Debating Forum Rules

Debating Forum Rules

Here are the rules of conduct that all users must abide by in order to participate in any discussion in this "Ethos, Mores, and Monastica" sub forum.

This forum is only for the discussion of ethical, moral, and religious issues only; including those issues that may be driven by current events that are determined by the moderators to fall into primarily these areas of discussion. Political and nationalist discussions have no place here. The decisions of the moderators as to whether a topic fits the stated purpose of this subforum shall be final.

Heated topics may be temporarily closed to provide a short cooling off or refocus period and to promote composed discussion without implying any prejudice or favoritism to any one side of the issue.

Large topic threads that exceed several hundred posts, may be temporarily closed and summarized before being reopened to further discussion. This process becomes necessary because many particpants will not read all the past discussion and will begin to needlessly repeat and duplicate past information without contributing anything new and meaningful and this porcess can lead to a loss of purpose or focus in the discussion.

1) Debate in good faith by addressing rebuttals through the introduction of additional evidence or by enlarging upon the argument. Do not merely keep repeating the same points without further elaboration.

2) Respect for others is the rule here. Argue the position, not the person. The Britannica says, "Usually, in a well-conducted debate, speakers are either emotionally uncommitted or can preserve sufficient detachment to maintain a coolly academic approach." Insults or attacks against individuals or groups will lead to disciplinary warnings being issued and eventually to suspension of posting privileges if those warning go unheeded.

3) Make your points by providing supporting evidence and/or argument. Avoid bare assertions. Because it is often not possible to tell which points will prove controversial, it is acceptable to wait until a point is challenged before supporting it.

4) Do not post images or graphics without some clear supporting text discussion and a minimum description of the image content and size. Image content must be specifically on topic with the original subject of the discussion. Posts with image trolls and other image spam and deliberate distractions will be removed in their entirety at the discretion of the moderators.

5) Avoid any form of misrepresentation. Do not state that something is fact or a well known fact just because you read it in a message board or on a web site.

6) Every discussion must begin with some question or framework for the topic of the discussion you wish to initiate. You may not start a new discussion topic solely by posting a copy of an existing news story, image, quote from a web site, or other source information.

In addition to these forum specific rules, the General Forum Rules apply (follow the link):

General Forum Rules