The Other Michael
June 5, 2003, 10:58 PM
Welcome to the Moral Principles and Foundations forum. The Moral Principles and Foundations (MF&P) forum strives to be a place for meaningful, mature, and enjoyable discussion, of moral and ethical issues. To further these goals the moderators and administrators have decided to implement the following policy with respect to the moderation of the forum and the type of posting which is appropriate. Note that these rules are in addition to, and do not replace, the general Forum Rules and Policies. The rules will be applied as objectively and impartially as reasonably possible, but are subject to the interpretation and judgement of the moderators and administrators. Users are expected to follow the Rules|Registration Agreement and Statement of Purpose (http://iidb.infidels.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=235594) of IIDB, and if you have any questions then please contact a forum moderator or see Questions, Problems, Complaints & Suggestions (http://iidb.infidels.org/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=16).
General Guidelines
Editing of posts: in their enforcement of the rules the forum moderators may elect to offer the user a chance to edit their post(s), but reserve the right to make immediate modifications if they feel that is appropriate. The moderators will indicate where they have made edits to a person's posts, and will do their best to remove the minimum amount of text needed to meet the behavior rules. (Rule 1g)
Moderator requests: as in all forums, the general rule is that a user will accede to a request made by a moderator. The user is allowed to protest the request, but not in the thread.
Discussions in this forum may include topics relating to aspects of thought or behavior that have sexual or violent elements, or that may not be generally considered "moral" or "ethical" in some societies or cultures. Examples of these types of topics include (but are not limited to) abortion, cannibalism, the death penalty, drug use, euthanasia, homosexuality, infanticide, murder, torture and war.
When discussing these often emotion-charged types of topics the participants must do their best to keep the discussion at a "high" level, free of rancor or provocation. Descriptions of sexual or violent hypothetical (or real) situations offered as discussion topics or as illustrations of a point need to be couched in clinical terms. Keep in mind the general IIDB behavior rule that: you will not post material that is sexually or otherwise obscene and has no educational purpose or any significant relevance to an ongoing and legitimate discussion. In other words: it should be clear that a person is posing hypothetical moral situations in a detached manner, and not including a level of gratuitous detail that would serve no purpose other than to shock, offend, or otherwise disrupt the discussion. (Rule 1a, 1b, 1f, 6b)
MF&P is a place to discuss provocative (exciting or stimulating) concepts, not a place where people should be trying to provoke (inciting to anger) other users. (Rule 1d, 6b)
Ad hominem attacks, insults and flames are not acceptable. Posts which consist largely or entirely of such comments will be deleted. Otherwise substantive posts which contain some ad hominems or flames will be edited to remove the inappropriate material while retaining the substance of the post. (Rule 1b, 6b)
Calling a fellow poster a liar, deceitful, or making a similar accusation, is not acceptable even if you believe that your fellow poster really is a liar or deceitful. This kind of accusation never furthers the debate. The only acceptable response to what appears to be a lie from a fellow poster is to present evidence or argument to contradict what your fellow poster has said. (Rule 1b, 6b)
Hyperbolic or overly emotive language and imagery, such as unwarranted comparisons to Nazi Germany, are generally discouraged and will be deleted if they appear to serve no purpose other than to inflame the discussion. (Rule 1a, 6b)
Off-topic posting or hijacking of threads is inappropriate. Threads which are off topic in the MF&P Forum will be moved to a more appropriate forum. Posts in individual threads which have little or no relevance to the topic of that thread will likely be deleted without warning. A person prompted to bring up a side-topic in the course of a discussion should start a new thread, and link to it in the original thread. (Rule 1c)
Multiple threads on the same or very similar topics serve no purpose. If a thread is started on a subject which is already being discussed in an active thread, the new thread will be closed or merged with the existing thread. (Rule 6b)
Threads which become overly heated or develop into flame-wars will be closed.
Users who refer to arguments or comments made on other threads should include a link to the thread in question as well as a relevant quote from it. (Rule 5)
The first time a person breaches these rules a moderator will warn the individual about his or her behavior. Repeated and flagrant violations will result in action by the administrators, which may include the suspension or withdrawal of that person's posting privileges.
When starting a discussion, please remember to make it clear just what it is that you are hoping to discuss. If the moderators are unable to figure out what you want to discuss, or how it relates to MF&P, they'll close or move the thread as seems appropriate. It would also be nice if, when posting the topic, you'd give some idea of your opinion on the topic to help get the conversational-ball rolling. Just posting a link to a news story or website article as an OP may leave the moderator (and other users) uncertain of the topic. (Rule 6b)
General Guidelines
Editing of posts: in their enforcement of the rules the forum moderators may elect to offer the user a chance to edit their post(s), but reserve the right to make immediate modifications if they feel that is appropriate. The moderators will indicate where they have made edits to a person's posts, and will do their best to remove the minimum amount of text needed to meet the behavior rules. (Rule 1g)
Moderator requests: as in all forums, the general rule is that a user will accede to a request made by a moderator. The user is allowed to protest the request, but not in the thread.
Discussions in this forum may include topics relating to aspects of thought or behavior that have sexual or violent elements, or that may not be generally considered "moral" or "ethical" in some societies or cultures. Examples of these types of topics include (but are not limited to) abortion, cannibalism, the death penalty, drug use, euthanasia, homosexuality, infanticide, murder, torture and war.
When discussing these often emotion-charged types of topics the participants must do their best to keep the discussion at a "high" level, free of rancor or provocation. Descriptions of sexual or violent hypothetical (or real) situations offered as discussion topics or as illustrations of a point need to be couched in clinical terms. Keep in mind the general IIDB behavior rule that: you will not post material that is sexually or otherwise obscene and has no educational purpose or any significant relevance to an ongoing and legitimate discussion. In other words: it should be clear that a person is posing hypothetical moral situations in a detached manner, and not including a level of gratuitous detail that would serve no purpose other than to shock, offend, or otherwise disrupt the discussion. (Rule 1a, 1b, 1f, 6b)
MF&P is a place to discuss provocative (exciting or stimulating) concepts, not a place where people should be trying to provoke (inciting to anger) other users. (Rule 1d, 6b)
Ad hominem attacks, insults and flames are not acceptable. Posts which consist largely or entirely of such comments will be deleted. Otherwise substantive posts which contain some ad hominems or flames will be edited to remove the inappropriate material while retaining the substance of the post. (Rule 1b, 6b)
Calling a fellow poster a liar, deceitful, or making a similar accusation, is not acceptable even if you believe that your fellow poster really is a liar or deceitful. This kind of accusation never furthers the debate. The only acceptable response to what appears to be a lie from a fellow poster is to present evidence or argument to contradict what your fellow poster has said. (Rule 1b, 6b)
Hyperbolic or overly emotive language and imagery, such as unwarranted comparisons to Nazi Germany, are generally discouraged and will be deleted if they appear to serve no purpose other than to inflame the discussion. (Rule 1a, 6b)
Off-topic posting or hijacking of threads is inappropriate. Threads which are off topic in the MF&P Forum will be moved to a more appropriate forum. Posts in individual threads which have little or no relevance to the topic of that thread will likely be deleted without warning. A person prompted to bring up a side-topic in the course of a discussion should start a new thread, and link to it in the original thread. (Rule 1c)
Multiple threads on the same or very similar topics serve no purpose. If a thread is started on a subject which is already being discussed in an active thread, the new thread will be closed or merged with the existing thread. (Rule 6b)
Threads which become overly heated or develop into flame-wars will be closed.
Users who refer to arguments or comments made on other threads should include a link to the thread in question as well as a relevant quote from it. (Rule 5)
The first time a person breaches these rules a moderator will warn the individual about his or her behavior. Repeated and flagrant violations will result in action by the administrators, which may include the suspension or withdrawal of that person's posting privileges.
When starting a discussion, please remember to make it clear just what it is that you are hoping to discuss. If the moderators are unable to figure out what you want to discuss, or how it relates to MF&P, they'll close or move the thread as seems appropriate. It would also be nice if, when posting the topic, you'd give some idea of your opinion on the topic to help get the conversational-ball rolling. Just posting a link to a news story or website article as an OP may leave the moderator (and other users) uncertain of the topic. (Rule 6b)