The Forum

posted by mihow on May 17th, 2002

I don’t want to bore myself with the details of the past and I will try not to sound completely biased and bash the “place”, but yesterday someone wrote me from an old job and, in doing so, he reminded me of a thing called “The Forum.” Toby and I were discussing The Forum on the way home last night and incidentally he has heard of it as well. I have mentioned it to folks and people have said things like, “Oh yes, The Forum, I lost a great friend to The Forum” or “They are evil evil bastards who brainwash people and take all their money as well.” People who have been tend to live by it (spooky), people who haven’t aren’t accepted into the reindeer games but instead seen as weak and corrupted. I could really rant about this place using words like “cult” and “assholes” and “pathetic” but I won’t because that’s just lame. But it did force me to quit my job (long story—later date). Anyway, if there are stories, I would love to hear them. If there aren’t any. Ignore me. :) HERE IS THE LINK Reading that shit just made me cringe.

32 Responses to “The Forum”

  1. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:04 AM

    I don’t get it.

  2. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:08 AM

    Don’t get what? The Forum? It’s some self-help group thing. You are sent there and you do some role-playing exercises and then you become God. (Apparently). Master of your universe. Winner.

    It takes an entire weekend (at first) and then you go during the week. It costs a shitload of money (from what I understand). Hell, dunno. Thought others might have answers.

    It also might be the wrong link. I will look better.

  3. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:12 AM

    The link appears to go to a corporate training company.

    That appears to do the same thing my company does.

    And then I got scared that you think online training is a cult and that you hate me.

  4. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:19 AM

    Yes you see, when I worked for this other company… (I won’t mention their name) They would send all their employees to The Forum. It’s some self help thingy. Who knows. When I was sent the link back then it wasn’t the one I posted. I thought maybe they redid the site. But upon reading further, I have decided I posted the wrong link. So It’s gone now. I will look for the right one.

    Sorry Deb. I am confusing as all hell today.

  5. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:23 AM

    you should drink more.

  6. michael Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:23 AM

    I work in online training as well freakgirl, it is a cult.

  7. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:26 AM

    I can’t find the right link. This sucks. I suck. I hate myself! I WISH I WERE DEAD!

  8. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:38 AM

    HA HA HA HA!

  9. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 08:59 AM

    Is this it? http://www.rickross.com/groups/forum.html

    obviously I am working hard today. :P

  10. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:07 AM

    YES!!!

  11. kafk Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:17 AM

    Oh wow. I know a mother of a friend of mine joined this thing after her divorce. Really bad story which I shall spare you but the upshot was that she no longer sees her kids after years of trying to attempting to get them to “join” – really depressing.

    They seem to target certain people, very predatory IMHO.

  12. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:18 AM

    If anyone here watches “Six Feet Under,” doesn’t The Forum remind you a lot of The Plan that the mom joined?

  13. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:19 AM

    i’ve never heard of this before- it sounds really cultish. weird.

  14. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:20 AM

    It’s really sick. My old boss would have sit down meeting in her office. They would get all touchy-feely and tell stories and look back on the week. I HATED IT! all this weird kill-your-ego crap (near impossible for a human) and teamwork shit. Impossible and weak and really very fucked up.

    I had to quit. Sucked.

  15. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:22 AM

    that’s so weird. i wish i had heard of it, or knew someone who had been in it. sounds like….not gender-specific psychotic girl scouts. (“person” scouts). at least the touchy-feely, teamwork, no-ego crap does.

  16. michael Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:24 AM

    Do they make you sell little porcelain figurines to your friends?

  17. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:26 AM

    I have so many odd stories to tell about this (though indirectly). One night, over a few drinks, I voiced my opinion on having to attend this weekend meeting (in order to further one’s position at the firm one needed to attend that weekend bullshit) and everyone got all glossy-eyed and serious. And began to tell me that it would change my life and that I would change my mind once going. What a buch of sad crap.

    Give up an entire weekend (and not be given the time off eslewhere) to attend something like this? NO FUCKIN way.

    /rant (sorry)

  18. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:31 AM

    that’s creepy. it is always creepy when large groups of people all suddenly become very serious and glassy-eyed…. the closest i can some to relating is when the jesus people (the real crazy jesus peole, not just regular jesus people) would come to umass and stalk people. they were scary the first few times you dealt with them, then quickly became very sad and pathetic.

  19. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:31 AM

    that’s creepy. it is always creepy when large groups of people all suddenly become very serious and glassy-eyed…. the closest i can some to relating is when the jesus people (the real crazy jesus peole, not just regular jesus people) would come to umass and stalk people. they were scary the first few times you dealt with them, then quickly became very sad and pathetic.

  20. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:32 AM

    oops sorry. don’t know quite how i managed that.

  21. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:34 AM

    ARE YOU TRYING TO BRAINWASH ME WITH YOUR DOUBLE POSTS?!

    hehe :)

    it happens.

    Serious freaky Jesus people are in a league of their own. I never even pretend to understand them. And DON’T even get me started on the Mormons!

  22. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:37 AM

    ha! there was this weird thing in my high school, this particular group of girls were always dating mormons in that high school girl way, where one guy would make the rounds among the group over about 15 months. i have no idea where they FOUND the mormons. it was so strange. everyone was always dating a mormon though. totally inexplicable.

    how did you guess my plan?

    hey, for good news: i’m having a boy! found out yesterday!!

  23. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:38 AM

    YAYA!!! SO EXCITING!!!

  24. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:42 AM

    :)

    thanks!

    i’m totally relieved, sadly. i still can not put on lipstick, i need some more time before i can have a daughter. also, we could not agree on a girl’s name but had already decided on ethan if it was a boy, so now we don’t have to spend the next few months arguing over girls’ names…:)

  25. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:52 AM

    resa – congratulations!

    mihow – the link you posted earlier for Forum (the wrong one that went to the training company?). I emailed it to my boss so he could compare their stuff with ours. He just told me that the guy I used to work for at AT&T works at Forum now. But no one here knew what a conglomerate Forum was until I sent them all that link. My old boss had given my new boss the impression that they were a small company just like us.

    So I thank you for unwittingly aiding me in my small act of corporate terrorism.

  26. nifkin Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:55 AM

    “you have to be the architect of your house. you have to be willing to tear down your old foundation, tear down the walls of your house and rebuild them.”

    anyone else watch 6 feet under?...

  27. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 09:57 AM

    HEY NIFKIN I SAID THAT ALREADY!

    :)

  28. resa Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 10:10 AM

    thank you freakgirl.

    :)

  29. nifkin Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 01:11 PM

    heh, you expect me to READ all that stuff?...

    i’m a boy, i read the start and skim to the bottom then post my brilliance…

    oh god, no, i’m one of them…

    ::bows to freakgirl::

    oh please forgive me…

  30. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 01:36 PM

    you are forgiven.

  31. mihow Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 01:41 PM

    damn WOMAN!

    I am now singing that song from “Rushmore”

    YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

    I am going to listen to it now. I am.

  32. freakgirl Says:
    May 17th, 2002 at 01:56 PM

    oh godammit mihow. Now I have to put in the DVD.

    If I see you tomorrow I am going to kick your ass.

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