Site Rules

[admin]

After joining the Forum please consider introducing yourself here personally to other members. It helps to have political discussions with people whose lives you know something about. It makes the conversation less abstract and more personal (in a good way).

The purpose of this site and discussion forum is to promote a dialogue among progressives about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I'm hoping that members will learn, discuss and challenge each other. Though there is no political litmus test for membership, the site is meant for discussion among those who embrace a progressive resolution of the conflict. There are rules and you must adhere to them if you wish to participate.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a subject fraught with conflict. There is much disagreement even among friends. Of course, there can also be much hostility and bile as well. In the interests of minimizing bad feelings, the Admins will moderate the forum. If anyone violates the following rules they will be banned. Once banned, that person will be banned for good, so please be as civil, decent and good as you can. Anyone who participates in this forum in a manner that is counter to the spirit envisioned by the admin will have to leave.

1. avoid 'shouting' in capital letters or multiple !!! exclamation marks

2. avoid harsh, vulgar, insulting or defamatory language, and ad hominem attacks

3. Private Messages are what their title suggests - PRIVATE messages. Posting private messages is not allowed and doing so will lead to being banned.

4. do not register more than one account; those who do so will have both accounts banned; and don't try to hide your identity using proxies or whatever, if you do so--we'll find out

5. do not link to exremist sites or sites that promote bigotry against either Jews or Arabs. These include but aren't limited to: Arutz Sheva, Zombietimes, Masada2000, Radio Islam, Stormfront, Biblebelievers,etc. If yr not sure whether a site is an extremist or bigoted site, please PM the admin for clarification. Repeated violations of this rule will result in banning.

6. stay on-topic, don't be afraid to start a new topic if you don't find one covering what you have to say

7. avoid sloganeering, hectoring, taunting, lecturing or writing long diatribes

8. avoid insulting forum members or those whose ideas you are writing about

9. avoid prejudicial or racist terminology based on stereotyping; posts which equate Israel with Nazi Germany or use terms like "Islamosfacist" or claim the Palestinian or Jewish peoples are historical fabrications --are liable to be deleted and could result in the poster being banned depending on the circumstances.

10. this is a discussion forum, not an archive; in quoting from a source make your citation as short as possible to convey your point, then link to the original source; do not quote full or long passages as they make eyes glaze over.

11. if your goal is to demonize one side or the other or assign blame wholly to one side or the other there are lots of other sites on the web where you will feel more comfortable. If you want to rehash ancient history to prove one side was all right and the other all wrong, this isn't the site for you.

I try to go by Hillel's version of the Golden Rule: "treat others as you would have them treat you."

If you read a post which violates these rules, please report it immediately to the Admin via a PM or at abuse@israelpalestine.com. If you read a post which you feel is intemperate, but doesn't violate the rules, please take it upon yourself to post to that thread in an attempt to temper the tone. Or better yet, ignore the bum.

This forum can only be as good as its members make it. So let the discussion begin!