The Sleeping Forest Guidelines

October 7, 2006, 1:46 AM

This is the Temple of the Ancients. In this particular part of the forum, the basic idea is to debate. Topics generally regard real life issues, such as the Death Penalty or Abortion.

Appropriate Topics

Like every part of the forums, only certain topics are permitted here. While almost everything is open to debate, this section only allows debating on a serious note, such as the examples above, the meaning of life, historical figures, political decisions, etc.

Anything other than debating will be closed, if posted here. For example, if you post a review/opinion of a game or movie, the thread will be closed. However, what you can do is ask a question of how a certain form of entertainment can affect society. There was once much controversy about "Green Street" and this is a good example.

Thread titles are another thing. Not only does the content have to be appropriate, so do the thread titles. For example, “What is your opinion on the decision made by George Bush?” would be acceptable, whereas "George Bush sucks" is not.

It would not be possible to tell each member the view that they are allowed to have and we all should realise this. When posting, please respect that not everyone shares your views and therefore, you should be careful not to offend anyone with a biased post.

No topic should have swears or profanities in titles, period.

The usual rules apply for duplicate threads, inappropriate content and such like.

Spamming

Spamming absolutely prohibited here. It cannot contribute effectively, irritates the members who do want to debate and will ultimately result in warnings for members. A well-said and appropriate name was given to Spam: Short Pointless Annoying Message. Keep this definition in mind if you end up disputing with yourself.

Short posts lack elaboration, inevitably. Therefore, when you post, you must give reasons to support your answer. Any view is acceptable as long as it can be justified. Examples, which are not allowed follow:

Religion sucks

Why does religion suck? What has caused you to feel this way about religion? Is it religion in general, or a particular religion that has caused this feeling for you? These questions are what you need to answer, without anyone having to ask. The expression you use, i.e. words you use to convey your point, is also essential in elaborating clearly.

There should be no religion.

Very short and lacks justification. This kind of post is unacceptable.
Humour, in the form of sarcasm, is allowed, but it must be used with such elaboration as expressed above.

If you feel intimidated by the hardcore debating that goes on in this section, then the Ye Olde Deep Sea Research Centre allows more lenient posts. There are separate guidelines for it, which are stuck.

Flaming

It is important to remember that all members have their own views and this should be respected. Blatant flaming or disrespect for this will result in a staff member issuing appropriate warnings.

No one is inferior to you, which is a fact. Keeping this in mind, you should not insinuate or otherwise imply that you are of higher importance than another member, or your view is more important, so on and so forth. If you think a member has contradicted himself or herself, made a mistake or is being biased, you may state so, but in the appropriate manner.

Sarcasm can often be used to insult others. When you post, it is likely that another member will assume that you have insinuated something deeper which can insult them. You must be careful to not forget this. If you think your own post is ambiguous, words such as “No offence, but …” can help to justify your point.

If you feel as though one member has flamed another, please report the post.

Remember your manners

Typical English skills, such as use of proper grammar, vocabulary, spelling and sentence structure are very effective. Text-talk and such like don’t show you have a clear understanding of the topic.

To back up your point, you may wish to link to an article, an extract or a quote external to the forums. Quote tags can be used (the author is not compulsory), or a URL can be given. You can also copy and paste information, but the source is essential in proving reliability. If the information is very long, please refrain from copying all the information. Instead, just post the link.

Miscellaneous

All FFF rules still apply to this forum, unless stated otherwise.

The above guidelines are specific only to Temple of the Ancients – Ye Olde Deep Sea Research Centre has separate guidelines.

Should anything occur that has not been covered above, the rules here are subject to change, but we will try to keep you informed if they are changed, for any reason.

As usual, contact a member of staff if you have any questions.