I feel that perhaps we should ban the kinds of bad faith arguments that often occur. when you disagree with someone about something, make sure that:
- if your position was false, that there could be an argument that could convince you that it was false that someone else could actually reasonably give
- you are actually making an effort to consider the possibilities of what that person might mean, as opposed to immediately assuming that it means one specific thing
- your position is actually grounded in reality
- you can actually express your position in a way that is comprehensible to others, as opposed to assuming that they'll know what you mean
- your dissent is appropriate, kind, worthwhile, and warranted. do not derail conversations by throwing around inflamatory terms out of the blue. they must actually correspond to the severity and importance of what is discussed. when in doubt, hold your tongue.
the only official rule of apionet is "do not be a bad person; do not do bad things". we reserve the right to moderate in any way we want, but these are perhaps some guidelines that we could put into effect.