The Forums at thetalkoflawrence.com got its start because there was so much incredibly rude behavior in other public forums in Lawrence. Don't try to act like that here; it drives too many good people away. You can certainly have and state strong opinions, as long as you do so with gentility and reasoning. There are certain more detailed rules below that we encourage you to read, following the short precis. We would also encourage you to read the following page:

Mutual Respect

Please understand that by using this forum, you are agreeing to the rules of use in this page and under our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

HOWEVER...

A summary of the rules is simply “Be Nice.” The owner and manager of this site and forum ( Michael W. Jones ) has the unfortunate responsibility of making sure that spirited discussion and even heated discussion do not morph into attacks on any of the members, or into demeaning tirades. He is not a censor, and he knows that. He appreciates the difference between censorship and the promotion of basic civility. He tries simply to be a benevelant dictator, and to keep things running smoothly.

Moreover, he will attempt to manage this board, and the attached Web site, in the most transparent manner possible. That is to say, he will describe (whenever it is ethically possible) exactly what actions he has taken, and exactly why, at those times when he must enforce the rules. If you disagree with what he has done, contact him here. If he does does not then see a plain course of action, he will consult with others, and he may very possibly ask the members of the forum via a poll in which all members may vote.

In those rare events that he must moderate a user, there are four basic actions that Michael may take in terms of board moderation.

1. He may issue a warning. A warning is an incremental step to suspension. You will not be issued many warnings before you will be suspended or banned.

2. He may suspend you. This does not necessarily have to wait until you have been warned several times. Depending on the reason for the suspension, you may not be warned before you are suspended. If you are suspended, you will not be able to use most of the features of the forum for the length of the suspension. If you are suspended you will be told why. During this time, you will have access only to the unmoderated "Time Out" forum for the banned.

3. He may ban you for a time, during which you will not even be able to log onto the forum. If you are banned you will be told why. Depending on the reason for the banishment, you may not be warned before you are banned.

4. If you have been really unruly and annoying, he may delete your account and make it impossible for you to rejoin the forum. You will be informed of the reason and then you will be gone forever.

No one wants to live in an anarchy, and these rules hopefully will prevent that from happening in the forum. If you wish to find an anarchy with absolutely no limits on behavior, just ask Michael. He will be able to recommend a few for you.

The Fine Print

We welcome you to participate in our lively forum, but we do ask that you observe some courtesies and rhetorical rules, for meaningful exchange and to avoid badgering and harassment. This group is moderated, and the owner reserves the right to remove people from the list. Here are basic rules that govern posting:

1. Please be mindful of the number of times you post and the length of your posts. We want to encourage participation by all members, and do not believe in sponsoring what are de facto "blogs."

2. We want to hear from you, and so discourage habitual linking to on-line articles, sites, and news or opinion blogs, without your input as to why these are pertinent to your thinking and to the forum.

3. Though this is a group for all reasonable Lawrencians, please be aware that "reasonable" does not include the promotion of blatant superstition, extremist political views, or psychobabble.

4. We will not tolerate trolling, flaming, flame baiting, or ad hominem attacks; these are definitions from Wikipedia:

On the Internet, troll is a slang term used to describe:
a . Statements presented by an Internet user to others that are solely intended to incite controversy or conflict or cause annoyance or offense. (Many posts may inadvertently cause strife as collateral damage, but they are not trolls.)
b . A person who posts these.

Flaming is the practice of posting messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting to a discussion board (usually on the Internet). Such messages are called flames, and are often posted in response to flamebait.

Although face to face flaming is as old as time itself, flaming on the Internet started in the Usenet hierarchies. A flame may have elements of a normal message, but is distinguished by its intent. A flame is never intended to be constructive, to further clarify a discussion, or to persuade other people. The motive for flaming is never dialectic, but rather social or psychological. Flamers are attempting to assert their authority, or establish a position of superiority. Occasionally, flamers merely wish to upset and offend other members of the forum, in which case they are trolls.

Similarly, a normal, non-flame message may have elements of a flame – it may be hostile, for example – but it is not a flame if it is seriously intended to advance the discussion.

Flamebait or trollbait is a message posted to an Internet discussion group, such as a newsgroup or a mailing list, with the intent of provoking an angry response (a "flame"). There are various motives or explanations for this puzzling behavior; the desire for attention and the desire for entertainment at others' expense being two of the most popular. Another is simply a desire to observe, and learn from, human behavior in an anonymous (hence non-threatening) environment. Posted flamebait provides the posting party with a controlled trigger-and-response setting in which to carry out social experiments.

It is often hard to determine who is really responsible for the degradation of a reasonable discussion into a flamewar. Someone who posts a contrary opinion in a strongly focused discussion forum may be easily labeled a "baiter", "flamer" or "troll". Therefore, it seems especially important to make the rules and focus of a discussion forum public to avoid misconceptions about its accepted use.

An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin, literally "argument to the man"), is a logical fallacy that involves replying to an argument or assertion by addressing the person presenting the argument or assertion rather than the argument itself.

A (fallacious) ad hominem argument has the basic form:
1 . A makes claim B;
2 . there is something objectionable about A,
3 . therefore claim B is false.

The first statement is called a 'factual claim' and is the pivot point of much debate. The last statement is referred to as an 'inferential claim' and represents the reasoning process. There are two types of inferential claim, explicit and implicit. Arguments that (fallaciously) rely on the positive aspects of the person for the truth of the conclusion are discussed under appeal to authority.

Ad hominem is one of the best-known of the logical fallacies usually enumerated in introductory logic and critical thinking textbooks. Both the fallacy itself, and accusations of having committed it, are often brandished in actual discourse (see also Argument from Fallacy). As a technique of rhetoric, it is powerful and used often, despite its lack of subtlety.

An ad hominem fallacy consists of asserting that someone's argument is wrong and/or they are wrong to argue at all purely because of something discreditable/not-authoritative about the person or those persons cited by them rather than addressing the soundness of the argument itself. The implication is that the person's argument and/or ability to argue correctly lacks authority. Merely insulting another person in the middle of otherwise rational discourse does not necessarily constitute an ad hominem fallacy. It must be clear that the purpose of the characterization is to discredit the person offering the argument, and, specifically, to invite others to discount his arguments. In the past, the term ad hominem was sometimes used more literally, to describe an argument that was based on an individual, or to describe any personal attack. But this is not how the meaning of the term is typically introduced in modern logic and rhetoric textbooks, and logicians and rhetoricians are widely agreed that this use is incorrect.

5. Please do not harass or badger other members. Name-calling, blatant insults, unwelcomed advances toward members or contacting them personally, without permission are cause for immediate expulsion from the list. If you post private emails, without permission from the sender, you will be banned from the forums.

We know that people make mistakes, and appreciate that you may find yourself in a heated argument, where you overstep the basic rules of this list. If your behavior continues, and you do not apologize and change your behavior, you will be put on moderated status. With another abuse of the forum, you will banned from the list.

We hope that these rules help you to understand what’s appropriate to the forum, and to help you enjoy the forum, knowing that this is not a place where you will be attacked or approached in a harassing manner.