Etiquette

[Admin]

Please be mindful that this forum is for people of all faiths and no faith at all.  Everyone's viewpoints are going to be offensive to someone else so keep a cool head.

All members are expected to follow these guidelines:

1. Member Conduct.  This forum is intended for thoughtful discussion - not for verbal assault.  Please avoid the need for moderation by refraining from uncivil responses to other members.  Direct name-calling is against our Rules, but please also try to refrain from personally directed profanities or other derogatory comments not covered by our Rules.

2. Proper Posting.  Attack the arguments - not the member who posted them.  If your only rebuttal is an insult then you have already lost the argument.  Make your points as brief as possible.  If you are composing a long post then please break it up into reasonably sized paragraphs.  Do not make posts using only uppercase letters.

3. Derailing Threads.  Thread content should be monitored by the thread owner to ensure that it stays on-topic.  Members who post into another member's thread should respect the thread topic and post accordingly.  Please also see our rule about trolling.

4. Redundant Threads.  Please use the forum search feature to check for topics of a similar nature before starting a new one. This is particularly relevant to recent news articles.

5. Thread Titles.  Thread titles should be chosen to reflect their intended content.  Creating relevant titles for threads simplifies thread identification during searches and also assists with the relocation of misplaced thread topics.  They must not contain any swear words (see our rule #15).

6. Quoting Other Members.  When quoting another member's post, please only quote their text that is relevant to your reply.  Do not quote their entire post unless you are responding to their entire post.

7. NSFW content.  NSFW means "Not safe/suitable for work."  Please do not post any images on this forum if their content is unsuitable for display in a public workplace.  You can post links to online resources that are NFSW but you must clearly state that these links are NSFW.  If you post an embedded video or movie for display on the forum whose content is NSFW then you must likewise clearly state that the video contains images that are NSFW.  Images that contain profanity are considered NSFW on this forum.

8. Animated images.  Animated avatars and member signature images are allowed on this forum provided their animation does not cause unwanted distraction to our members. Posts that contain animated images are allowed regardless of how much distraction they cause.

IMPORTANT: If a moderator asks you to modify your posts and/or your member profile because of blatant, overt and/or serial breaches of any of the above guidelines then you must comply with their instructions.  Non-compliance with a moderator's instructions breaks forum rule #9.