The Watermelon

The art of online debate is not an exact science, but here are some guidelines to help keep the level of discussion on our forums as peaceful and productive as possible. Refer to the Moderation Policy for details of how we expect our members to treat each other while they are participating in debates here.

1. Learn what constitutes the difference between logical and fallacious argument, and familiarise yourself with common techniques used by right-wing propaganda merchants to stifle and misdirect public discourse on Green and Liberal issues. Many of those techniques are defined in our glossary section and you will also find a very comprehensive guide in our article section called A Fallacy Recognition Handbook.
2. Make sure you read posts carefully before you respond to the topic or a comment. Are you sure you understand what the other person is saying? Are you reading anything into the topic or comment that isn't there? Are you confusing the author with someone else in another thread or discussion?
3. Think before you comment. Are you saying what you mean? Are you saying it clearly? Does your tone match what you're trying to say? Are you implying anything you don't want to imply? Are you using language that could be offensive or inflammatory? Remember that no one can hear your tone of voice or see your body language on the internet.
4. Try to keep to the original topic. If an off-topic issue arises in another members post that you would like to see discussed in more depth, then please start up a new topic of your own and point to it in your reply. You also have the option to take the conversation to private message.
5. Be aware of the difference between criticism of a person's work and criticism of the person. Criticism, as in "literary criticism", is analysis, not attack. Critically discussing culture in an author's work is not the same as accusing the author of being a racist. Pointing out concerns about the content of an article is not the same as calling for that work to be censored or banned. Bear this in mind both when you are criticising or feeling criticised.
6. Take personal responsibility for keeping the tone of the discussion civil. Treat other members respectfully, even if you disagree with their point of view, and try to be constructive. If a discussion thread is becoming volatile, think about how you can contribute to steering it back towards the calm and rational again.
7. Don't feed the trolls! Engaging in a pissing contest with someone who is baiting or being deliberately disrespectful can be an entertaining form of black comedy to some, but it is seldom constructive to the overall debate. The best course of action is to report trolling and personal attacks to the site administrators, using the "Report Abuse" button.
8. Try to be aware of your own personal triggers and avoid knee-jerk responses. Anger can be good, healthy and empowering. Whininess is irritating, ineffective and disempowering. If you have righteous anger over a wrong that is being committed, express it. Use strong language if you like, but make sure you target the point and not the person.
9. Respect other people, even if you do not respect their opinions. Saying that a statement, an argument, or a world-view is fucked-up or sexist or racist is different from saying that a person is fucked-up or sexist or racist. Attempting to classify someone else with a label is not only disrespectful, but it might also be perceived as an Ad Hominem attack.
10. Effective communicators are generally not just adversarial, but also seek to understand what the other person is saying, and why, and look to find the common ground on which there might be legitimate dispute. Effective communicators also understand that you have not convinced your opponent just because you have silenced them.
11. People represent themselves. They don't represent everyone else in a discussion group. They don't represent everyone in their gender, their ideology, their race, their class, their nationality. So don't try to speak for others. Don't assign an individual's statements to other members of a group and don't assign other group members' statements to an individual.
12. Try to explain clearly what your point applies to. If your point is about the overall sense or tone then say so. If you agree with part of an argument but disagree with another part, then be clear about saying so. It helps the debate if you specify your points of agreement before moving on to detail your points of disagreement.
13. When discussing the subjects of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, lack of religion, disability, or other highly-sensitive personal issues, take good care to exercise the appropriate level of sensitivity toward others and take extra care to clearly express your point of view.
14. Try to remain objective and not feel personally attacked when others disagree with your opinions. When feeling strongly about an issue, it is all too easy to seize upon subjective or moralistic arguments to justify our position. Constructive debate depends upon logic, so we must be wary of logical fallacies and be willing to have our reasoning challenged by others.
15. Agree to disagree respectfully. If you disagree with someone, explain why by responding to the substance of their argument, rather than the member's identity or writing style. Look down the long path of the discussion and ask yourself if it is heading towards a place where both parties will learn something?
16. Don't argue with others using repetition, railroading and bandwagoning as your methods of debate. Avoid using political talking points that you heard in the media as the substance of your argument. If you have to resort to using cheap political insults such as commie, nazi, pinko, or fascist to add weight to your argument then you have have failed to make your point.
17. Don't employ quotes from news releases or opinion pieces to add weight to your arguments unless you accompany them with your own explantion for why you agree with those opinions or conclusions. Always cite your source and author, and provide a direct link back to the article you are quoting.
18. Don't misrepresent what other people say in order to make yourself right or deliberately stir conflict between them and another member. Don't put words in their mouths, don't suggest that they said something they didn't, and don't reduce the complexity of their argument with broad-brush smears. If someone else is misrepresenting your argument it is OK to call them on it, as long as you do not resort to flaming.
19. If you don't understand the conversation, take responsibility to educate yourself. We have lots of resources on our website such as our glossary and a links archive full of websites with information on Green and Liberal issues. Please make use of them to help strengthen and refine your own positions. And don't forget, there is always Google!
20. Try to have a thick skin and be aware that just because you consider a post to be offensive doesn't necessarily mean that it is against the rules or bigoted. As a general rule of thumb, posts about ideas are generally okay, but sweeping statements about entire groups of people are not appropriate.
21. If you find yourself really upset or angry at something another member posted and are tempted to flame them, we suggest you open a new text file on your computer and type your unbridled response there. Save the file, revisit it the next day, and then decide if you still feel compelled to post this as your reply - with a few tactful revisions perhaps?
22. And last, but not least, have a sense of humour. Some of the best social and political critics of our time have made their points effectively through the use of comedy and satire. We want this to be a place where we can all relax, laugh, learn and have fun together too!

Green on the outside and Liberal on the inside!