Author Topic: Notes on Controversial Topics.  (Read 16167 times)

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Offline Kobuk

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Notes on Controversial Topics.
« on: May 12, 2008, 11:10:40 pm »
Special Note: While debateable and controversial topics can still be posted in this forum, Furtopia also has a special "Debate Club" located here:
http://forums.furtopia.org/index.php/board,101.0.html
Members who wish access to that club must read the rules which are in the pinned topic in that forum before access can be granted.



From time to time on Furtopia, members throughout the years have posted various “debateable and controversial” topics on the forums. These topics have included, but are not limited to: Religion, Politics, Sexuality Issues, Abortion, Hunting, Environmental Issues, Gun Control, etc.
During the discussion of these topics in various threads, some posts can get heated and members can get riled up and feel very strongly about their opinions and/or feel very offended by opinions from others. While Furtopia and it’s staff encourages the open and free discussion of various topics by members throughout the various forums Furtopia offers, we would like members to be aware that controversial topics such as the ones mentioned above will be watched heavily and that we please ask members to keep the topics in a civil manner, keep the threads on topic about the ORIGINAL subject being discussed,, and to respect everyone and their opinions.
Nobody likes to see these specific types of topics (Or any other types of topics on Furtopia) get into flaming, bashing, etc., least of all the staff. Yes, you can post these types of topics to talk about. We do not ban or discourage them here. We simply please ask all our members to post in a respectful manner and to respect the opinions of others, even if those opinions may offend you in some way. Or, as an old saying kinda goes: “Treat others as you yourself would like to be treated.”. When topics start going downhill into bashing, name calling, insults, etc., actions such as that are better left to "fighting in the sandboxes from our childhood school days" so to speak. Even if you think that you are right and others are wrong, and that you can "push" your opinions on to other people, you can't. Everyone has the right to believe in whatever they want, even if it does offend/anger someone. When members cannot see eye-to-eye on things, the best course of action is simply to "agree to disagree" and walk away so to speak.
If topics are locked or completely removed, then we apologise for this. But if the warnings we put in are ignored by members and the topics drop into more flaming, bashing, etc., then it may become necessary to do such an action. Although the staff do try to ask members to re-edit their posts or we may have to edit something ourselves, sometimes it becomes unavoidably necessary to lock and/or remove a topic because "a few bad apples" so to speak had to ruin things for everyone else and they could not take their "disagreements" elsewhere and/or post in a calmer and constructive way. Some people may say that flaming, bashing, etc. is a natural process of having a heated/debateable discussion of a controversial subject. Yes, this is true in a way. Not everything that a person says or does will always be liked. But when the rude comments/bickering, disagreements, etc. degenerate into more aggressive open flaming, bashing, insulting, name calling, etc., then us mods/staff have to step in to put a little order back into the thread and/or put out the flames that are fanning there. Furtopia was not meant to be a religious/political and/or controversial website community. For those that want a more "lively and heated" debate, there are plenty of other religious, political, and other controversial subject forums out on the Net to post your opinions on.
Again, while Furtopia does not ban nor discourage the discussion of controversial subjects, we just want all our members to know that these types of subjects are carefully watched. For future reference, here’s a few things members may want to be aware of:

All the advice/comments made above, and the "guidelines" written in yellow here, not only apply to "debateable and controversial" subjects, but can also apply to ANY other subject in any other forum on Furtopia also.

Bashing/flaming of other members, their opinions, and/or hatred/slander/bashing of other groups, religions, countries, etc. will not be allowed and/or tolerated.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.

If it looks like things are going into a flame war and somebody/something rubs your fur the wrong way, or if you are being baited into replying by another member, then don’t reply or continue taking the discussion into IM, PM, or email.

Before you click on that “Add Reply/Submit” button when typing a reply post, please re-read what you typed and think about how it will be viewed and interpreted by other members.

Members who “purposely” instigate baiting of other members to reply, flaming, bashing, name calling, etc. or who continuously repeat doing these things in the same thread or in other threads/forums will receive disciplinary measures as determined by staff based on the member’s actions and/or will be banned.

If you intend to make any sort of scientific, political, religious, etc. "claim" in a controversial topic, then please be prepared to back up that claim with proof of facts, figures, statistics, percentages, etc. with links to well documented references/resources.
 

If members have any other questions about anything posted here, then you can PM a staff member and we’ll be glad to help you out in any way we can. Thank You. :)
« Last Edit: January 01, 2010, 03:11:24 pm by Kobuk »