Forum Rules

Like all forums, The Political Debate Forum is a friendly place, and good
manners are expected of all members.  We understand that when tempers get hot,
it is often difficult for participants to express themselves politely and
courteously.  Therefore, we have prepared several files designed to help the
new member understand the subtleties in our rules.  Please check ARGUE.TXT for
general guidelines on forum courtesy as well as examples for rephrasing
potentially  offensive messages.

We have also developed a grievance procedure for those subscribers who are
unhappy with some aspect of the forum or with our enforcement of the rules.
Please check GRIEV.TXT for more details.

Each message writer is responsible for what he or she writes;  neither the
forum nor the staff assume responsibility, legal or otherwise, for what is
written here.

We will attempt to catch all rule-breaking messages, and appreciate being told
of any we miss or haven't yet seen.  Please remember that messages are posted
as soon as you enter them.  The staff watches for rule-breaking messages, but
may not see them before you do.

While participating in this forum, please observe the following rules:

(1)  Messages that call for illegal action or that might result in harm to
others are not allowed on this forum.  Such messages will be deleted, and the
writer may be locked out until we determine if the writer's participation in
the forum might be dangerous to others.

(2)  We urge subscribers to give their full, real names when they join.
Impersonation of another subscriber or a public figure living or dead may
result in lockout without further comment.

(3)  In general, we accept language that is commonly heard on prime-time
network television. Gratuitous obscenity and/or  explicit or implicit
descriptions of sex do not belong in this forum. Scatological or sexual
vulgarism should not be spelled out.  If you must use such words, use asterisks
to disguise them (examples: l*wy*r, l*b*r*l).

(4)  While discussions understandably grow heated at times, we ask that members
try to correspond in a friendly and good-mannered fashion.  Personal
disparagement, libel, slander, and harassment are unacceptable Please try to
focus on the issues, not on your correspondant.  Attack the message, not the
messenger!

(4a)  Inappropriate familiarity without permission (alluding to another
person's private life or asking personal questions of a person whom the
questioner doesn't know well) is not permitted.

(4b) Every subscriber is free to read and respond to every msg on the board. If
you dislike a correspondant, you are free to ignore him, but not to insist that
he not write to you on the board.

(4c) Messages that attack or harass the group represented in a particular
section will be moved out of public view, or to Marginal Issues or deleted.

(5) The section called Marginal Issues The Marginal Issues section is reserved
for all threads that do not clearly belong elsewhere, threads containing
comments which come close to violating forum rules, and threads that discuss
forum policy and rules.

Marginal Issues also allows greater freedom of discussion than the rest of the
forum.  Specifically, personal attacks (arguments ad hominem) that are related
to the topic under discussion (calling someone a "monetary illiterate" in a
discussion of economic policies) will be allowed in "Marginal Issues."
Gratuitous insults having nothing to do with the issues under discussion (such
as "slimeball" or "imbecile") will not.

Subscribers who post offensive messages in other sections are indicating their
willingness to participate in Marginal Issues.  Others should let the sysop
know if they do not wish to be attacked in Marginal Issues, but in doing so,
they are also agreeing not to participate in that section.

(6)  Messages that seem to have no other object than to disrupt forum
discussion and/or attack individuals or groups are not allowed in this forum.
Such disruption can include one-liners, multiple postings of the same offensive
msg, and other forms of harassment.

We understand that there will be disagreements about forum management from time
to time.  Discussion of such disagreements is permitted in the Marginal Issues
section.  We emphasize the word "discussion!"  Messages attempting to trash the
forum or the staff will be removed from public view.

Persistent attacks on forum policy or staffers simply doing their jobs are not
welcome.  Attempts to undermine forum policy through campaigns on the board or
in e-mail are against the forum rules.  We will also not allow continuous
rehashing of alleged grievances or disagreements.

(7)  Duplicate, reprinted and/or blank messages should NEVER be placed on the
message board.  Although quotation of previous messages is effective and even
necessary in some cases, we ask that these be kept as short as possible.

(8)  Messages and library files from other forums, private e-mail and other
privileged information may not be posted without the specific written
permission of the original author.  Permission to upload includes permission to
discuss the file's contents and quote relevant passages. Similarly, messages
and files from this forum may not be reposted elsewhere without specific
permission from the author and the Sysop here.

(9)  The Political Debate Forum is a discussion forum, not a propaganda forum.
Repetitive postings of the same material which ignore discussion directed at
them will be deleted as an abuse of the purpose ofthe board.


(10)  No commercial advertisements, ads for information exchange (petitions,
surveys, questionnaires), soliciting for funds or advertisements for other
online services will be permitted.  If you wish to sell, buy or exchange
something GO CLASSIFIED and post your message there.

The staff reserves the right to move messages from one section of the forum to
another and to rename threads in order to make sure that each thread is in the
appropriate section for its topic and tone.

The forum rules listed above cannot be modified by or for individual
subscribers. The usual disciplinary procedure is a warning on the first
offense, a second warning on the next offense and a lock-out on the third
offense.  Further violations of the rules will result in lock-outs of three
months to a year. If a subscriber responds inappropriately to any of the
lock-outs, the lock will remain in place indefinitely. Repeated or especially
serious offenses will result in a permanent lock-out.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping to make the Political Debate Forum a
pleasant place to visit. If you have any questions not covered by these files,
please post a message to SYSop.