Welcome and Rules of the Board

First off, I would like to thank the powers that be for starting this new board and appointing me as moderator.

The rules for this board are the same as any other: keep spamming and double-posting to a minimum, no illegal discussions, treat your fellow posters with respect and civility, etc...

I would especially like to emphasize respect and civility...politics can get ugly which is why we have chosen to go with a separate board. I will always try to be fair and impartial for disputing parties in a discussion, but please try to remember we are all good friends here and though we might disagree, it is important not to take it too far.

Things to keep in mind while debating and lessons learned over observing many political debates:

1. There is a lot of misinformation out there, so if you make a claim about a policy or politician, expect that it will come under close scrutiny.

I will make a post with a number of links to some unbiased sources for political information (most on American politics, so if any of our international friends have links to contribute, please do!). I hope you find them useful.

2. It is always better to have credible sources to back up your argument, but it is by no means a requirement.

3. Respect for other people's opinions...attack the argument they are making, not the person. Any personal attacks will be deleted and the offending party warned.

4. If you find that you keep going back and forth and covering the same ground, might be time to "agree to disagree" and move on. I will try to point out when I think this is happening.

Those are the only rules I can think of at the moment, but I will add to it as I think of more or as the need arises.

Please remember, this is for fun and hopefully for enlightenment.

Enjoy!