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Announcement: Extended Discussion Rules & Guidelines: Updated!
Tags: extended  discussion  rules  guidelines  updated 
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Post: 8056431_1 created on Mon May 30, 2005 6:56 pmPosted: Mon May 30, 2005 6:56 pm
Note: Noraboo & Cloverina are not extended discussion site moderators. Please use the 'view forum moderators' link at the top of each forum to find out the current site moderators for extended discussion.

Welcome to Extended Discussion


This forum is for you to have in-depth discussions and debates on a variety of specific topics. These topics do not necessarily need to be 'weighty' or 'important' topics such as the meaning of life, human rights, or whatever country is currently bombing another, but rather they simply have to be topics that you are willing to engage in thoughtful and detailed discussion of. If you wish to have a more casual discussion on a topic, be it your favorite cookie or gay rights, we would ask that you post in General Discussion instead.

Extended Discussion Guidelines & Rules


Please familiarize yourself with these, even if you are not new to extended discussion. They contain elaboration on the current ED rules as well as new guidelines for thread making and posting.

  1. What is Extended Discussion?

  2. ED Posting Guidelines

  3. Dealing With Misplaced or Inappropriate Thread & Posting Traffic

  4. Updates
 
     
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Post: 8056431_2 created on Mon May 30, 2005 8:22 pmPosted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:22 pm
 
What is Extended Discussion?


Extended Discussion is a forum intended for involved discussion and debate between all Gaians.

What makes a thread appropriate for ED is not subject matter alone, but the level of discussion and debate the thread topic generates.

How 'serious' a subject is (war, abortion, politics) does not affect a thread's status in ED. If the subject is very broad, for example, "what do you think about abortion?" or if the discussion and debate that arise from the thread are not involved, such as one line posts or posts that do not contribute to the discussion (unsupported opinions, etc.) the thread is not suitable for extended discussion.

ED should be a place for users to have informed, engrossing discussions on topics that interest them and to read about and learn about issues that they are not as familiar with from users who are more familiar. It is not a place to dump opinions and leave, to not support those opinions, or to make short, contentless posts.

In short, ED is for users who would like a higher quality of discussion than available in other Gaia forums without a limitation on subject matter or a requirement that the subject needs to be weighty or intellectual (although such subjects are by no means discouraged).
     
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Post: 8056431_3 created on Mon May 30, 2005 8:27 pmPosted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:27 pm
ED Posting Guidelines

  • Thread Making Guidelines

    Threads should be made to maximize their potential for complex, multi-faceted discussion. When making a thread, please try and keep your topics as focused as possible to avoid broad, generalized conversation and opinion swapping.

    For example, instead of "where do thoughts come from?", a thread discussing specific aspects of neurology or mental functioning would be more appropriate for ED.

    Threads asking users simply to give personal hypotheses, with little basis in fact or knowledge of the subject area, are more appropriate for General discussion.

  • Posting Guidelines

    Flaming, abuse, spamming, and excessive off topic chatter are not permitted.

    When replying, please keep your posts relevant to the thread topic or to the current discussion fork.

    Do not make short posts that do not contribute to the thread at hand. By and large, posts that are only one line long will not satisfy this condition.

    Refrain from using logical fallacies and poor debate methods, as these will frustrate other users and do not enhance the discussion.

    When Discussing and Referencing Articles:

    • Discussing current events:

      When quoting a current news story, do not simply quote or link to the news article and then ask for a response. Instead, include some of your own commentry and thoughts to help spark a discussion.

    • "Read this article" threads:

      Please do not make threads that are only copy and pastes of articles, dictionary/encyclopedia articles, forum posts from other sites, or anything else where the basis of the thread is a large peice of text that is not a current news article and is not something that you wrote.

      If you wish to reference something, or use something as part of your thread, this is fine. However, you must properly cite references, or else your thread will be deleted for plagiarism. You also must add your own content to the thread, such as why you are posting it, what you think about it, and specific items from it that you would like to be discussed.


    Misleading or "Spoof" Thread Titles are not permitted in ED

    Spoof Threads can be identified by the following: titles including inflammatory statements, often racist, sexist, or bigoted, and/or threads with titles that mislead the reader as to what the thread content is. These typically have variations of the following in the first post:

    Quote:
    Now that I have your attention, this is what I actually want to say...


    Quote:
    Bet that got your attention, huh? Well, I don't actually think that, but...


    Quote:
    {Offensive statement as title}

    ...is something you hear people say a lot, isn't it? I'd like to talk about that


    If you are unclear as to if your thread has a spoof title or if you have any questions regarding this announcement, feel free to contact an ED moderator.


  • Specific Thread Types and Where to Make Them

    • Advice asking threads & personal issues: The Life Issues forum.

    • Threads Discussing Gaia (Including threads about specific forums): Gaia Community Discussion exists just for that.

    • Broad Topics and General Opinion Asking Threads: Should be made in General Discussion

    • Satire threads & Spoof threads: These are better left to General Discussion or the Chatterbox. However, satire threads that do manage to generate discussion without having a trolling effect are always acceptable.

    • Popularity contests/Chat Threads/HOTs (Hang Out Threads): Chatterbox

    • Surveys: All surveys should be made in the Chatterbox

    • Homework Help: Unless your thread is a survey (see above), do not make threads asking for people do to your homework for you on Gaia.
  
     
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Post: 8056431_4 created on Mon May 30, 2005 8:52 pmPosted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:52 pm
 
Dealing With Misplaced or Inappropriate Thread & Posting Traffic


As with all forums, threads and posts will be made in ED that are not appropriate for the forum.

There are two steps to dealing with these:
  1. Report them.
  2. Do not respond to them.

Reporting threads

When you wish to report an entire thread as being misplaced or as violating the ToS, please click

Do not use if all you wish is to report an entire thread. However, if you wish to highlight one or two posts within a thread for specific attention, those posts may be reported individually.


Reasons for reporting a thread include:

  • ToS violations: spamming and trolling, etc.

  • Misplaced threads: Q&A, Life Issues threads, etc.

  • Insufficiency for ED: Threads that should be moved to General Discussion or the chatterbox for not meeting the standard required of ED threads

  • Repeated: For the purposes of Extended Discussion, a "repeat thread" is now a thread that brings no new material to discussion, not necessarily just a repeated topic. Should a repeated topic gain ED level discussion it will be allowed to remain. There is no reason there cannot be parallel threads discussing similar topics.


Please state your reasons for reporting the thread in the comment box provided.

Reporting Posts

When reporting a post, use

Reasons for reporting a post are as follows:

  • ToS violations: spam posts (including image posts with no relevance to the subject), bump posts (considered spam) troll posts, abusive posts, flaming posts

  • ED insufficient: Posts that do not contribute to the discussion, such as short one line posts, quotes followed by 'I agree!", and so on.

  • TL;DR (Too Long, Didn't Read): Posting anything of that nature is spam and should be reported. If one isn't going to read, one should not post in ED.

  • Off-topic thread replies: This includes anyone spamming or flaming in response to a misplaced or inappropriate thread, or excessive off topic chatter in threads.

Please state your reasons for reporting the post in the comment box provided.

No exceptions will be made for the context of ToS violating posts.

Anyone found spamming or flaming in response to a troll thread, spam thread, or misplaced thread will be treated just as harshly, if not more than the creator of the thread. There is a zero tolerance policy on this. The way to enforce the rules in ED is to make liberal use of the report system, not take matters into your own hands, which makes you absolutely no better than they are.
     
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Post: 8056431_5 created on Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:44 amPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:44 am
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