Written by LA Judge

Ever notice that we live in the age of experts? Carry out your own garbage today? You are suddenly a sanitation engineer. Microwave a TV dinner? You are an executive chef. Decide what new game controller to add to your laptop? That makes you a systems engineer. And let's not forget that if you snapped a few photos with your cell phone you are now a professional photographer. The problem is, that so many people are making false claims to expertise that not only do the titles no longer have meaning, but real skilled professionals have a hard time convincing anyone their very real years of education and experience have any value or worth.

Unfortunately, this same use of false titles and fake expertise also holds true in the Pagan and Vampire communities and runs rampant in the online world. Over the year I have met countless folks claiming to be decedents of the daughters of Lilith or sons of Cain. (Never mind that both are fictional characters, popularized by the mass marketing of roleplaying games.) In the Pagan community I have met so many 7th daughters of 7th daughters that I am beginning to believe there must be some sort of bizarre baby-boom of which I was unaware. There also seems to be an huge jump in the “Gypsy” population, (by folks that have never heard the word Roma and speak no jib), that I am hoping is reflected in some of the most recent census data that is currently being compiled. Then of course there are all those folks that seem to live in some sort of strange math realm. They are usually half this, half that, half something else and sporting a high priest or priestess title to boot. (Half + half + half to make a whole just does not compute.) In the online world, I can claim to be the Pope. However, unless I am sporting some cool pointy hats and cruising around town in a sweet little chauffeur driven bubble car, it just is not so.

The thing is, here in the VC you will not see anyone with a page of titles following their name. You will see some administrators, some moderators and an owner. That is it. All of these people have earned the respect of their peers by years of hard work and experience in both the on and off line worlds. And all check out. Each one of them are energy workers in their own right with a generation of experience and all recognize both real and false claims of bravado miles away. So do yourself a favor, here in the VC check your titles at the door. We recognize that there are some people who will come here with real earned credentials. They will stand out from others by the quality of their participation. As for the High Priest that is a 7th son of a 7th daughter of Lilith, born under a full moon on the evening of a full solar eclipse, and let's not forget, part vampire executive chef as well, please take your titles to someplace more appropriate. But, if you want to drop those titles at the door of the VC and hang out with some great people, then you are totally in the right place.