1.) BE CIVIL. Don't use language that lowers the tone from that you would expect during civil discourse. Attacking your opponent personally is not appropriate. What is considered civil in heated political discourse? For example, don't say "you're an idiot." Instead, you may say "that's an idiotic position." Name-calling is generally frowned upon (there may be the odd exception, for example, if it is done in jest and the recipient knows it's in jest. But keep in mind that if you'd be offended by someone calling you nasty or uncalled for names, you're better off not doing it to others).
Don't post just to get others riled up, or otherwise disrupt the ongoing discussion. We know debates can and do become heated, but that is no reason to resort to cruel, disrespectful, or otherwise disruptive behavior that lowers the tone of discussion. We here at Liberal-Pride.org are about quality of discussion. We are not about creating an environment where people post just to anger others, or otherwise provoke a negative reaction.
2.) RACIST & HOMOPHOBIC REMARKS. No one wants to come here to be criticized for things beyond his or her control, such as race and sexual orientation. If people are made to feel unwelcome because of their race or sexual orientation, they will leave, and that defeats the purpose of increasing membership. Racist and homophobic remarks are not tolerated by this forum. If you wish to discuss race or sexual orientation, do it in a respectful manner. If you would feel offended by something said, don't do it to someone else. It's that simple.
3.) ATTACKING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. It's one thing to respectfully question or criticize aspects of a religion, or subgroups of a religion's followers based on their actions. It is quite another thing, however, to make blanket attacks on an entire religion or the whole of its following. Again, if it's something that would offend you if it were applied to your religious beliefs (or lack thereof), you're better off leaving it alone.
4.) STALKING, THREATS, AND CALLS TO VIOLENCE. This really shouldn't even require explanation, but we'll do it anyway. Threats, even in jest, are strictly prohibited. NEVER call for violence, or incite others to violence, against another person or against the property of others. And do NOT harass or follow members around the forum. We trust people are intelligent enough to know what this means. Threats and calls to violence will not even get you a stay in the Troll Confinement Area; they will get you permanently banned, and depending on the severity of the offense it may even get you reported to the authorities-so consider yourself warned.
5.) BE HONEST IN PRESENTING YOUR ARGUMENTS. This forum has a strong appreciation for the truth. No one likes to be lied to, and if you're caught fibbing or presenting your arguments in a dishonest manner, expect to be called out for having done it. Dishonesty lowers the tone of discussion in a debate, so it is frowned upon here. Therefore:
DO NOT LIE. Do not come onto this forum and disrespect people by lying to them. A lie is an untrue statement made with intent to deceive. It is creating a false or misleading impression.
BACK YOURSELF UP. If you make a statement or argument, be prepared to back it up with facts. If you are asked for a source it is considered proper etiquette to provide it, or a reasonable explanation for why it cannot be provided. The onus is generally on the person making an argument to back his or her statements up. (In the same vein, if someone makes an informed statement and you have questions regarding the source material, there's nothing that says you cannot look up your own information with which to rebut an argument-see FAQ Answer #2 for details). Otherwise, don't expect to be taken seriously.
IDENTITY THEFT & IMPERSONATION. This one's another no-brainer, but we'll explain it anyway. Hijacking or stealing someone else's identity or pretending to be someone you're not is strictly forbidden. For one thing, identity theft is illegal. And impersonating someone you're not is just plain lame (not to mention insulting). Stealing another member's identity will get you sent to Troll Confinement, or banned (See #14). Impersonating or otherwise creating a false persona will, if you're caught, get you ridiculed.
6.) GLOVES OFF. There is an area where members may take off the proverbial gloves and duke it out in flame battles. This is called the Gloves Off area. The normal rules of conduct as laid out above, except for Rules 2 through 4, do not apply.
7.) PROHIBITED USES. You are strictly prohibited from using or promoting viruses, trojan horses, MySQL squeezing, hacking, phreaking, or any software or system that may threaten, damage or burden our forum, website, software, server, or any other website, software or server. You are strictly prohibited from spamming, that is, posting a link to another web site or forum with the intention of drawing members to that site for commercial or recruiting purposes. If you have a legitimate web site or forum you want to promote, that meets our affiliate requirements, ask an administrator to create a direct-link. We have a special section for affiliate web sites and forums. You may NOT post private messages, or the personal information of other members, on the open forum. This includes e-mail, real names (unless the person has specifically authorized or used his or her real name on the open forums), IP addresses, or any other information members choose to keep private.
Affiliate web sites and forums MUST be political in nature, have a clearly liberal or neutral ideology or function, and contribute to the growing of this forum's membership roster. Administrators will determine if suggested web sites meet these conditions.
8.) COPYRIGHT. You may NOT submit or post any writing, pictures or any other information ("works") on our forum if by doing so you would violate the intellectual property rights of a third party. Chances are that if you did not create the works yourself-or they are not widely known as being in the public domain-someone else has copyright protection in those works. It is your responsibility to post works that are not in violation of federal, state and international intellectual property laws. Liberal-Pride.org will not be responsible for your infringement. Having said that, we do not generally care if you post copyrighted material AS LONG AS YOU PROVIDE FULL CREDIT TO THE OWNER OF SAID MATERIAL. Example: if you post a news article from, say, Reuters, please make your best effort to acknowledge that you got it from Reuters. If you post an image, be sure to mention where you got it from (some images found on the 'net have the owners' mark on them-if it's on there leave it intact).
9.) DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY. Liberal-Pride.org disclaims all liability regarding from the use of our forum or any part of our website. To be specific: In no event shall Liberal-Pride.org be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out, of or in any way connected with, the use of this website or with the delay or inability to use this website, or for the materials obtained through this web site, or for any claimed damage from our forum, or otherwise arising out of the use of this website, whether based on contract, tort, strict liability, or otherwise, even if Liberal-Pride.org has been advised of the possibility of damages.
10.) ADULT MATERIAL. Need we really explain this? Adult material as defined by Liberal-Pride.org is any image depicting nudity, pornography, or any link to any site containing such. If you violate this rule, you will be banned.
11.) CONTENT CONTROL. The administrators and moderators reserve the right to remove or edit any forum posting that is considered inappropriate, or in direct violation of forum rules. Administrators and moderators may edit, modify, or move your posts or threads at any time and without notice to you.
12.) SEVERANCE. The administrators reserve the right to delete any member account, with or without notice, and at any time.
13.) CONFINEMENT AND BANNING. We're going to try something a little different; instead of banning trolls outright, they will be restricted to posting in a forum called the Troll Confinement Area. Members confined to this forum will have been found by the moderators or administrators to have consistently violated the Forum Rules. How long members remain restricted to this forum is up to them; if they show that they can and will behave themselves, they'll be let out. Bans will be issued to those who threaten other members, or who call for violence. Moderators and administrators have full discretion in determining if a member has violated forum rules, and if that member warrants confinement or banning.
14.) CIRCUMVENTION OF CONFINEMENT AND BANS. Anyone caught trying to circumvent confinement, whether by creating another membership account or by some other means, will be banned. Likewise, anyone trying to circumvent a ban by signing up for another membership will be reported to his or her local authorities, and probably federal authorities, for trespassing. Consider yourself warned.
15.) AGREEMENT TO TERMS. By signing up for this forum, you agree to abide by the rules set down by the site administrators.
16.) MODIFICATION OF RULES. The site administrators reserve the right to modify these terms and conditions at any time and without prior notice to you. It is your responsibility to return to this site to review its terms.
