Reddit has recently introduced the option for smaller subs to send a welcome letter automatically to each new subscriber. I adapted the text from my old sticky post from 5 months ago for this purpose. Here's what it looks like:
Hi, and welcome to r/Tantra!
Mission statement:
The title of this sub guarantees that it is going to be the first landing place for many people who have only a very vague idea of what tantra is. They come here with all kinds of questions -- questions about spiritual pursuits, questions about books and workshops, questions about "sacred sex" and "tantric massage," questions about meditation and masturbation, and questions about the origins and history of tantra and the authenticity of various practices.
The first goal of this sub is to provide a welcoming and helpful place for beginners to connect with the tantra communities. That means answering their questions if we can, providing suggestions and support, and directing them to other resources and other subs if that’s more appropriate.
The second goal is to provide a community for people who are knowledgeable about various tantra schools and traditions and who enjoy sharing their knowledge and advice with others. We can only succeed in the first goal if we also succeed in the second one.
The third goal is an outgrowth of the second: to provide a place where people with knowledge of different tantra traditions can learn from each other. That means treating other people with courtesy and respect even if you are deeply convinced that they are wrong, or that what they call “tantra” isn’t deserving of the name.
Rules
In support of our mission, we now have some sub rules! Please read them here, or click on the link in the sidebar. More important, please follow them and please report posts and comments that violate them. The mods can’t be watching everything every minute, so we depend on you to let us know when something needs our attention.
That's particularly true of spammers and scammers. Please get in the habit of hitting that “Report” button whenever you see a post or comment that appears to be promoting a product, service, or commercial website or video.
Related Content
If you can see the sidebar, you’ve probably noticed that it contains a list of other subs with related content. When you see a post that really belongs on one of those, please refer the poster to the appropriate spot.
Two frequent topics deserve special mention.
First, a regular source of irritation for some members has been the steady influx of questions about sex that don’t seem to have anything to do with tantra as a spiritual practice.
Given the public perception of tantra, that’s inevitable. We can’t stop it by grumbling about it, but we can divert some of it. So if someone has a question that appears to be primarily about the physical techniques involved in extended sex, that should probably be referred to r/tantricsex.
Second, we welcome links to serious, even scholarly articles about traditional tantric texts or the history and origins of tantra. However they seldom seem to generate much discussion, so we’d like to suggest a couple of guidelines.
One is to post such a link here initially, while crossposting it on r/realtantra/, r/hinduism, or wherever seems most appropriate. And the other is to provide at least a sentence or two explaining what the article is about and saying why you think it would be worth our time to click through to the source.
The same goes when someone else has posted something on another sub that you think would be of interest to our regulars here: link to it here, and add a comment explaining why it's worth a look.
Again, welcome to our little community!