- Joined
- Dec 29, 2002
- Messages
- 8,842
- Reaction score
- 80
- Staff
- #1
Hi guys,
We recently had a thread (now deleted by the creator of that thread) that insinuated that the overthrow of a government would be a good thing. Evil Figment and I debated whether or not this violates the "don't wish for death of anyone;" in the end, we came to the conclusion that it does not have to call for the death of anyone.
To that end, we're going to allow threads that venture into "should we get rid of government?" territory. That said, there's going to be an extremely tight leash on those threads, and I want to keep everyone informed before we run into this issue again so nobody is caught unawares of the rules.
So, here we go:
1: The constant rule is in place that you cannot wish/call for someone's death. Period. That's just how it is. If you violate this rule you can and will be kicked out of the Soap Box permanently.
2: The overthrow of a government can be a peaceful process, and if you agitate for that here, you better make sure you advocate a peaceful process. If you call for violent revolution, you're gone under Rule 1. And don't try to be cute with it. If you call for people to march on the seat of state with a gun in their hand, you'll also be in violation of rule 1.
3: This has been mentioned before, but assume people are arguing in good faith. If they want massive overhaul of the U.S. government, assume it's because they see it as irreparably broken, not because they have racial animosity towards Barack Obama or something. Don't use ad hominem attacks to demean other posters.
4: We're going to keep a tight leash on things, but it'd help us if you're reasonable. So please don't make wild assertions or point fingers or deal with complex issues irresponsibly. We have a lot of faith in you guys to argue politely and respectfully and intellectually. And we think you can do that. But it's a good thing for everybody if you keep the debate classy.
We recently had a thread (now deleted by the creator of that thread) that insinuated that the overthrow of a government would be a good thing. Evil Figment and I debated whether or not this violates the "don't wish for death of anyone;" in the end, we came to the conclusion that it does not have to call for the death of anyone.
To that end, we're going to allow threads that venture into "should we get rid of government?" territory. That said, there's going to be an extremely tight leash on those threads, and I want to keep everyone informed before we run into this issue again so nobody is caught unawares of the rules.
So, here we go:
1: The constant rule is in place that you cannot wish/call for someone's death. Period. That's just how it is. If you violate this rule you can and will be kicked out of the Soap Box permanently.
2: The overthrow of a government can be a peaceful process, and if you agitate for that here, you better make sure you advocate a peaceful process. If you call for violent revolution, you're gone under Rule 1. And don't try to be cute with it. If you call for people to march on the seat of state with a gun in their hand, you'll also be in violation of rule 1.
3: This has been mentioned before, but assume people are arguing in good faith. If they want massive overhaul of the U.S. government, assume it's because they see it as irreparably broken, not because they have racial animosity towards Barack Obama or something. Don't use ad hominem attacks to demean other posters.
4: We're going to keep a tight leash on things, but it'd help us if you're reasonable. So please don't make wild assertions or point fingers or deal with complex issues irresponsibly. We have a lot of faith in you guys to argue politely and respectfully and intellectually. And we think you can do that. But it's a good thing for everybody if you keep the debate classy.