The Sleeping Forest Guidelines.

October 23, 2008, 11:21 PM

The Sleeping Forest is FFF's debate forum, in which members come together to discuss serious issues in today's society. It goes without saying that this forum, therefore, requires a number of strict rules.

Note: I recommend reading the following thread as well:
http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/th...ies-17262.html

The Sleeping Forest is for serious discussions.
You should, by now, be familiar with the concept of spam [often an acronym for Short, Pointless, Annoying Message]. Spam will not be tolerated in this forum, under any circumstances, and will either be deleted or be followed by an instant infraction, henceforth. Posts are expected to be of a substantial, extended length and should clearly address your view on a particular matter.

Don't hate: debate!
When debating, it should be noted that this does not involve the need to belittle another person's opinion or, for that matter, the person in question. Regardless of whether or not you agree, this forum is for debating and should be addressed appropriately - by debating the points presented.

Do you have any evidence?
A number of members tend to post without backing up any claims that they have made. While this is not a requirement, it is advised, and encouraged, that you find sources of evidence and refer to them in your argument [should you use them at all]. Posting evidence can make a great deal of difference when debating. We only encourage members to back-up their claims with sources; it's not considered a compulsory requirement. Despite The Sleeping Forest being for serious discussions, it's in a forum that is otherwise relaxed, so it's not really the end of the world if someone doesn't provide sources. You can still request for sources to be provided but all I ask is that every topic doesn't turn in to a desperate scramble to show debate fallacies or, further, stray from the entire purpose of the thread entirely. A number of the active threads, at the moment, are more focused on the technicalities of a fallacy as opposed to the actual thread topic, so try to bare in mind what I've asked, guys.

Discuss the issues at hand.
This can, occasionally, be difficult to always abide by, as one topic often overlaps into another and the staff respect this fact. However, members are reminded that they should not de-rail a thread too much, to the point where the original issue is no longer being addressed.

Watch your language.
"Serious discussions" implies that a higher degree of thought should be used when posting in The Sleeping Forest. As such, we would expect members to be able to convey their point clearly and concisely without the need to use foul language. Although we tend not to punish people for swearing, such usage is, generally, distasteful and we strongly discourage members from doing it.

As always, regular forum rules apply, unless stated elsewhere. If you have any queries, then do not hesitate to contact either myself or my colleagues, a list of whom can be found here.

I thank you in advance for abiding by these rules and hope that you enjoy yourself.