Welcome to the Monument Guest Section. Monument’s operation revolves around four essential components: our written content, which is accessible to everyone; and our programs, curriculum, and community, which are available to members. Monument’s regular content is free for everyone to enjoy and has a three-part focus. In order of prevalence, these parts are: 1. theory and ideas designed to concretely change your experience of life; 2. focused treatment of topics having to do with the challenges of masculinity and being a man in the modern world; and 3. lifestyle and professional development content. 1. Theory and Monument Philosophy Our focus on theory is grounded in our belief in the power of ideas to change people's lives for the better. Why the focus on philosophy? Half the online content catered to men is based on ideas inspired from a narrow and distorted worldview, and on a corrupt notion of philosophical concepts like human nature. A lot of these spaces are pseudo-philosophical in that they advance notions that seem both intellectual and critical on the surface but really only serve to justify prejudice - they offer a limiting and one dimensional view of reality, and also tend to promote insular and group-based thinking. Monument delivers the promise of male community, along with long-term benefits to your mental health, your relationships, your self-perception, and your overall experience of life, without trying to sell you a simplified version of the world. We delve deeply into themes contained within the Western philosophical tradition, and we wrestle with topics with the potential to have a strong impact on people's experience of life, like existentialism, while also exploring concepts borrowed from traditions such as nihilism, stoicism, and Eastern philosophy - all of this with the intention of formulating over time our very own Monument Philosophy. Those of you interested in bold, broad-ranging ideas should read our four-part series on human nature. A lot of our theory content will be derived from - or based on - this foundational series. Whereas many other spaces for men offer a reductionist view of human nature, we delve deeply and critically into the topic for the purpose of knowing ourselves fully. Having a clear and substantial understanding of the basic condition of all people is the first step in having a complete understanding of ourselves as individuals. Monument is a group founded at least in part on giving its members the power to create themselves, but our belief is that before you can create yourself, you must first fully understand yourself, and before doing that, you must first have a thorough understanding of what it means to be human. The basic progression we propose is... Understanding People -> Understanding Yourself -> Creating Yourself We can only ever hope to improve ourselves in proportion to how well we know ourselves. This four-part series on human nature constitutes an exercise in self-assessment: it is meant to act as a guide on taking stock of yourself and your life. By the end of the fourth essay you should have a better understanding of yourself than you’ve ever had before in your life. The Naturalistic Model of Human Nature The Becker Framework of Human Nature Human Nature and Group Belonging (coming soon) A Framework of Human Freedom (coming soon) In part 1, we start by covering the views of contemporary theorists - neuroscientists, sociobiologists, and social psychologists - on what it means to be human, and refer to these collectively as the Naturalistic Model of Human Nature. In The Becker Framework of Human Nature, we delve into the thought of one of history’s most underrated thinkers and build on the naturalistic model to answer questions about: why we act the way we do; what are the basic motivations that drive our behavior; and what are the broad determinants of our character and personality. Part 3 covers in detail the human need for belonging and the repercussions it has on our identity and sense of self. Human Freedom, the fourth essay, wraps up the series by proposing a framework that explains how can we develop the capacity to grow, change, and create ourselves as individuals and, ultimately, how can we derive the most possible value out of the single life we're given. A significant portion of our content is built on top of these foundational posts. We ask that new members try to finish reading this foundational series within one month of the start of their membership. 2. Content that Deals with the Challenges of Masculinity Outside of theory, our content focuses on dealing with challenges that are either typically male-related or manifest themselves in particular ways for men. The topics we deal with include, but are not limited to... Anxiety about whether you’ll ever make something out of yourself Unfulfilling friendships and/or love relationships Sexual frustration / lack of physical intimacy Having a lack of confidence / self-esteem Having a negative outlook on the future Being afraid you’ll never find anyone Feeling fundamentally alone in life Emotional dependency on women Dependence on online dating Dependence on pornography Our community is for any man who wants to get as much as they possibly can out of life, and we’re especially well-suited to help men who are… Cutting a destructive habit or overcoming addiction/dependency Not attracting the type of romantic partners they really want Trying to exit a group they’ve come to realize is toxic Tired of always having a negative outlook on life Having difficulty connecting with others Tired of being angry all the time Trying to be a better man Feeling stuck in life From a mental health perspective, our community has the power to help you deal with... Depression Resentment/Anger Isolation Low self-esteem Desperation Jealousy Anxiety Loneliness Self-hatred Lethargy/Inertia Getting over someone It can be hard to address topics of mental health and personal well-being for men without slipping into some form of victimhood, or without blaming others for what we experience. Monument’s content and community help you develop the skills and tools you need to make your place in the world, and help you confidently and effectively navigate your life as man today, without asking you to join a group based on anger, frustration, or resentment. 3. Lifestyle and Professional Development Occasionally you’ll find content related to lifestyle improvements, life skills, and professional development, such as... ->learning how to cook well ->learning new professional skills ->CV peer-review and editing ->organizational tips and tricks ->building powerful and positive habits ->grooming and fashion advice ->and more… By the end of 2021, our content will have touched upon all these areas and more. Starting in Summer 2021, readers can expect one new post per week on our Blog. Each time a new post is published, a new discussion thread is started in the Post Discussion section of the Forum for members to engage with each other.

The following sections appear in their entirety in the Curriculum section of our Forum, available to members. About the Competencies The Monument self-development curriculum is intended to act as a complement to our theory content and is organized along three broad categories of competencies, all of which are intended to produce distinct outcomes and designed to noticeably increase your quality of life. The three categories of competencies are: Integrity, Relation to Yourself, and Relation to Others. Each competency has five levels. When you’ve mastered one level, you request to move up and a community leader reveals the next level, which you practice until you’re ready to proceed to the next, until you reach the fifth and final level. The curriculum is designed to have you reach its intended outcomes by completing and continually practicing all five levels of each competency. Some people will struggle with some categories and excel in others - this is normal. Some of you will find that you already do what is required for a particular level of a category; for many of you, it will be a real challenge to integrate some of these practices into your lives. The categories or levels with which you struggle the most will end up being the ones that have the biggest impact on your life. You should feel free to share your experiences with the curriculum or ask any questions you have about the categories on any of our platforms (Forum, Subreddit, Discord). Integrity Most people relate to integrity as the quality of having strong principles. A more all-encompassing definition of integrity is: The state of being whole and undivided. Integrity is the practice of presenting a unified self in every context, including when no one is watching. By nature of what it means to be human, no one can be perfectly integrous all the time. Humans are not unitary creatures - read our foundational posts to learn why inner conflict is an unavoidable part of being alive. Just like an object obeying the law of gravity, the natural tendency of integrity is to be in freefall, and we must choose to uphold it. So integrity is not only a state of being, it is also an active practice, and a commitment to perform that practice. Integrity means having your thoughts and actions aligned with your principles in every context, but it also means more than that. Some of the things you would do as a person with integrity include: Doing what you know you should be doing for yourself Doing things the way you know they should be done Keeping the promises you made, and not making ones you can’t keep Obeying the rules in place, even when there are no consequences to breaking them Doing all these things even when others around you aren't Integrity comes before the other two competencies - it acts as a foundation for everything you do in your life. Any sacrifice of integrity produces an erosion at the level of the self, and undermines your overall capacity to perform in all aspects of your life. By advancing in the Integrity category, you’ll learn to... Be true to yourself Present a consistent self in different contexts Be known as a person of principle, and someone who can be trusted Become someone whose word is his bond Suppress and overcome the natural urges that aren't in line with your principles Fulfill your commitments both to yourself and to others Learn to be at peace with the parts of your life you can’t change The first level of the Integrity category is… Integrity I - Honor Your Commitments One of the most fundamental aspects of integrity is to meet the basic expectations that people have of you. 1. Be on time for every engagement you have. This one will be hard for many of you. Being consistently late is a form of internal and subconscious resistance against the responsibilities we resent, and is a natural habit of people who are unhappy with certain aspects of their lives. A person with integrity isn’t in constant resistance against aspects of their lives; they work on making the changes they need to make to have their will in harmony with their responsibilities and duties. Show up on time to work every day, even a few minutes early. Make the changes you need to make in your routine to always be on time. If you find yourself in resistance against your job, take the short-term actions needed to make a change in your life. Be on time for every meeting or interaction you schedule. This includes every social interaction you have, professional or otherwise. Practice making clear engagements and time commitments with others. Don’t use ambiguity as an excuse to be lenient with your punctuality. 2. Learn to value your own word; never give it freely or without reflection. Part of preserving one’s integrity is not making commitments that we aren’t sure we can honor. Don’t make commitments you can’t keep, but don’t use the desire to be cautious as an excuse to not commit to things that you can safely and realistically commit to. Above all, be honest with yourself about your own capacity, and don’t misrepresent this capacity to others. Some of us need to learn to say ‘no’ more often. If someone you know approaches you with an issue and you’re unsure about being able to help, you can say… “I feel like I can't reliably commit to that right now but I do want to help” "I can't commit to that right now" "I don't feel like I can firmly commit to that right now" It’s normal to feel a certain social pressure to give a quick and clear answer to requests; train yourself to pause and reflect on your responses to people rather than reacting instinctively. Relation to Self The Relation to Self category, as the name implies, is all about building a better relationship to yourself over time. People talk about self-care but they don’t often talk about the idea of seeing yourself as a person with whom you have a relationship. The Relation to Self category is not just about self-care: it’s about the respect you display towards yourself; it’s about the things you tolerate for yourself; and it’s about the opinion you have of yourself as a person. You are the one and only person with whom you have to spend the entirety of your life - making the relationship you have to yourself the most important one of your life. Here are a few things to keep in mind about one’s relationship to oneself. First, love of self is at the root of your performance in life - it is prior to everything else. Some men feel that they’ll finally love and respect themselves once they’ve made something of themselves; once they’ve accomplished something. In this view, love of self follows accomplishment - but the relation is actually the opposite: accomplishment is likely to follow from love of self, not the other way around. Second, the way you perceive and treat yourself reverberates in all other aspects of your life. How you relate to yourself is how you teach others to relate to you. If you think of yourself as someone who has little to offer, others will think of you the same way. If you don’t have self-respect, others will not respect you. Third, if you don’t value yourself as a person, you’ll fall for anyone who gives you the least bit of positive attention - your mind will conflate decency and kindness with an actual emotional connection because such things will make you feel great in comparison to how you usually relate to yourself. Men who compulsively seek romantic or sexual connection, or who are constantly at the mercy of their feelings of attraction, are really dealing with the lack of a stable and secure sense of self-worth. Some men acquire a strong sense of self-worth from an early age and carry it with them their whole lives - but most men don’t. It’s exceedingly easy for a person to develop low self-esteem because, by nature, we attach strong meanings to our failures and shortcomings, and before long, these meanings start to structure our personal reality and sense of self. Self-esteem is also something that can easily be affected by childhood experiences and our relation to our parents. Through your involvement with Monument, and through your advancing in the Relation to Self part of the curriculum, you’ll learn to relate to these meanings as what they are: personal constructions - falsities - that operate below the level of our consciousness and run our lives in ways we don’t even notice. The first level of the Relation to Self category is... Self I - Clean Environment, Clear Mind Self-respect has to do with the things you tolerate for yourself. Someone with strong self-respect would not tolerate living in a dirty or messy environment. In the Relation to Self aspect of the Curriculum, you’re going to learn to demand more for yourself. The first step you’ll take towards that goal is to keep your immediate environment clean and tidy at all times. Make your bed every day as part of your morning routine If you don’t already do this, take a few minutes every morning to make your bed - wake up a little earlier if you have to. Having your bed made makes your whole room feel cleaner and more welcoming, and coming home to a made bed actually has a noticeable impact on your mood and mental health. Keep your desk and/or workspace clean and organized Put away all unnecessary items crowding your desk. Don’t keep piles of books or papers that you don’t currently need. Keep your room clean and organized This means: no piles of dirty clothes; no junk, garbage, or clutter laying around; regular dusting of shelves and surfaces (at least twice a month); cleaning floors. If you share common spaces with others, keep those clean as well regardless of whether it is your explicit responsibility to do so. If need be, have conversations with the people you live with about the cleanliness of your shared spaces and the level of effort expected from everyone. Do this with composure, tact, and respect. Relation to Others Whether we like it or not, our relationships with others is one of the main sources of value in our lives. If the quality of your relationships is poor, then it doesn’t matter how many of them you have in your life: you can be surrounded by people and still feel fundamentally alone. If the relationships you have in your life are not fulfilling, then it doesn’t matter what else you have: you can have the more materially-advantaged lifestyle and still feel empty, unfulfilled, and unloved. The Relation to Others section of the curriculum invites you to engage with questions such as... What is the cost of having poor relations to others? What is the long-term cost of not maintaining good relationships? What type of people do you surround yourself with, and what effect do they have on your mentality? Are you surrounded by people who elevate you or people who limit you? How much of what goes on in your inner life are your closest friends aware of? How well do the people closest to you really know you? What does it mean for someone to be a good friend, and what is the basis of an actually rewarding friendship? Do you feel seen for who you are? Is the value you see in yourself validated by others? And if so, to what extent? Do you feel like the people around you see you as someone with notable achievements, or as someone capable of achieving great things? Do you feel understood and seen for who you really are? Do your closest friends love you? Have they told you so? Does it matter to you? How comfortable do the people around you feel coming to you with something that is truly bothering them, or that they’re struggling with? Making connections with others is a skill. Sometimes it appears as something that some people are just naturally predisposed to, but that’s only because they’ve developed in such a way that they practiced the skill from a young age and they’ve internalized it to the point where it comes naturally to them. Connecting with others is a skill, and like any skill it can be practiced and developed until it comes naturally to you. Some of us are well-integrated into a group of friends but still may not feel fulfilled by those relationships on a certain level; some of us lead more isolated lives and have little or no friends; some of us have to deal with social anxiety or just have a hard time connecting with others. We can have different reasons for wanting to make a change in our relations to others around us. Whatever yours are, the Relation to Others aspect of the curriculum will help you cultivate and maintain the type of connections you want. The first level of the Relation to Others category is... Others I - Practice Thinking About Others The first level of the Relation to Others category doesn’t even involve changing the way you interact with other people - yet. For now, you’re just going to practice a different way of thinking and relating to others. Learning to think about others, even in small ways, is a simple skill that unequivocally makes people like you more. 1. Know what’s going on in the lives of people around you. Practice keeping in mind three (3) important details of people’s lives at all times. Remembering aspects of people’s lives is the easiest way to indicate to them that they matter to you. By doing so, people will naturally see you in a positive light and relate to you as a thoughtful person. The details you remember can have to do with anything. Some of the questions you should be asking are: What is happening in their life right now? What happened recently? What are they working on? What are they hoping for? What are they committed to? How are the people around them doing? Some examples... “John’s uncle was in the hospital recently” “Cynthia just got a new dog” “Mary is working on her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering” 2. Memorize the birthdays of everyone around you, starting with immediate family and friends, working your way to in-laws, relatives, and co-workers Something as simple as remembering someone’s birthday can mean a lot to the people around you. Birthdays are forgotten all the time - remembering the birthdays of people around you is one of the easiest ways to make a strong positive impression on someone. Keep a mental list of wishes you have for the people around you and communicate it to them on their birthday. This should be made easier if you’re already doing #1 above. Wishes can range from the personal to the more general, depending on how well you know the person. Some examples… “I wish you to find fulfillment in your new job” “I wish good health to you and your family” “I wish for you to feel at home in your new place” If you’re going to buy someone a gift, don’t rely on others to give you ideas. Men often rely on others around them to come up with gift ideas: this type of habit should be curbed. Thinking about what others might like to receive forces you to put in the mental effort to know them as a person. (Optional) Keep a mental (or physical) list of gifts you might want to get for particular people.

Monument has two types of programs available for its members: active programs and theory programs. Active programs are continuous; they are always in operation. Members can enter and exit them as they see fit. As the name implies, active programs entail an active form of participation - that is, members receive benefits and have certain responsibilities so long as they remain within the program. For example, the Peer Support and Accountability Program (see details below) involves being paired with at least one other member and interacting with them on a continual basis according to an agreement set out at the beginning of their participation. By summer 2021, Monument will also have its first theory program. Theory programs are intended to have an educational focus and are slightly more passive than their counterpart. Topics will typically center around themes and issues related to men and masculinity, either by engaging with ideas that typically appeal to a male audience or by critically examining ideas espoused by other online male communities. Theory program materials (videos, posts, etc.) will be available for members to view at any time and at their own pace. Occasionally, maybe once or twice a year, we will form groups (classes) that will follow the program together at a set pace, with the intention of creating a shared learning experience where members can respond/discuss/debate the content as they go through it. Theory program content can otherwise always be a topic of our discussion groups (see Social Events and Activities). The first program will be free; future programs may require a small fee to access, depending on the overall success of theory programs. The following post appears in its entirety in the Projects and Programs section of our Forum, available to members. The Peer-Support and Accountability Program Have you been dealing with a recurring matter that negatively impacts your life? Do you have a goal you’re committed to achieving? Looking to overcome/quit... ->Addiction ->Pornography ->Social anxiety ->Compulsive behavior ->Drugs ->Eating disorder ->Anxiety ->Alcohol ->Grief ->Intrusive thoughts ->Heartbreak The Peer-Support and Accountability Program is about pairing you with members who have dealt with what you’re dealing with or are committed to a similar goal in an effort to ensure your continued success in your commitment. In most cases, the person supporting you will also be the person you are supporting - the default format is one of mutual support between two people. However, in cases where a person is supporting more than one person at a time, or is supporting someone with a problem that they’ve already overcome themselves, then it’s possible that you won’t play a supporting role for your supporter. This is how it works: 1. Determine the concrete measurable goals you want to achieve Ex. “I want to get over my ex”, or “I want to quit smoking weed” 2. Determine the actions you’ll take These should be concrete and directly helpful in avoiding relapse Some examples are: “I will call up/video chat/meet with friends at night so as to not feel lonely/isolated” “I will lower my consumption every week” “I will find other things to consume when hanging out with my friends” “I’m gonna get rid of all my drug paraphernalia” “I will stop buying junk food” If you’re going to quit a substance in a short amount of time, you’re going to want to have a plan for withdrawal symptoms and for managing the effects on your mood You need at least one actionable step to take before starting the program A community leader may ask you to have a more concrete/actionable step before starting your participation in the program After this, the information we need from you is: 1. Your current type of struggle (what you’re trying to quit/overcome/improve) 2. Determine the time of day where you’d most like to be supported Do you struggle most at night? Before bed? In the morning? During the day? 3. The amount and type of support you’d prefer Do you prefer a single check-in per day, by text, in the evening? Would you like someone to be available for a phone call? Would you prefer to have someone available to help you deal in moments or particular difficulty? 4. How long you’ve been dealing with this 5. Your time zone and preferred language(s) Email info@monumentforum.net with the above format. No need to include the questions - just keep the number format and type your answers. You can also signal your intention to join the program through our Discord or Subreddit. A community leader will reach out to you to suggest a possible partner (or more than one if there are many who match your needs/criteria). Once you are paired with another member, we leave it to you to determine the type of agreement/interaction you want to have. For the purposes of keeping track of participants in the program, one of you must report the agreement back to a community leader (or email info@monumentforum.net). A community leader may periodically check-in to see how things are going. Your role as a participant (person being supported): 1. Honor your program commitment, and modify it if need be. Honor the commitment you make at the beginning of your participation (ex. 1 check-in text per day, by 9pm), and be clear with your partner about having to change it if it doesn’t work for you. Notify your accountability partner if you expect not to be able to meet your commitment on a certain day. Your commitment can evolve and change over time, or it can stay the same for as long as you want. For example, if you check-in everyday, you may eventually want to transition to checking-in every 2-3 days, or once a week, or you may want to keep the same format indefinitely. 2. Be honest with your accountability partner when you fail or relapse. There’s no point in hiding our failures. There can’t be any progress if you aren’t honest about your shortcomings. Your partner is not there to judge you; they’re there to keep you accountable to your goal and to have you acknowledge whether your current plan is working or not. 3. Do not solely rely on your partner to meet your goals. An accountability partner is there to give you an extra incentive to fulfill your commitments to yourself, but they cannot do the work for you. “My partner wasn’t there for me” isn’t an excuse to relapse. The strength of your commitment is what will determine your success. If your partner is no longer fulfilling their role, notify a community leader and you’ll be paired with a new partner. Send a message either though live chat, or to Reddit mods, or email info@monumentforum.net 4. Do not rely on your partner for tips/strategies/suggestions/coaching. Your partner is there to keep you accountable to a plan that you made before you entered into the program. If you need to change the plan, you can modify it or add to it in consultation with your partner or with other members of the Community, but you should be the one to determine the original steps you take. Your role and responsibilities as a supporter: (again) Honor your program commitment, and modify it if need be. Honor the commitment you make at the beginning of your participation (ex. 1 check-in text per day, by 9pm), and be clear with your partner about having to change it if it doesn’t work for you. Notify your accountability partner if you expect not to be able to meet your commitment on a certain day. Your commitment can evolve and change over time, or it can stay the same for as long as you want. For example, if you check-in everyday, you may eventually want to transition to checking-in every 2-3 days, or once a week, or you may want to keep the same format indefinitely. 1. Maintain a neutral attitude towards your partner’s struggle Your main job is to keep from judging the outcomes of your partner’s accountability journey. Refrain from judgement means to resist the temptation of attaching positive meaning to successes, and more importantly, to resist attaching negative meaning to failures. Your job is not to encourage or try to cheer up your partner so much as it is to be a neutral presence that makes them feel like they aren’t alone and gives them an extra incentive to remain true to their commitment. 2. Recognize and acknowledge when your partner’s plan doesn’t seem to be working. If your partner is constantly relapsing or failing to meet their stated goal, be forthcoming about the need to reassess their plan and strategy. Note that one or two failures/relapses do not necessarily constitute an overall failure of the plan or strategy. If there is a problem with the plan, invite them to come up with new and better ways to remain on track and accountable. Feel free to seek out the assistance of the Community by posting on our Forum, Discord, or Subreddit. And that about covers it! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to a community leader or to post in the Forum, Subreddit, or Discord. Members are also encouraged to share their experiences with the program on any of our platforms.

Monument’s community focus is an integral part of its operation. The type of people you surround yourself with will determine your overall mindset and your likelihood of succeeding in anything you undertake. Making the right type of friends is crucial to living a good life. Monument is a space that regroups people with a positive mindset who share a baseline commitment to personal growth and constantly improving upon their past. For the time being, Monument offers seven different ways to connect with other Members. Through our Forum Through Members’ Chat Through our Discord Through our Subreddit Through program-related events or activities Through online activities or events Through in-person social events or activities 1. Through our Forum Our Forum is the first thing you see on the site if you’re logged in. This is where people will typically respond to Blog Posts, interact in the Community section, keep up-to-date with community announcements, and signal their intention to participate in one of our programs. Posting or commenting on the Forum is the quickest and easier way to engage with the community. Members have the option to “follow” particular members to receive notifications of their posts or comments. 2. Through Members’ Chat Members’ chat is the quickest and easiest way to keep in touch and talk with members who are online. Members can keep an open chat dialog with individual members or can start their own group chats with multiple members. Don’t be surprised if you receive a ‘check-in’ message from a Community Leader every now and then to see how you’re doing. 3. Through our Discord Discord is a service that offers free private servers where participants can connect through text or voice channels. Text channels allow people to exchange text messages, images, and short videos, and voice channels allow people to talk live with a group in a designated voice-chat lobby through their computer’s microphone, and through their webcam if they want to. A given server can have any number of text or voice channels. You can use Discord in a browser but most people opt to download the desktop app. Discord is the app we use for live discussions between members, and also video hangouts. Read more about these below. 4. Through our Subreddit Reddit is one of the most visited sites on the Internet. Our [Subreddit] is intended to make it easier to stay in touch with other members and keep up-to-date with any events. This is also where members can connect in a more informal online setting, and where you’ll find personal shares and external content that is peripheral to our own. The Subreddit is reserved only for members - simply request access by messaging the mods and you’ll be approved. For Community purposes, and so that members can know who they’re interacting with, we ask that members agree to have their first name and the first letter of their last name appear as “flair” next to their Reddit username. A “flair” is a tag that appears directly next to your username whenever you post or comment on certain Subreddits. 5. Through program-related events or activities Our “active” programs necessarily involve interacting with other members. The Peer Support and Accountability program, for example, calls for regular contact with one or more members of our community. Future programs will also involve in-person interaction with other members. 6. Through online events or activities Members get to interact with each other through a variety of online events and activities. Once we have enough members, we’ll be hosting regular multiplayer game nights, focused discussions, chess matches and tournaments, political discussion evenings, casual video hangouts, and more. See below to learn more about our focused discussion groups and other online events. 7. Through in-person social events or activities When conditions permit it, Monument will be organizing in-person social and recreational events in cities with enough members. Interest for these types of informal events will be assessed on an ongoing basis by Community Leaders and organized when enough members are available to attend. These can take mostly any form: daytime/nighttime, indoors/outdoors, drinking/sober, active/relaxed, etc. ONLINE EVENTS Discussion Groups Discussion groups are intended to be informal hangouts focused on specific topics, preferably centered around questions or points of contention that arise out of engagement with our regular content. Discussion groups can be prompted by any individual member - all you need to do is make a Discussion Group Request in either the Forum (Community Section), the Subreddit, or Discord itself. If there is enough interest for a proposed discussion group, community leaders will organize it at a time that suits the most number of members. Mini Chess Tournaments Members are invited to make an account on chess.com to join our mini chess tournaments. The format will typically be live and over Discord - two players play while the game is screencast to the other players who can watch and talk with other members over video chat. Larger tournaments will also take place for interested members, with games played on their own time. Multiplayer Games Members will be invited to use our Discord channels to play online games together over voice chat. We will prioritize games that: are affordable (or free); are easy to learn; and don’t require a high performance PC. Some examples of popular online games that meet these criteria are: the Jackbox Party Packs, Among Us, Fall Guys, etc. Members may also opt to play more classic games such poker or other cards games playable online. Members may want to get together with others to MMO, MOBA, FPS, or RPG games, but these will usually be left to members to organize themselves as not everyone in the Community will have a PC that can play these types of games. Politics Night and Casual Hangouts Members are invited to use the appropriate channels on our Subreddit and Discord to leave links to political content they find interesting and compelling. This content will then be viewed (screenshared), discussed, and debated during our Politics Nights over Discord. Members are also welcome to use our Discord voice channels at any time to voice chat with members who are online, but keep in mind that the channels used for this purpose are public.

Joining Monument is simple. If you’re within the first 50 members of Monument, membership is free for life. After the first 50 members, membership is a flat 10$CAD/month (~8$USD), no taxes or other fees. First, make an account on our main website. For community purposes, we ask that you sign up using your first name and at least the first letter of your last name (ex. John D). Monument will never sell or share your information with any third parties. Modify your email preferences by visiting the “Notifications” section of your profile. Second, because we want to know our Members personally, and get a sense of what’s most important to them, we require all Members to have an Intake Interview at the start of their membership. This is an informal and friendly video call with one of our Community Leaders that should last around 30-40 minutes depending on the conversations you have. The questions center around your past and current life experiences. No one will be rejected on the basis of their answers so long as they agree to abide by our Code of Conduct (see Policies). Having an Intake Interview process for members also provides a better overall experience for everyone who joins by ensuring that we have a community of people who share a baseline desire to belong here, and a commitment to the Community and to self-development in general. Put a reminder in your schedule as it is likely that your interview will take place at least one day after scheduling it. Leave your phone number when making the appointment to get a text notification 24h prior. Third, if you’re within the first 50 Monument members, you’ll automatically be given access to the member-version of our site, and you’ll be given access to our Subreddit and Discord upon request and validation of your membership (usually less than a few hours). If you’re past the first 50 members, you’ll be given a link to set up your subscription, which is charged on a monthly basis and which you’re free to cancel at any time by visiting your Profile. 100% money back, no questions asked, if you aren’t satisfied with your membership in our Community at the end of your first month. And that’s it! We hope you’ve seen enough in our Guest Section to make you want to take the leap and join our Community.