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by menyak » Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:36 pm - It's ok to criticize politicians or political parties, mock them, or make fun of them. That's what they are for. However, as in the other sections of the site, kindly refrain from foul language.
- If you are offended by the fact that other members criticize, mock, or make fun of politicians you happen to like, keep out of these threads. Plain and simple.
- If you can't take a ribbing from the other side of the political aisle without getting personal, keep out of these threads.
- If you think that personal attacks or "retaliation" have any place in political discussions, keep out of these threads.
- If your reason for posting is provoking or making somebody else angry, keep out of these threads.
You have been warned. If you break the rules, you will be banned from General Talk. If you try to bend or stretch the rules, you will be banned from General Talk. That's right, you will lose your right to post in this part of the site. (Note that this does not mean that the moderators can't also issue Cafe-wide warnings and bans for insults, flaming, and the like.) If that sounds too risky for you and you're not sure whether or not you'll be breaking or bending or stretching the rules, there is one easy fix - keep out of these threads (see above).
So why don't we ban political discussions altogether? Simple - it's against the spirit in which we created and intend to run this site. The Cafe should be an open and friendly place where you can discuss whatever is on your mind, as long as it's in a civil and friendly manner. Why should we take that right away from everyone on the site, just because a small minority doesn't know what a civil discussion (or even a bit of civil ribbing) looks like? The Cafe is stronger and bigger than that. If you've had a bad day, that's perfectly understandable - go play some baseball and come back once you have let off steam. When you come to the Cafe, drop any aggression at the login page. (Take that animosity to some other site if you have to
).This is, however, still a baseball site, and our moderators have better (and far more enjoyable) things to do than babysitting such a relatively minor feature as political threads. Remember that participating in these discussions is a privilege, not a right, and if you want to keep that privilege, you will have to earn it. If we fail to see that cooperation, we can and will revoke that privilege on an individual basis. Again, we intend to be trigger-happy and don't plan on issuing warnings or entering into any long-winded discussions about what exactly constitutes an insult - if you can't stay away from these gray areas, you have only yourself to blame. There is some good news for those who catch our wrath, however - you will have more time to concentrate on fantasy baseball again.
