Welcome to Moorewatch Forums.

(These are the same rules that are posted in the other sections, so if you’ve read those you can skip these)

If you’re a first time visitor to Moorewatch Forums, please take a moment and read the following ten items. They’re not laws, rules, or even guidelines. They’re simply items you might want to know before joining in on the discussion. They’re posted in an attempt to start things off on the right foot. We love discussion and reading varying viewpoints. We look forward to reading your thoughts about the many subjects here.

1. New users will be required to make 10 posts before starting their own threads.

The reason for this is there has been a long line of users who sign in, obviously don’t look around, post some message that is redundant and most likely has been covered at length in many other threads. Often it’s a screed against the site that they think is clever, except that we’ve seen so many almost identical ones before. Sometimes it’s a “drive-by” post, where the author never returns and only succeeds to send other users into a tizzy. Sometimes they are merely spam/troll posts.

By requiring 10 posts, it should give the user a chance to get a feel for the site first, maybe discover there already exists a thread for their topic. 10 troll/contentless posts will not count. Users violating this will have their thread locked (if innocent mistake) or deleted (in worse cases, ie spam & troll postings).

Regular users from the old forums that are simply reinstating their account will be exempted from this rule

2. We have several regulars here who post every day. Some dislike Moore, some like Moore, but because of their immersion in the discussions of all things ‘Moore-related” most of them have become very “Moore savvy”. Without a doubt, they probably know more about Moore than you do. You will hear quotes, stories, and read certain articles for the first time here. You will learn thing you never knew. That is the point of this forum. To lay it all out, and let people make their own decisions.

3. Moore is a singular personality. He is not a political party or ideology. People here who do not like Moore’s work do not necessarily support Bush. Likewise, people here who like Moore do not necessarily hate Bush. Sure, the topics may cross paths often, but please don’t assume the one position on Moore equates automatically to the opposite corresponding opinion about any other personality.

4. In the past, many Moore fans have accused us of being on the payroll of the RNC. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Moorewatch is completely independent from any outside political influence or control.

5. THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT:
Despite the fact that there is a forum dedicated to dissecting the works of Moore, you should in no way determine that the intent of this forum is to silence Moore. We have discussed the topic at length, and agree, that even if we somehow magically obtained the power to silence him, we would not. We support Moore’s First Amendment rights. He can say whatever he wishes, and likewise, so can we.

6. It is a logical fallacy to applaud Moore for investigating things he considers “questionable”, while at the same time criticizing our efforts to investigate the things we find “questionable” about his analysis of things. We do what he does, except we do it to him.

7. Be prepared for a heated debate on nearly every topic. However, keep in mind you have the unique ability to set the tone for your own conversations. If you are looking for a flame war, you’ll probably find one, however, if you are looking to rationally discuss any issue, you will certainly find several people willing to take part in a civil discussion with you. Minor jabs are to be expected, but let’s try to be civil.

8. Despite what you may think, we all “have lives” and “better things to do”. I have heard those accusations so many times, they have grown tiresome. For your information, we have Professors, Students, Active Duty and Veteran Military, professionals from every walk of life, and even the occasional village idiot and regular posters here. So, before you even bother to ask it, I’ll answer: “Yes, we all have lives and we have better things to do”. We just feel it’s worth our time to check in and discuss the news of the day, oh, and Michael Moore.

9. If you feel like just browsing and not commenting, that’s fine. If you feel like commenting , that’s fine too. However, if you do leave a comment, please stick around long enough to answer the people who respond to your post. Hit and run artists (trolls) aren’t of use to anyone and add nothing to any discussion. This is just a simple request, not a rule. Of course, it’s a free country , so do what you wish.
Please note that there is a specific “Moore “ section and a “General Discussion” section those titles will help you to decide where to place your post.

10. Like I noted before, some of the folks here are almost “experts” on the subject of Moore ( and other things too) . If you read a fact or quote you think is unbelievable or unfounded, simply ask for a link. This is preferable to simply calling someone an “F-ing liar”. By the same token, if you throw out a statistic or quote as part of your post, be prepared to have someone challenge you for a link to your source or other evidence. This shouldn’t be considered an “attack” on your argument or character, rather, it just weeds out those folks who make stuff up.

11. We have regular posters from all over the world. It should be noted that each one of us an individual, separate from the policies of our Governments. Blanket statements about “All Americans” or ”All Frenchmen”etc., are not only unfair, but also inaccurate. We should address each other accordingly.

12. If you post a picture that could be considered a bit risque and could be embarassing to display in a public situation. Either mark the thread accordingly (Ie “Not Safe For Work"), or if mid thread, put a warning at the top of your message with plenty of blank space before the picture. If you fail to do this, the moderators will change your message for you. 

Fair enough?

Now, a word about our moderation policy:

We pride ourselves in open, reasoned discussion and debate. We welcome all points of view. We will not delete posts for taking any particular point of view. Moorewatch forums has had a good “signal to noise” ratio in the past, and we’d like to try to keep it that way.

Reasons for deleting posts include excessively inflammitory comments, such as racist, biggoted, or libelous remarks. Posts that could result in legal liability, plagiarism (passing of someone elses work as your own with no links), blatent trolling (posts devoid of any meaningful content, especially if posted in quantity). Users in good standing will usually be given an opportunity to fix the problems with their posts before action is taken. In practice, deletions should be rare, but justifiable. We feel that less is more when it comes to moderating.

Banning users should also be rare, but may happen for blatant trolling, flooding the board (beyond the limits of reasonable posting, especially if posts of lacking in meaningful content), taking action to exploit weaknesses or bring down the server, or repeated violation of the other Users will be given warning before being banned. However users that reregister to continue the practice will be banned with no warning (we can track IPs)

Finally- Nothing is set in stone. If you have a problem with these rules, or have suggestiions, feel free to contact a moderator

Cribbed from Zzip. Futzed with by me.