AoDA Forum Guidelines, Information & Specific Instructions - Read before posting!

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1. If you are a new member of our boards, please read the welcome message delivered to your PM inbox first.

2. A very important thing to note is that forum rules are as much in effect here as anywhere else on Boards o' Magick. Personal attacks, name-calling, country bashing (especially crude generalizations such as "All Americans are warmongers" or "All Germans are Nazis") etc. will not be tolerated. If you can't post without being offensive, please don't post at all.

You need a tough hide to participate in some of the debates in AoDA. But at the end of the day, you will not be any worse for wear. Guaranteed.

3. This is a forum for the discussion of topics that are of great importance to many people, so you should expect passionate discussions. Do not expect an overly PC fist to come crashing down on unpopular conversations.

4. If you disagree with someone, do so with some respect for the fact that you are speaking to another member who has as much right to their opinion as you do. If you feel that (in your opinion) someone is dead wrong, beat them with arguments, not swear words or name-calling. "Dead wrong" opinions are usually quickly recognized as such by other people, if you can point out their shortcomings in a civil manner.

However, you should keep in mind that the person you are debating with might be as convinced of their right as you are, and that no common sense arguments will make them think otherwise. In such a case it is better to drop the debate with a good closing argument, as you will obviously not achieve anything more there, short of frustration on your end.

5. If you want to discuss something that strays from the original topic with someone, use private messaging or e-mail and do not try to derail the topic to suit your present needs. Alternatively, you can create a new thread if the matter warrants it.

6. Moderators & administrators are here to moderate behaviour and to ensure everyone's compliance with our forum rules, not to settle disputes between members. If we feel that for any reason we must act in a certain way, be it either by editing, removing or closing a certain thread or post, we will do so without much ceremony.

We will sometimes also express our opinions, which we might choose to enforce over all others, especially when it comes to common sense issues. What is common sense in such an instance will be decided by the moderator or administrator, and our decisions will be final and not up for public discussion.

If all else fails, we might ask anyone to stop posting in this forum if we feel that their posts breed too much animosity in the community. This is an unpopular failsafe (as much with us as with the recipients), but in some extreme cases the only solution to retain community harmony.

7. If you ever notice a violation of anything written here that has not been sanctioned by a moderator or administrator yet, please use the "Report" link at the bottom of every post and point out the exact quote in it that bothers you. All such reports will be treated as anonymous and strictly confidential. You can also direct any other queries regarding this forum to any of the moderators via PM.

Good luck!