The rules of the Dialogues Forum (Read)

[Vekseid]

Are pretty simple. This is the Dialogue Forum, specifically for discussing things in public between two people.

If two (2) people agree, they can make a topic in here for a discussion of their agreed-upon choosing. Unapproved members may not post here, nor may those who are currently under punishment. They may still view threads.

Since it is not possible yet to enforce this rule in software, it will be explicit here. If you are not one of the two members involved in the dialogue here, you are not to post in their thread.

If you feel the need to reply, you have a few options.
1) You can, alternately, use the Dialogue Discussion forum, conveniently opened across the hall.
2) You can PM them directly.
3) You can keep your finger off of the reply button.

Editing and deleting of posts has been disabled in this forum. Think before you speak.

Elliquiy's rules are still otherwise enforced. Mutual agreement also means mutual agreement, this is not a callout forum. You ask a person if they would like to take a discussion here, and if they agree, you may make a thread.

If you want to discuss a topic in here but don't have a partner for said dialog, feel free to present your topic of choice to request a topic to be created here in the main P&R forum. If someone agrees, you should post the thread, rather than them, to prevent you from having to deal with a million different discussions on the same topic.

Finally, if someone is already participating in a topic in this forum (made a post within the last week), please do not ask them to participate in another dialogue unless it is simply to split out a topic of discussion that you are already in a dialogue with them about.



This forum is specifically intended to address the following issues

1) Non-stop repetition. People complaining about going over the same topics repeatedly are hardly alone. I've explained a few topics many times here.

Over time, people should be able to build a small library of their own debates here that they can reference in future discussions, rather than rehashing the same points over and over again, scattered across the forums.

2) Dogpiling. Bombarding people puts them on the defensive and often causes undesirable reactions. It is easier to be civil when you are discussing solely with one person.

This also helps make the debate more egalitarian, especially when staff get involved in discussions.

3) Civility While it does occasionally happen that someone is here simply to troll, they tend not to get approved, and those that do tend to make their natures apparent by resorting to fallacies. As such, please keep the following guidelines in mind:



Cite and quote sources. Participation here should not be done at a whim, or taken lightly. You are trying to resolve a difference of opinion with someone. Vacuous statements and improper presentation will not help you.

Avoid fallacies. This is irritating enough when done in fully open forums. On E it's rude. In here it should be quite rare.

Be clear with your semantics. Words like fascism and authoritarian are highly loaded terms. They may apply, but it is important to be clear that when you refer to something using a single word. Likewise, some words have very specific meanings in very specific contexts. The word "theory" has a different meaning in each of mathematics, science, and philosophy.

Assume that your partner believes what they say. Compartmentalized thinking is common. The only way to address that, really, is to become familiar with the issue and person at hand, and for them to become familiar with you.

Recognize that you may be wrong. Participating in this forum without being willing to accept that possibility is dishonest.

Take your time. There is no rush, but if you let a dialogue here go and take another up, it is going to look rather bad for you.

Thank you everyone in advance, I rather hope, if a bit nervously, that something good will come of this.