Overview

We want our online communities to be a venue for freethinkers to exchange ideas, challenge their beliefs, and foster a sense of community. As freethinkers, we highly value the freedom of expression but we’re also working towards building a community where reasoned discourse is the norm. We’ll try to keep moderation on our online communities to a minimum but keep in mind: there are limits.

These guidelines are not absolute; the moderators reserve the right to arbitrate on a case by case basis. As we face new challenges to the community, we reserve the right to modify these guidelines and also welcome discussion about the community guidelines. But this is our promise: we’ll always aim to keep the guidelines to a minimum.

Posting Guidelines

You’re free to take any position on any subject when you post in the community. We trust you will post in good faith and assume the same good faith of others who comment in response. Know your logical fallacies and check if you’re falling into sloppy thinking when you take your position. Being critical of your own thoughts is part of being a freethinker.

You’re free to defend your position; we don’t expect you to be cool-headed about it all the time, but we trust you to stick to the issue instead of attacking the people who contradict your position. Be open to the idea that you might be wrong. It’s okay, no one expects perfection. Being able to change your position when presented with a better argument and data is the mark of a mature intellect.

The following is a simple flowchart that outlines an ideal discussion:

This community is only as valuable as your contributions make it. Posts with unique insights – yes, even those that are NOT held by a majority of freethinkers – are welcome, provided they are argued in good faith and with supporting data if possible.

We trust you to not troll the community. Just in case we’re not clear on the concept of trolling, read this. Habitual trolls will be shown the door. Posts that are ostensibly consistent with a freethought perspective but are trollish, do not add to the discussion and are full of ad hominem attacks, are unwelcome in our communities, and may be dealt with accordingly.

The community moderators look at everything on a case by case basis. We may be more lenient with comments than with wall posts. We try to exercise maximum tolerance, but such tolerance is not unlimited.

Violations

Minor boo-boos - In posting, keep in mind that the following are strongly discouraged and are to be avoided at all times:

• Ad hominem attacks
• Irrelevant/excessively frequent posting (spam)
• Unrelated advertising

Major boo-boos - The following are strictly prohibited:

• Posting another’s personal information (e.g., address, phone number, etc.)
• Habitual trolling
• Threats of violence and bodily harm

Enforcement

If you think that a certain individual has made a boo-boo, privately bring the post in question to any site/group/forum moderator. If they deem that a violation has indeed been made, they may then deal with the violator as follows:

• Minor boo-boos will warrant a warning. Excessive/repeated violation could potentially lead to a ban.
• Major boo-boos will usually result in a ban.