We should respect one another, but we should also respect the definitions.

Volentia is a social network geared towards sharing, celebrating, and promoting all that is cruelty-free. It’s an ever-strengthening path, and the gravel beneath our feet is composed of any or all of compassion, health, environmentalism and nature. Every member is another component in our journey to make the world what it is meant to be — how it should have always been. This is what makes Volentia great; this is what makes the bond between our members — sometimes hundreds and thousands of miles between each other — unbreakable. We understand each other, and for many of those who abstain from meat and animal products, that kind of understanding is hard to find.

Volentia is about transition. We are about continually questioning and learning. The most valuable resource on Volentia is the members, through the continual effort to help, support, or inform one another. Vegetarians and vegans are welcomed, genuinely and wholeheartedly, to become members.

As you begin to get settled in, if you haven’t yet seen them, please take some time to watch “Earthlings” or, if pressed for time, “Glass Walls.”
Earthlings is available to view free at (http://www.earthlings.com/) and is about 90 minutes long.
Glass Walls is available to watch here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4YX_iVWIe0) and is only 13 minutes long.

The thinking behind Volentia, and the community it produces, is to end and eliminate all needless animal suffering and cruelty. We are here to help, support, encourage, and inform each other as we all celebrate our choices and our lifestyle. The site was made and maintained by vegetarians who didn’t even need to make a choice to happily transition to a vegan diet and lifestyle. The information and support of the community is both crucial and astounding.

Volentia wants to formally invite all vegetarians and vegans with open minds and curiosity for the things we may be inadvertently supporting in our everyday lives. Volentia welcomes all who wish to make the transition towards a cruelty-free lifestyle, and whether that means “giving up” meat or dairy, if you are open to the long-term goal or desire to step outside of general society’s contributions to torture, cruelty, and death, we are here to celebrate that choice right alongside you.

Contributed by Rand Foxwillow volunteer moderator.

The term ‘vegan’ was coined by Donald Watson in 1944 and adopted by The Vegan Society of England founded later that year. Their definition of ‘veganism’, accepted as the decisive standard worldwide, is “…a way of living which excludes all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, the animal kingdom, and includes a reverence for life. It applies to the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals.”

People who call themselves vegetarian but eat fish, or vegan but eat honey, are ‘pescetarians’ and ‘vegetarians’ respectively. Once you take on the definition to ‘describe’ yourself there’s really no excuse to give non-veg*ns ammo, or make it harder for those who follow them to the letter, by not sticking to them.

Yes, terms like ‘lacto’ and ‘ovo’ have their uses but, unfortunately, only add to the confusion…

Richard, volunteer moderator and fan of a peaceful, compassionate and unified Volentia!

If you are an existing member and you try to Sign In via Facebook, Google, or Yahoo right from the Sign In page, you’ll be signed right in if the email address provided by Facebook, Google, and Yahoo matches the one you originally joined Volentia with. If the email address does not match, you’ll be told that no account exists, and you will be asked to sign in using your Volentia username and address. Once you are signed in, you can link your accounts (even if the email addresses are different) by going to your Volentia Settings-Connections page.

Signing in to Volentia with one of these networks has now become incredibly simple. All it takes is one click.

On the Sign-Up / Sign-In box, you can also see which Social Sign-in accounts are supported. If you are signed-out you can simply click on the icon of the service you initially chose to join with, or that you authorized on your Volentia settings page, and you’ll be signed in right away — no extra steps or clicks needed.

Upload a profile picture. People like attaching a face to a name. People also enjoy looking at pictures, so if you feel like uploading a few photos, please do so.

Have fun with your profile page. Tell us a few things about yourself.
How long you have been a veg. Why you became a veg. Your hobbies, interests, pets, etc

Visit other member pages and take a look at what they are doing for ideas and inspiration.

Once you’ve pimped your page you might want to introduce yourself in the forum.

There are hundreds of very interesting Groups on Volentia. Join and participate in a few groups. You’ll meet other members that share your interests and passions.

Use the “Advanced Search” feature on the Members page to search for members who might live in the same city as you. (Never agree to meet someone new in a private place – always meet in a busy and safe public place, and take a friend with you. Safety first!)

Comment on interesting blog posts.

Comment on interesting discussion threads in the forum/groups.

Write on other members’ walls.

Send out friend requests.

Participate in the chatroom.

Welcome new members by writing something friendly on their walls.

Mostly people will read your posts, a few will respond, and sometimes a conversation will develop. Communicate with enough members, and over time you’ll find that you’ve made a whole bunch of wonderful new veg*n friends.

When people don’t get back to you right away they might simply be too busy. That doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate your comments, friend requests, etc. They do.

Most of all, have a fun time!

Let’s Celebrate the Vegetarian Lifestyle together

We are making the world a better place!

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and also enable JavaScript in your browser options/preferences/settings

It might also be useful to clear your browser’s cache

Sometimes it helps to click on the Forgot Your Password? link, send yourself a reset password link and take it from there.

Also, it’s possible that you have other cookie blocking software enabled. Some ISPs, browsers, and security software offer cookie blocking functionality, and other users with similar problems have been able to sign in after disabling this feature.

If you still cannot log in / sign up after doing the above, please let us know by using the “Report An Issue” link at the right hand bottom of Volentia

Make sure Cookies are enabled in your browser options/preferences/settings

and also enable JavaScript in your browser options/preferences/settings

It might also be useful to clear your browser’s cache

Also, it’s possible that you have other cookie blocking software enabled. Some ISPs, browsers, and security software offer cookie blocking functionality, and other users with similar problems have been able to comment after disabling this feature.

Also check your Volentia privacy settings and make sure that the appropriate boxes are ticked for the things you want to be able to do.

If you still can’t comment on some-one’s wall or in a forum/group thread after doing the above, please let us know by using the “Report An Issue” link at the right hand bottom of Volentia

To leave Volentia.com

1. Sign in to the Network.

2. Click on the “Settings” link in the right hand column of the page.

3. On the “Settings” page, you’ll see a link to remove yourself and all of your content from the Network on the bottom of that page. (select the box that says Delete my content)

It would be nice if you could include a reason why you are leaving in the box provided so that we can improve our network.