[elisheva]

Hi everyone! Since the board has been so busy recently with lots of new posters, Lexis and I decided to put together a quick refresher on our rules as well as what we think are some good tips for posting on the News & Politics board. Our main goal is to promote a positive spirit of discussion and a respectful exchange of ideas on the board, and we think the following guidelines will help.


General FF Rules
Expanded Rules for News & Politics
- Just to give a quick summary of our basic rules: Don't descend to the level of personal attacks - that is against FF and board rules and will result in a warning at least. Don't make stereotypical generalizations about any group; that will also result in a warning or a ban.

- Always be respectful of other people's opinions and beliefs. You have good reasons for holding your opinions, but so do other people. Basically, treat others as you want to be treated: You want your opinions to be considered on their merits and in a civilized manner, so do the same for other posters.

- Don't forget that there's no reason for things to get personal. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they personally dislike you. You can attack ideas without attacking people; criticize a post without extending your criticism to the poster her/himself.

- If you have a problem with another poster, or you're getting the feeling that another poster is personally hostile to you, please keep it private. PM the other poster to work things out. If you think that won't do it, PM one of the mods (Sunny, Ashley, and I). If, once you've taken it to the mods, you find that the problem hasn't been adequately resolved, PM a Mod Manager. Long story short, never publicly post personal grievances - if you're concerned about something, PM the poster, a mod, or a Mod Manager.

- Updated: - Please make sure to post the source whenever you post a news article (link to the page you found the news on). The same goes for any claims about statistics or facts/figures - post a link or let the other posters know where you found the information so they can check it out for themselves. Saying "blueberries cure scaly feet" (for example!) should always be followed by a link or a citation, out of courtesy to your fellow posters and, of course, in order to give credit to the source or author.

- Some quick mini-tips:
Try not to generalize, especially not based on personal experience.
Always remember that everyone has the right to express their opinion.
Don't judge someone's ideas based on their personal background ( i.e. you've attended college and they haven't, you're older than they are.)

Above all, remember that civilized disagreement is healthy and debating is supposed to be fun as well as informative! If you find you're not having fun in a debate thread and it just makes you mad, leave the thread alone for a bit and come back when you think it'll be more enjoyable.

Have fun posting!
- Your friendly neighborhood mods

Added in: FF Rules - the other thread will be de-topped so that the board isn't too cluttered

Expanded Rule for News and Politics from the Management Team... Quote: In the general rules, we have one rule that says the following: 3.) Be respectful. Not everyone is going to agree with you at all times. It’s perfectly fine to disagree with someone as long as it is done respectfully, but do not attack other posters. For this board, we’re going to expand on this rule, and say the following: Be respectful. Not everyone is going to agree with you at all times. It’s perfectly fine to disagree with someone as long as it is done respectfully, but do not attack other posters. Additionally, broad sweeping generalizations that condemn any race, religion, political party affiliation, or any other country will not be tolerated. Anyone who makes such statements will be temporarily banned from posting on the News & Politics board for three days. If their behavior continues, they will be permanently banned from posting on the News & Politics board, and possibly Fan Forum itself. Spirited debate is something we like to see here, but many of the statements that people have made here go way beyond “debating,” and they don’t engender the type of positive atmosphere that we want here at Fan Forum. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me or anyone else in the Management Team. This next part I'm throwing in on my own. It's more of a request than anything, but I feel that it might make things a little easier for everyone that posts on this board. If anyone has problem with a particular poster, feel free to PM a mod or someone on the management team. If it's personal issue, and you'd like to discuss it with the poster yourself, use the PM system so that the thread discussion can continue. Thanks.

[Lexis]

Hope you guys find the guidelines useful. A good atmosphere on the board leads to good debates!

[chicah]

Great post Important one... I've read it and understood.

[~+Yamiko]

Definintly important to remember Especially when certain issues do tend to get heated.

But I'm sure I can keep myself on guard for that. You've got my understanding

[migamoo]

Thanks.

[~ Janet ~]

Read and understood.

[Enigma]

Read and understood.

[Shnicky]

Read and understood. Great post.

[-Kelly-]

Read and understood.

[spent cigarette]

Read and understood.

[elisheva]

We've updated the rules post - please post to show you've read and understood. Thanks!

[rose parade]

Read and understood, thank you!

[migamoo]

Thanks for updating! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask Elisheva, Sunny or myself.

[froggiepopple]

read and understood

[nopal]

read and understood! Thanks!