Registration Agreement Terms

Posting privileges in THE NEW PANTAGRUEL forum are selectively granted to applicants who wish to become registered members. If you would like to be considered for registration, please read the laws of the forum (below) and send an email to the nocturnal-council@newpantagruel.com. [As of 8/07 all TNP email accounts have been removed. If you desperately wish to join the forum, you'll have to google your way to someone who may know someone who can help you.] In this email briefly introduce yourself. Then explain how you found us and why you wish to become a forum participant. It is not required, but we would also appreciate a brief (1 paragraph) reaction to the Introduction to the New Pantagruel or anything we've published (articles, interviews, art, poetry, fiction, etc.) that you particularly like or--even better--something you rather dislike.

"What is the "Nocturnal Council?" you may ask....if you are ignorant of one of the foundational texts of western philosophy, Plato's Laws. In The Laws, the "second best" or "best practically realizeable" type of city-state is outlined. It combines aspects of aristocracy and democracy, and it is run by different levels of leaders. The highest level is a body that meets each day from dawn until sunrise when its members are at leisure from public and private affairs. It has been suggested that it would be better to call this group the "Dawn Council," but the popular modern name for it is the more sinister-sounding "Nocturnal Council."

The Nocturnal Council is not an elected body. It includes the ten oldest and most honorable guardians of the laws and a number of other leaders, citizens of notable honors, and younger people nominated by the elders. The Council's duties include: 1) cultivating philosophical study; 2) maintaining intellectual interaction with philosophers in other cities; 3) ensuring that the philosophical basis for the laws that order the state is spread properly and as far as possible among all citizens. In a rather relaxed application, this is approximately how the leadership governing our forum operates.

DISCLAIMER: THE NEW PANTAGRUEL, along with its owners and agents, is not responsible for the content of messages posted to this public forum, nor does it assume or accept any responsibility or liability for such content.

The opinions expressed in this forum do not necessarily reflect the opinions of THE NEW PANTAGRUEL.

Forum users must comply with the letter and spirit of following forum laws:
  1. Use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
  2. Avoid forum jargon.
  3. Do not use vulgarity and profanity in a gratuitous manner.
  4. Do not post images.
  5. Do not violate copyright laws.
  6. Do not post or link to any illegal or pornographic material.
The moderators and administrators of THE NEW PANTAGRUEL forums will monitor compliance with forum rules at their absolute discretion. They reserve the right to remove without prior notice any user, username, threads, or posts for violations of these rules, or for any other reason. They will likely send a friendly message of warning to offending parties first, but THE NEW PANTAGRUEL gives no assurances in this regard.