Old 10-23-2007, 03:23 PM   #1
devonin
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Default CT Rules, Read Them Before Posting

Hello everyone, and welcome to Critical Thinking. This is a forum for discussion, debate, and critical analysis of ideas.

As such, the standards in this forum are a little more strict, compared to other areas. All of the existing forum rules apply here, so make sure you've read the ;;;;;The Rules;;;;; announcement located helpfully at the top of each and every forum on the site.

There are a few extra things that are CT specific, such as:

1/ There is absolutely no flaming allowed in Critical Thinking. Not in jest, not because they're your friend and know you are kidding, not because you are really really angry with what they say. NO FLAMING AT ALL. This is a forum for the rational discussion of ideas. Making personal attacks at someone is one of the cardinal sins of Critical Thinking. DON'T DO IT.

2/ Every thread posted in CT must be about something and be posted in such a way as to allow discussion to happen. Simply posting a link to some article is no good. Making threads where you are just stating facts are no good. This is a forum for discussion and debate, so have a stance, defend it, and allow others to agree or disagree.

3/ Every post made in CT must also be about something. Posting "I agree" or "That's dumb" will get your post deleted. Do it too much, and more will almost certainly result. Every response needs to address something said by somebody else, or raise a new and relevant issue to the discussion.

4/ You must back up your claims with evidence. If you are trying to argue for something, you need evidence to back it up. It is very quick and easy to add links to your posts. If you are arguing a statistic, link to the agency who generated the statistic. If you are arguing using a concept people might not all be familiar with, link to the dictionary.com or wikipedia.org page that explains it.

5/ Unfalsifiable claims are not allowed. What this means is basically: No matter how strongly you choose to believe something, if that something cannot be proven or disproven, you cannot use it as evidence in discussions. As a practical rule it means that threads about religion are on very shaky ground. You can discuss religions and religious concepts to your heart's content provided you have proper evidence to back them up, but faith-based claims simply lead to flamewars, and juvenile "yes it is, no it isn't" back-and-forths that make everyone's day worse.

6/ Proper spelling and punctuation are mandatory. Even moreso than in the rest of the forum, posts in CT need to contain full and proper english words. Text is a medium of communication, and when u tak leik ths it breaks down the ability of people to understand you. Yes you know what you mean, yes we can figure out what you mean, but every time a post has to be made asking for a translation or interpretation of what you said, communication has broken down. Use spellcheck, use those language skills you should have been learning all these years in school.

7/ Bumping of old threads is much more allowed here than elsewhere. Critical Thinking is a slower moving forum. If someone posts a number of threads quickly, discussions that are still ungoing and valid get pushed down further than normal. As such, the general proscription against bumping old threads is more relaxed here. You do however, still have to have a good reason to bump the thread. Some new or relevent information, or insights have to be included. Basically: You can revive an old discussion, but if you post 'bump' or something similarly useless, you will fall afoul of the exact same penalties you would face elsewhere.

I really don't think that these rules are particularly restrictive or difficult to follow. All you have to do is be respectful, put some time and effort into your posts, and post only when you have a topic to discuss, or something to add to the discussions at hand.

If you have any questions at all about these rules, don't hesitate to ask. Critical Thinking has been dying a slow death lately, and could surely use a revival. Don't ever hesitate to post a new topic for discussion if it is of interest to you. The worst that will happen is a move over to chit-chat or another appropriate forum, and the best that will happen is the sparking off of another excellent debate.

Happy Debating.

Last edited by devonin; 10-23-2007 at 03:28 PM..
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Old 07-12-2011, 08:57 AM   #2
devonin
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Default Re: CT Rules, Read Them Before Posting

Quote:
7/ Bumping of old threads is much more allowed here than elsewhere. Critical Thinking is a slower moving forum. If someone posts a number of threads quickly, discussions that are still ungoing and valid get pushed down further than normal. As such, the general proscription against bumping old threads is more relaxed here. You do however, still have to have a good reason to bump the thread. Some new or relevent information, or insights have to be included. Basically: You can revive an old discussion, but if you post 'bump' or something similarly useless, you will fall afoul of the exact same penalties you would face elsewhere.
Just to reiterate.
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