Follow the rules, and that won't be necessary.
The debates all have to be approved by a member of the I.S before being submitted. Post as normal if you want to start a new discussion and it will be queued. If approved, you will see the topic on the forum within a day or two. If declined, you will be told the reason why via PM or e-mail.
DO:
* Keep your posts clear and concise.
* Be polite at all times. Aggression, rudeness and sarcasm towards others will not be tolerated.
* Agree to disagree. Accept that you won't agree with everyone, and that others are just as entitled to their opinions as you are to yours.
* Please don't quote extensive pieces of previous posts. If you're not sure how to use quotes most effectively, please visit this thread and this thread. It is a condition of membership of the Duelling Club that you please learn how to use the quote tags properly.
* Feel free to contact a member of the I.S, if you are offended for any reason. Reasonable complaints will always be taken seriously. You are also welcome to contact them if you have any questions. If, for whatever reason, you are unhappy with any decisions, please contact a moderator.
* Consider carefully your argument before you post it. We can and will evict you from The Great Hall if you cannot abide by the rules and you are rude or aggressive towards anyone else. Consider it a one way ticket so please, think before you post.
* Consider carefully the topic under discussion. If it is something that you feel very strongly about and you don't feel that you can contribute in a rational way, please don't post. Stay away from debates that are likely to upset, annoy or offend you.
* Respect the staff's decisions. If you feel you have a legitimate concern, send a private PM or e-mail to the staff member concerned. Do not argue with them in the threads and do not approach another staff member in lieu. Always give that member of staff a chance to explain themselves to you first. If you're still not happy, then you may ask a moderator to act as a go-between.
* Please use consistent capitalization and grammar. It's easier to read and understand. If your post does not contain proper capitalization, it is more likely to be ignored by other members. I know some of you are not native English speakers, and please rest assured that we do not hold that against anyone, but please do your best to make your posts easier to understand in this manner.
DON'T:
* Be rude in your post. Don't flame or insult anyone else. If you need to be told what is considered rude, then you shouldn't be taking part in a debate.
* Call anyone else names or personally attack anyone.
* State your opinion as fact - it is your opinion. If you disagree with someone else, that's fine, but DO NOT tell them that their opinion is wrong or stupid.
* Flog a dead horse. In other words, don't keep making the same point over and over. Once you've stated a point, move on. If you wish to continue debating the same point with someone, take it to PM/email.
* Don't use ALL CAPS all over your post or angry smilies. It implies impatience and shouting, neither of which is allowed on the forums anyway but especially not in the debate threads. If you want to emphasize something, use the bold or italics button instead. If you don't know how to use the tags, please learn
The thread is here* Take any debates seriously. There is no need for anyone to become defensive about their ideas and thoughts. This forum is to share ideas and get to get to know people a little better in an informative, educational and hopefully creative way.
There - not so bad really, are they?
A few other points to remember though - you are allowed to point out flaws with arguments put forward by other posters, and/or make arguments that contradict points made by other posters. You are not allowed to attack the individual doing the posting. Please remember that more than anything - do not let any debates become personal. This is a wonderfully varied world we live in and everyone has different opinions and ideas which they are perfectly entitled to. Share ideas, don't bash each other - there's enough of that going on in the real world, we don't need it here.All the regular VTM rules regarding netspeak, cursing, one liners and personal conversations also apply.
Okay - sermon over with. Enjoy the Duelling Club!
