The Old Webmaster was distracted for only a few seconds. No one believed him when he said that he lived on such a scarcely populated mountain that the cable company had just laughed at his requests for a connection or that he lived so deeply in the woods that the satellite folks couldn’t find the horizon. It was true, but everyone in the lodge just figured he liked ‘communing’ with the old relics stored in the dark and musty storage closet at the lodge where he was so often found.
He turned back to the door where the Master and this eager young man were standing.
“Tell me some more about the website you’d like the lodge to have.” the Old Webmaster said, leaning back once again in the old wooden chair that clearly was having difficulty supporting the strain of usage after all these years.
“You’ve got a white background. I’d use black so that there would be mystery and darkness – like a video game! I’d have some great animated graphics: I saw an old crappy one the other day of a guy with a big rod and a hood over his head trudging along with a lantern. I’d get something better – plus some Knights Templar images too. It’d really show off Freemasonry….”
As the Old Webmaster looked into the doorway, he could see the Master shrugging his shoulders slightly as if to deny any responsibility for his charge’s comments. He leaned back just a bit more and the chair, as if on cue, provided a deep groan seemingly emphasizing the importance of what was to come next.
“I know a LOT of websites which have done those things. I see them all the time. Bloggers design their sites that way as well it seems. But here’s something to think about: is Freemasonry a ‘dark’ mystery?” He paused just long enough to let the words sink in and then continued. “Freemasonry’s websites are, in almost all cases, done by non-professionals. Those that are done by the pros are often not Masons so they don’t have a clue as to what we’re all about. Most of the time those who put the website together for the lodge don’t have a background in design or very much experience with things like information architecture and Masonic history. They also don’t spend enough time trying to understand their audience before they dive headlong into their task. Heck, there are Grand Lodge websites that list their lodges by their Districts only. If a non-Mason or a visitor from another jurisdiction doesn’t know what a District is, they can’t find what they want. But I’m getting off track. Freemasonry is an initiatory experience that only those who’ve gone through it can completely understand. Hopefully the lasting impressions one receives will be bright and uplifting rather than dark and foreboding.”
“Quite unlike this storage room in which you live at times….” interjected the Master, anxious now to be sure his young charge didn’t blurt any more criticisms.
“True, Worshipful.” the Old Webmaster replied. “But while my workspace may be dark and dreary, my mind soars when I think of the openness and the freedom that the study of our Gentle Craft offers and supports. There’s nothing dark and mysterious about it at all. To a new candidate, in darkness before the light of Masonic learning and the fullness of the degrees are revealed to him it may seem so but that’s a very superficial view. Those looking at Freemasonry from the outside should realize that we’re not a group that’s hiding in the shadows, using pseudonyms to protect our anonymity, and having ’secret masters’ as the anti-Masonic faction charges. We post information on our meeting times at the signposts on all of the roads leading into town. There’s a sign on the door with your name and that of our Secretary – along with both phone numbers – should anyone want to reach you.”
Without missing a beat, the Old Webmaster continued, “Our website has that contact information too. Commercial businesses selling products to the general public don’t use black backgrounds because they’re foreboding and, for the Western audience at least, symbolic of death. That’s not what Freemasonry is, I assure you. Let me ask you this: if, when the Master brought you into our Lodge room it was pitch dark inside, would you be as eager to join as you appear to be or would you be more reluctant, perhaps wondering if those tales of devil-worship and worse that you’ve seen on the web might not be true?”
The Old Webmaster’s hard drive made a slight sound and then there was silence.
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