[Saru]

Rcently the Spirituality vs Skepticism board has become something of a warzone for a number of members who's persistant derailment of topics through flamebaiting, accusations and bickering has become an issue that is seriously disrupting everyone else's efforts to discuss topics on this board in a civil and respectable manner. Given the sensitive nature of the topics discussed here it is imperative moreso than in any other board section that members follow the rules and avoid this sort of behaviour.

Yesterday this section of the forum was taken off-line while the moderators discussed how best to deal with these problems. While the board has now been re-opened it is however being watched very closely and we have introduced new rules to the forum terms of service to address the issues we have been seeing.

These are as follows:

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2h. Agenda posting: Do not use the forum to promote an agenda. This often involves the starting of threads or making posts which appear to be legitimate in nature but which are aimed at surreptitiously promoting some political view, religious belief or to attack or criticise other members, beliefs or views in an underhand manor which detracts from unbiased and fair discussion.

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3j. Forum warfare: Do not initiate or participate in "wars" on the forum with other members. Collective or individual attempts to attack, accuse, discredit or force a certain viewpoint on other members are disallowed. A "war" can constitute a prolonged series of disruptive confrontations between specific members or groups of members with similar beliefs or views, usually with either side accusing the other of being the aggressor and attacking, criticising and baiting each other on a regular basis. Action will be taken against members who instigate or participate in this type of activity.

We suggest all participants of this section review the terms of service in full.

We will be taking a much harsher stance against members who violate these terms on this board, especially those who have been previously warned. If you see someone violating these terms then do not engage them in an open bickering match, instead report them; it will be far more effective.

If you find yourself at a point where you simply cannot reply to a member without making it personal then don't reply. Use the "Ignore" function if necessary, which you can access by clicking on "My Controls" and scrolling down the options on the left hand side of the page.

Once again, these measures have been taken to ensure that everyone can enjoy their experience in the Spirituality vs Skepticism board. We apologise to the majority of members who do abide by the rules and are not involved in this, and ask those others to read these guidelines very carefully before posting again.

Thankyou.

- The Mod. Team.