Debate & Disussion Rules (Revised 5/10/2008) -READ BEFORE POSTING-

Well, with Simple Theory gone, I thought it would be best to create a new topic. The old one will be deleted to avoid confusion.

First of all: Welcome to Debate & Discussion. We hope everyone enjoys their time here, but there are some rules everyone needs to read and abide by.



[b][u]DO[/b][/u]

1. Make worthwhile posts. This means always backing yourself up with a reasoned argument; never just post an opinion and leave. We will be extremely strict in enforcing this rule, much more so than in other forum.

You don't have to make long, elaborate posts; these can often kill the debate if they're mostly rambling, so being concise is not frowned upon but encouraged, but make sure it contains and worthwhile opinion AND a valid reason for that opinion. Evidence/statistic for your opinions is not required, but is encouraged.

That said, no more of these 1-2 liners, ok? Use your common sense here: we, the staff of this forum, shouldn't really have to lay down in concrete terms what's acceptable and what's not. Before posting, ask yourself if what you've said contributes something meaningful and intelligent to the debate, that it's not just a flying visit to dump your opinion with some insubstantial evidence as you might in General Chat.

2. On the subject of evidence, provide links, and not to Wikipedia (if you read something on Wikipedia and want to use it as evidence, look for a reference). Don't just say, "oh, I read this somewhere, but I forget where". If you read it in a book, then at least state which book it is you read it in, although if no one else can find it, don't expect them to necessarily take your evidence into account.

3. Respect others. This isn't saying not to rip their arguments to shreds, but don't insult people because of their views. You can be sarcastic with your rebuttals but no harsh flames. You can also be sarcastic if someone posted incorrect facts, but do NOT flame them for their opinions. Insulting people only leads to flame wars and you won't get your point across.

4.If you start a new topic, don't just post a link or something and say "discuss." Don't just post a link to an article that someone could have found on their own. Start the discussion off with something. It's a lot easier for someone to post in a new topic if they already see some of the points that have been made by previous people so they can either agree and elaborate or disagree with something.

5. When it comes to posting etiquette, the standards are, again, higher here than on other boards. There's a few simple rules which are easy to follow:

- Don't use shorthand, of any kind. This includes 'txt tlk', internet slang, and yes, "lol".
- Use proper grammar and capital letters AT ALL TIMES.
- Abbreviations are ok, but unless they're well known, like U.S. or F.B.I. or something, make sure you explain what they mean the first time you use them in each topic.

6. Try to use generalisations as little as possible. Preferably not at all. It just shows that you don't know much about the subject in question, and is often rather offensive.

7. Regarding topics such as the one on 'religious followers': It is acceptable to bring in and evaluate possible evidence tangential to the subject at hand, as long as it's linked to and aids understanding of the core subject at hand.

8. Be serious. It's ok to use a bit of humour to aid a point, but don't just make posts which contain no serious point. You can unwind in General Chat. This is Debate & Discussion.

9. A word on topics debating conspiracy theories: these can't really be banned, since it is possibly to debate them well. BUT, if you do decide to create a topic pertaining to a conspiracy theory (eg. we didn't land on the moon, or the US government was responsible for 9/11), MAKE SURE YOU GIVE A FULL EXPLANATION OF HOW AND WHY YOU THINK THE CONSPIRACY IS PLAUSIBLE. "I saw it on TV" or "I read this on Wikipedia" aren't acceptable as back-up.

10. Before posting in a topic, make sure you read the entire topic first. This ensures that people repeat themselves as little as possible. Yes, I know this can be a bit tiring if the topics several pages long, but either read it all or don't post. Simple as that.

11. When posting in a topic you've posted in before, please address all points raised in posts directly responding to your own. Don't pick and choose out of the whole posts (or posts) bits that you can throw a quick reply to; this just makes it look like you don't have a response to the rest, and is rude to boot.

The only minor exception to this rule is when you have several posts (at least 5), all at least 3 or 4 good-sized paragraphs long, to respond to: in this case, it is acceptable to respond to some points (preferably all ones raised by the poster) and add a note promising to respond to the rest of the posts later. Of course, by "later", I mean in the next day or so, not after an entire week.

Henceforth, all posts found breaking this rule will be deleted.



[b][u]DO NOT[/b][/u]

1. Topics debating one thing over another. These belong in general chat. These are topics like "coke VS Pepsi," "panasonic VS sony," and "burritos VS tacos." Also, favorite foods, and other favorites topics are prohibited. Topics like this will be moved to General Chat.

2. Topics pertaining to video games. NO MARIO VS SONIC, OK? OK. This belongs in General Gaming Discussion. No one wants to debate whether Wargreymon or Super Saiyan 3 Goku would win in this forum. Do it in the proper forum. Again, topics like this will be moved, though in this case to General Gaming Discussion.

3. Topics pertaining to anime, cartoons etc.. Keep those in the Anime discussion forum, or in the TV forum. Same as video games basically, but it is worth a mention just in case.

4. Topics sending messages to moderators after they lock/delete something. Although this may be allowed in suggestions and problems, it is not allowed here. Don't even try to get one of the moderators in trouble for abuse. You know this forum is strict in every way, and we will not tolerate anyone trying to disrupt the discussions with their personal predicaments with moderators.

5. Topics about your personal vendettas with certain companies, or organizations and things they do that you find stupid.

6. Posts saying "I find this offensive." Unless the topic is truly repulsive and is flaming your point of view, don't make posts like this. If someone posts something that you disagree with, just stay calm and make a rebuttal, don't say that you find it offensive and leave it at that. Don't post for the sake of posting and ruining the discussion.

7. Dumb topic bumps. You know what I mean. Don't act like you don't. We (the moderators and other staff that come to this forum) don't want to see month-old discussions bumped with posts like "I agree!"

YOU MAY BUMP A TOPIC NO MATTER HOW OLD IF YOUR POST BRINGS UP A NEW POINT FOR DISCUSSION, ELABORATES ON ANOTHER POST, OR REFUTES ANOTHER POST.

8. Don't ridicule evidence put forward by other members. It's ok to refute it with your own sources, or explain why you don't think the source is very reliable, but no "oh, that's stupid" or "that can't be right". That's not good debating.

9. Don't assume anything is common knowledge. This particularly concerns your own country's history or geography; just because you were taught this in elementary school doesn't mean everyone was. Case in point: although most residents of this forum are, I expect, American, at least 3 of the 4 moderators of D&D at the time of me writing this aren't American (super craig and I are both English; Fwank is Australian).

10. Do not post saying something like "nothing I say is ever going to convince you, there's no point having this debate". The point of posting here is not about winning or losing, it's about debating issues sensibly and well. If you think the other person is not understanding your point or not taking it seriously, then stay calm and try to reiterate your point in more understandable terms, or just ignore that person's post. If you're losing, either concede the point and move onto a different one, or simply don't post at all. It's as simple as that.

11. Do not copy and paste your whole argument from someone else's work. This is illegal. Anyone caught doing this will have there post deleted.



And finally, a note to all other Debate & Discussion moderators / super moderators: If you have anything to add to these rules, please open the topic, post your addition, then close it again. When I see your post, I'll open the topic, edit this post, then delete your post and close the topic again. Or, better yet, you can just contact me over MSN and save the hassle. If you disagree with any of the rules, create a topic in Staff.



[b][u]UPDATES[/b][/u]

5/10/2008 - DO rule #11 added.

15/7/2008 - g33k's rule concerning originality of arguments added.

13/4/2008 - "Do" rule #1 expanded on.

28/3/2008 - "Do not" rule #10 added.

8/1/2008 - Some minor changes made to the presentation of the rules; warning/bans system removed (too hard to enforce).

« Last edited by Shadow_Lord on Oct 5th 2008 »

In all seriousness, the only warranted intolerance I allow in these forums are that exhibited by the very mods who moderate here or people of equivalent power (ie. Smods/Admins): if you don't like what has been said, but it, for some reason, hasn't been dealt with even after the mods themselves have contributed, then you probably shouldn't be reading it; you have low tolerance, and should go learn some manners before asking us to delete something you think is offensive.

Don't give us any of that "I find it offensive" or "This is against my religion" crap: keep in mind your religion is your own beliefs; don't apply it to others.

If anything, you should explain why you find anything is offensive to you at all; take note that simple statements like "this is wrong/offensive/blah" will get deleted because if you sit and think hard about it for a minute, they're the same as "I believe blah because *no reason/poor reference*" posts, which we delete as spam.

So, try to be a little more open minded before you post, or don't bother.

Just want to bring up a point for discussion regarding a small part of rule 1. I think the more than 1 or 2 lines is a bit contradictory with the idea that you don't have to make massive points, as a lot of ideas and indeed many posts can fully add to the debate with just a few lines. I think we should get rid of that part, instead just going on the quality of the post and what it adds rather than the size and obviously I want to know your guys view on the matter. Once its been sorted I'll delete these posts.

« Last edited by super craig on Dec 6th 2008 »