Extended Discussion Rules | Page 1 | Extended Discussion | Guild Forums

Kazemuki
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Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:47 am

Welcome to Extended Discussion

Noraboo

Please keep updated on the ED Rules and Guidelines.

No matter how long you have been a member of this forum, the rules will still change to adapt to the needs of the forum.

There have been many instances recently of users reporting threads or posts for reasons that are not prohibited in ED, but may have once been. In that same thread, there are many reports made that take the guidelines to an extreme.

As an example:

Please stop reporting things as EDAED. It is not prohibited by the guidelines, it no longer exists anywhere in them. Instead, if the thread is discussing Gaia, report it to be moved to the Gaia Community Discussion forum. If the thread is discussing ED or Gaia but in a manner that goes beyond just discussing the forum and addresses broader issues, then it may remain in the forum.

Please do not report virtually every post in a thread for not containing enough content. If a thread is generating so many posts that, while on topic, do not meet the ED criteria in depth, it is much more likely that the thread itself needs to be reported to be moved to out of ED as it does not suffice in creating extended discussion.

As always, common sense is key. Do not mindlessly read announcements and apply black and white interpretations of them, but be flexible and try to think about and understand the spirit those rules were written in. ED is a forum where people should be willing to read and consider before replying. There should not be an exception for announcements and reporting.

Thank you.

This is where users can have in-depth discussions and debates on a variety of specific topics.

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.

What is Extended Discussion?

ED Posting Guidelines

Dealing With Misplaced or Inappropriate Thread & Posting Traffic

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:53 am

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).

Kazemuki
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Kazemuki
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Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:56 am

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.
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.

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:04 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:

Report them.
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 User Image

Do not use User Image

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 User Image

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.

Kazemuki
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Ruingaraf
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:22 am

Just report them and run away. They won't know what hit them. biggrin

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