[Theta Orionis]

Yesterday several topics turned into flamefests. The only reason why no strikes were handed out for this unacceptable behaviour is that given the nature of this forum it is understandable that people have strong opinions, and may get carried away. However, in the future such behaviour will not be tolerated, and result in forum strikes.

Let me clarify what is and is not acceptable in the debates forum.


Insults and name-calling:

Calling other posters idiots, numbskulls, SoBs etc is completely unacceptable. If you have to resort to this kind of language you are not contributing to the discussion. If you feel you have to exchange insults with other posters then do so elsewhere - exchange msn addresses, create an irc channel....but do not use the Morrowind Source forums for this.



Accusations of hypocrisy/immaturity

If you feel that someone's opinion is immature, hypocritical or ill-informed and you feel you have to point this out, be prepared to back this up with quotes from their posts. Keep your criticism confined to the poster's opinion as stated in his/her posts rather than attacking the poster's personality.

It is not acceptable to make offensive comments about a poster's age, gender or nationality because you disagree with their opinion.


Provoking a response/responding to provocation

Posting an extremist opinion or being deliberately obtuse is often used in debates to elicit a response. Use this technique with extreme care when posting here - you cannot predict how other posters will respond. People may take a tongue-in-cheek opinion seriously, and reply accordingly. And a heated reply may kick off a flamefest - which we don't want.
If you have a problem with another post and feel that its content is offensive, notify a moderator.



Courtesy

If you did get carried away when posting and posted something you regret later, have the courtesy to apologize. If you caused offense unwittingly - perhaps because you made a remark which was misinterpreted - explain what you meant. As someone stated in another thread - when posting on a forum you don't get any clues as to whether a remark was meant to be humourous, tongue-in-cheek etc. A little civility costs nothing - but goes a long way.





I expect everyone who posts in the debates forum to be mature enough to make the distinction between a poster and his/her stated opinion, and to ensure that their posts are a criticism of the opinion rather than an attack on the poster.

If you post your opinions in this forum, be prepared to have them criticized, examined for flaws and inconsistencies etc, and expect to be asked what information you base your opinions on. I would hope that everyone posting here is mature enough not to take any such criticism personally.


We've had some great debates so far, and it would be a pity if the forum had to be closed because of flame wars.


That's all I can think of at the moment....

[/lecture]

[Switch]

thanks for clearing that one up theta! ^_^

[Theta Orionis]

I could have had breakfast in the time it took me to write this!


Anyway - feel free to post what you think is and is not acceptable in the debates forum...and hopefully we'll thrash out a set of guidelines everyone is happy with...

[Switch]

i think u covered pretty much everything, except one:
Try to avoid discussions on Science versus Religion!!
This never gets anyone anywhere, as both sides will stick with their opinion through thick and thin, and usually ends up in a flamewar.

[HeLLL]

lol yea I agree. Respecting someones point of view is imporatant. You may not agree with it but respect it any way.

[Albareth]

You can't disclude it entirely though, it is involved in minor aspects in too many things, religion or lack thereof affects peoples opinions on several issues all the time. It can't be avoided.

What CAN be avoided imo and does the same good is keeping debates well on same track (f.e. the universe topic), not going off topic and making the "religion v.s. science" the main issue at hand and not the topic issue. It understandably can be involved partially due to it entering the topic at hand, but going off topic to that is just pointless I think...

[Switch]

hmm... whatever you say in that case, just TRY to avoid it if you possibly can.

[tranquility]

I think the main reason why the flamefests and flamewars keep on happening is due to the fact that the vast majority of the people here in MWS are teenagers AFAIK. It's only natural, nonetheless sad, that these things occur. So I think that with time, and some admonitions, hopefully they can be reasoned with.

Cheers.

[Switch]

*COUGH* not ALL teenagers are rebellious angry angst-merchants i think a few adults have been known to flame.

[eldritch]

angst: a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

Everybody flames under enough provocation. Some people have a lower threshold than do others.