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Contents 1 Discussion 1.1 General Discussion 1.2 Praise for Tricycle, Generally 1.2.1 Circulation, Readings, Ranking Stuff 1.3 Problems at/with Tricycle, Generally 1.3.1 Fundraising Problems 1.4 three part yin/yang

[edit] Discussion

[edit] General Discussion

This page should be written not as a marketting tool of the magazine, but objectively, providing information about its beginnings and why it is often reviled for being elitist and unethical in its administration and with respect to fundraising.

This being so, those things need to be cited from respectable sources. Criticism is welcome, but please cite it accordingly. --ShadowPuppet 16:42, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Filings with the US Government [Form 990s] show vividly distinctly and absolutely that Tricycle Foundation [aka Buddhist Ray, Inc] spent more than 100% of funds raised raising funds for three years in a row! This is obscene! Mighty fancy lunches in New York, I gather. There are standards established by various non-profit watching organizations that no more than 35% of funds raised should be used raising funds. This records shows a record of wanton waste and disregard for the sacrifice of contributors to the magazine.

That's all nice and sweet. But without a reference, you don't have a case to put that material in the article. --DanielCD 05:54, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Fifteen years after it first appeared on the newsstand, Tricycle remains the largest independent Buddhist magazine in print today. Where is proof of this? This is text straight from Tricycle advertising. And what does it mean? It suggests that it's the largest Buddhist magazine, but it says largest "independent" Buddhist magazine. What magazines are second and third on a list of "independent Buddhist magazines." Where is Tricyle on a list of all Buddhist magazines, I wonder? AND if it does have the biggest circulation, why is that "praise?" -- Enkido 06:55 5 February 2006 (UTC)

See this article, documenting problems at Tricycle: http://www.zenunbound.com/tricycleugly.html . -- Enkido 07:29 5 February 2006 UTC

You can't document things "off-site", and Zen Unbound looks rather junky to me. I wouldn't accept any information from there as reliable. See this: Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Cite your sources. If there's something that's uncited, add a citation tag to it or remove it and state your reason here. --DanielCD 14:12, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Zen Unbound is a fully credible source that documents its assertions. What is junky, presently, is this Tricycle article which uses bloviated text, verbatim, from Trike's website and advertising. It is irresponsible and is a circumstance you are enforcing. Shame on you. --Enkido 16:07, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Praise for Tricycle, Generally

[edit] Circulation, Readings, Ranking Stuff

The request for a citation of Tricycle's *claim* of 200,000 upscale readers comes from their reader survey to attract advertisers. I would assert this is not the type of thing that belongs in an encyclopia. Citing Tricycle's claim is not difficult.-- Enkido 16:42, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Fifteen years after it first appeared on the newsstand, Tricycle remains the largest independent Buddhist magazine in print today. [citation needed] This is empirically untrue. Tricycle was not the largest anything upon first publication nearly fifteen years ago. THAT simply cannot be documented; that's not how circulation statistics work. Also, to prove this assertion you will need to show fifteen-years' worth of data. Surely it would be sufficient, even to Tricyle apologists, to show just recent circulation superiority. I also think a time benchmark is needed; 'in print today' is inappropriate, tomorrow coming every 24 hours or less.-- Enkido 18:25, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Problems at/with Tricycle, Generally

There are very serious problems with the Tricyle operation. These problems are a major part of the story of the magazine. There are Forms 990 -- public documents -- which show fundraising history. This Wikipedia article is likely to be used, unwittingly, by folks researching the magazine as a beneficiary of their generosity. Wikipedia will be doing harm by telling a slanted and biased story of the magazine. This article went up first as wholly self-congratulatory text borrowed from the Tricycle website. It was a travesty. Large patches of that original text remain. The article as it stands today is outrageous. --Enkido 16:25, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fundraising Problems

Can a Form 990 be used as a citation? It is a public document that shows a non-profits accounting for a fiscal year. Tricycle, itself, is required to provide its current Form 990 on request. Its past 990s are vital to document fundraising history; these can be more difficult for an editor to verify.--Enkido 16:37, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

If they are public records, then it would be fine to use them. But remember this isn't the place for original research. See: Wikipedia:No original research. You're going to have to find another reputable source that makes the same accusation (and I don't think Zenunbound.com counts, but feel free to get other opinions). --DanielCD 19:12, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm sympathetic with you as far as having the truth be told, but there has to be a public, formally-published accusation firmly cited. I'll try to find someone who might be able to help you better. --DanielCD 19:18, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Tricycle's operation simply does not rise in importance to being scrutinized by a professional-quality magazine or newspaper. Some ad hoc operations, like Wiki, are as valid as The Bigs, like Encyclopedia Brittanica (according to a Slate article). Just because Zen Unbound is more than a little ramshankle doesn't mean facts it presents are suspect. At least this is so in my extremely knowledgable opinion. --Enkido 19:35, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Research that would be necessary is just to pull two figures from the past Form 990s: The funds raised and the expenses of the fundraising department. I can also show from an online article that spending no more than 35% on fundraising compared to funds raised is appropriate. Surely, this is fact. And I can show that the Board of Directors of the umbrella corp and management team is from the save group of folks, pretty much from inception. While this starts to drift into 'research', it is vital information, in my estimation, to balance the record. --Enkido 19:42, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] three part yin/yang

Does Tricycle refer to the often-seen three part yin/yang, and if so, what does it signify? Chris 17:47, 15 July 2006 (UTC)