In order to raise the standards of acceptable posting in Staredit Network's Serious Discussion forum, the following rules are in place. Violations will be subject to both normal moderatory actions and possibly a ban of the member from the Serious Discussion forum. Please read these before replying or creating a topic. Please follow these rules to make it more enjoyable for everyone else.

Staredit Network Rules
http://www.staredit.net/?faq=1
http://www.staredit.net/?faq=2

Forum Rules
1. Do not flame. This is self-explanatory and is a standard rule through the whole site. For non-experienced web users, flaming is verbally attacking another person. This is not a place for slander. Feel free to attack ideas, but not people. Labels used as a form of abuse or irrelevant to the topic are not acceptable.
Good: "I think you're wrong because (reasons)."
Bad: "You stupid ****, you're so dumb that you can't realize that this is the truth!"

2. Be reasonable. The world does not revolve around you and your opinions. You could be wrong, and asserting you are not without reasoning does nothing. If you think you are right, back it up with reason. Do not commit ad hominem (Attacking a member verbally) attacks while arguing. It will be considered as flaming if such an event is to occur. When making claims where there are reasonable doubts to credibility or claims you think that people might generally consider outrageous, be sure to include sources.
Good: "OK, I understand now, but ... (argumentation)" or "That's not right because... (reasons)"
Bad: "No! You're wrong! You're just too dumb to understand it!"

3. Type with clarity. If you can't read your own post, it's very likely that other people will not even try. You don't need to have perfect grammar, but (at least) try to avoid substitution of letters (or numbers) for words. Don't use "u" for "you" or "1" for "one". It makes the post look very unprofessional, and as such, it will be treated with less attention and more mockery.
Good: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog."
Bad: "OmGZ, u r soo dumb y is this right/ noo wtf. makes no since at all"

4. Do not spam. Do not post useless information. As with flaming, this is standard throughout the site that applies especially here. A good rule of thumb before posting is asking yourself this question: "Will other people care what I say?". If the answer is no, do not post. Too much spam will result in huge off topic threads, which will make it more confusing for those who actually want to contribute something. Do not post non-sequitors and silly jokes unless they actually contribute to the discussion.
Good: "So the problems are ... (argumentation) and we should try to fix them because ... (reasons)"
Bad: "Who cares, I am the best anyway." or "I think Halo is a pretty cool guy. eh kills aliens and doesn't afraid of anything".

5. Be courteous. Treat others the way you want to be treated. When you carry on discussions amongst each other, be respectful. Do not provoke others into flaming and/or trolling.

6. Avoid circular arguments. While debate is encouraged, expect topics to be locked if debate becomes circular with no new information entering. If there is a breakdown of discussion, it will be closed.

7. Present arguments. (for new topics) When opening a new thead, please state your point of view or argument. News updates, "Ask me anything about X", etc., do not present a stance on an issue that is for debate.

Links of Interest
On Debating
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/argument/building.html
How to build an arguement.
http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html
How to build an arguement; also contains many logical fallacies and how not to commit them
The logic of the site is correct; the examples they use may offend you.

On Persuasion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modes_of_persuasion
The three components required for effective arguementation.
A. Credentials (Qualifications and why they are important.)
B. Emotions (The more emotion involved, the more powerful the message.)
C. Logic (If it's not logical, no one will listen to it.)

On Fallacies
On Logical Fallacies -- http://www.ramdac.org/fallacies.php
Fallacy Tutorial -- http://www.ramdac.org/fallacies.php
Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate -- http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html
Fallacy Files -- http://www.fallacyfiles.org/
Wikipedia's Article -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy
All sites are equally valid; each contain an introduction on why logical fallacies are important and why you should avoid them. Read this portion at least once!

Thanks
Thanks to cheeze for the original SD rules post.

Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Jun 1 2008, 2:19 am by Mini Moose 2707.