existing members to learn about your background in Epicurean reading and any general background about your occupation or area of the world that would be relevant to our understanding of your interest in Epicurus. It is always particularly helpful to learn about how you found the forum (by Google or otherwise).
+==== Check our our list of Frequently Asked Questions. ====
+We've tried to list in our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/faq-question-list/|FAQ]] many of the questions that normally come up, so if you check the [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/faq-question-list/|FAQ]] and find something missing, let us know and we'll add to it over time.
+==== Verify that you are familiar with our Recommended Reading List. ====
+It is helpful if you let us know in your welcome post which of these, or other books about Epicurus, you have read. You can always find our curated EpicureanFriends online collection of key texts [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/texts/|here]].
+==== Check out our Self-Study Quiz Section. ====
+Explore your basic knowledge of Epicurus in our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/index.php?quiz/&pageNo=1&sortField=showOrder&sortOrder=ASC&filter=0|Quiz]] section. We hope to expand this in the future but for the present we have a series of basic quizzes about the history and teachings of the Epicurean School.
+==== Begin listening to our Lucretius Today podcast series. ====
+At the time of this writing we have now released 230 episodes since we started with [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/1363-episode-one-venus-pleasure-as-guide-of-life/|Episode One]] in 2020. All of our episodes, even the earliest, should be useful, and we like to think that the quality has improved over time. Episodes of special note include [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/2825-episode-156-lucretius-today-interviews-dr-emily-austin-part-one/?postID=21836#post21836|Lucretius Today Interviews Dr. Emily Austin]] , [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/2618-episode-one-hundred-thirty-four-the-letter-to-menoeceus-01-context-and-opening-o/?postID=19218#post19218|Letter to Menoeceus]], [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/2811-episode-155-epicurus-and-his-philosophy-part-11-the-canon-reason-and-nature-02/?postID=21713#post21713|The Canon, Reason, and Nature, ]][[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/3040-episode-172-epicurus-and-his-philosophy-part-25-chapter-12-the-new-hedonism-01/?postID=23674#post23674|Epicurus and His Philosophy: The New Hedonism, ]]and especially [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/3462-episode-200-lucretius-today-200th-episode-retrospective-recap-and-looking-to-the/|Episode 200]] where we marked our anniversary by discussing our past and plans for the future of the podcast.
+==== Participate in our forums. ====
+Start in the [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/board/167-general-discussion/|General Discussion forum]], or any of our many [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/board-list/|Special Topic forums]]. Do not get overwhelmed by the number of forums already in place - we have an easy to use [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/search/?q=Epicurus&sortField=time&sortOrder=DESC|Search function]] at the top of each page, and you can search by [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/tag-search/|Popular Tags]] or review our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/sc-tags-list/|Full List of Tags]]. We also have many hyperlinked [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/navigation/|Outlines]] that will assist in navigating through the forum structure. We also have a list of [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/forum-navigation-table-of-topics/|Forum Short-Cuts]] to help you find the most popular forums.
+==== Participate in our Zoom Meetings. ====
+The best way to improve the quality of your experience here at EpicureanFriends is to get to know us better in our Zoom Meetings. We do our best to maintain a quality experience for all participants, and so we require that you respond to your Welcome post and interact with us on the forums long enough for us to ensure that your attendance at a Zoom will be productive for everyone. You kind find out what to expect in our Zooms by reviewing our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/3853-protocols-and-etiquette-for-attendance-at-epicureanfriends-zoom-meetings/?highlight=Protocol|Zoom Meeting Protocols]]. For those who have not previously participated in an EpicureanFriends Zoom, we invite you to first attend one of our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/board/717-first-monday-epicurean-philosophy-hour-via-zoom/|First Monday Zooms]]. In our First Monday Zooms we welcome new members to tell us more about themselves, get to know our regulars better, and let us know how we can be of more assistance to you in the study of Epicurus. As a second step in Zoom participation, participants are invited to attend our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/board/688-wednesday-night-weekly-epicurean-philosophy-discussion-via-zoom/|Wednesday Zooms]]. Each week we discuss recent events on the forum, and spend time with a special topic. Our topic is currently a review of [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/3821-reference-material-for-the-wednesday-night-epicurea-zooms/|Usener's Epicurea]], using a special customized version prepared by Bryan, one of our regular Forum participants. Note: After a probationary period we invite those who spend more time with us and receive an invitation to the Wednesday Zooms to move to Level 3 member status, which allows access to additional sections of the forum and provides an invitation to our Twentieth Zooms.
+==== Check out our Special Resources page. ====
+In our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/resources-quick-view/|Special Resources Section]] you will find many informative items prepared by our EpicureanFriends participants.
+==== Draft Your Own Personal Outline of Epicurean Philosophy ====
+Epicurus emphasized the importance of being able to restate the main principles of the philosophy for yourself; check out our resources to help you do that [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/290-draft-your-own-personal-outline-of-epicurean-philosophy/#post548|here]].
+==== Visit Our Youtube Page. ====
+We maintain [[https://www.youtube.com/@EpicureanFriends|at Youtube]] a selection of useful video presentations on Epicurus produced over the years.
+==== Check out our Image Gallery. ====
+In our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/featured-images-from-our-gallery/|Image Gallery]] you can view and share Epicurean memes on Social Media.
+==== Review our key Articles. ====
+In our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/category-article-list/298-featured/|Articles Section]] you will find longer-form materials of interest to the forum.
+==== Watch for special events in our site Calendar. ====
+At our [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/calendar/|Calendar]] we list our main events such as our First Monday Zoom, our Wednesday Zoom, and our Twentiech Zoom. As we schedule additional events they will be added to the Calendar.
+==== Get in the habit of checking out the forum regularly. ====
+We have a [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/wcf/recent-posts/|special landing page where all the latest postings have been collected]], and we suggest you bookmark that page as the best way to keep up with current events at the Forum. New posts since your last visit are indicated by a red dot, and the notification drop-down allows easy access to each.
+==== Volunteer to assist in our ongoing projects. ====
+A good example is that of [[https://www.epicureanfriends.com/thread/3885-request-for-volunteers-to-assist-with-quiz-section/|submitting suggested questions and answers for our Quiz section]]. We have many projects where we would appreciate suggestions and assistance in improving the forum.
+**Participation at EpicureanFriends can be very rewarding, and we hope it will motivate you to make many new Epicurean Friends, and produce Epicurean initiatives of your own!**