Please see the Forum Philosophy for the most up-to-date explanation of the expectations of forum use. These rules remain as historical precedent.
Hi,
As with any community there must be some sort of social contract by which the aims of the community can be met. ILovePhilosophy.com is here to foster intellectual debate in a respectful atmosphere. These rules should guide you in your posts.
NOTE: IGNORANCE IS NO DEFENSE. THESE RULES WILL BE ENFORCED.
The forum moderators will be looking out for rule breaching and will act accordingly. If you think you have been unfairly treated by any of the moderators please contact either them or me (ben) via PM and we will review your complaint. Under no circumstances should you attack or challenge a moderator publicly. Ultimately the decision lies with me. Without further ado:
i) No ad hominem arguments
This is not a playground. In order to produce high quality philosophical discussions we expect the posts to contain a good level of courtesy and respect. If something has angered you, walk away from the computer and come back when you have a clear head. It helps no-one to start throwing insults around the place. This rule is two-fold: Do not use personal attacks to further your argument (argumentum ad hominem) and don’t use insults at all.
ii) Asking questions.
Clearly questions are a large part of philosophy and we welcome thought-provoking questions and genuine calls for opinions and perspective on philosophical issues. However, being part of a community means a bit of give and take. Share your ideas on the topics you bring up and don’t just blindly post questions because you feel you should or you think it’ll make you look clever. A consistent career of one-liner questions will not be looked upon kindly.
iii) We are not here to do your homework
If you are a student of philosophy you are more than welcome to come and discuss the topics of your classes, ask for help with a certain concept or philosopher etc. However, we are not here to do your homework and asking us to do it will result in a deleted post. Please show you have put some thought into your enquiries.
iv) Don’t duplicate threads.
Fairly self-explanatory. If you’re discussing a fairly generic philosophical question, the chances are it’s already been asked before. Use the search function before you post so that for example, the Religion forum does not end up with one long list of “Does God Exist?” threads. This relates to having more than one similar topic in a short timeframe. Let common sense prevail when deciding when the time is ripe for a fresh thread.
v) No gimmicks.
No gimmicks. At all. We don’t care if posting in only binary numbers is the only way you can communicate your amazing ideas. We don’t care if deleting your posts is some kind of profound statement. Don’t do it. EVER.
vi) Multi-posting
Do not post the same thread to more than one forum. If you feel a thread had so wide a scope that it belongs in both say, Philosophy and Religion, then pick one and be done with it.
vii) Plagiarism
Make sure that your posts are solely your own work. If you do use other people’s work make sure you use quotation marks and cite the reference. Copying other people’s work does not make you look cool.
viii) The Golden Questions
Before posting a new thread, or replying to an established one please ask yourself the following questions: “Am I making a post which is either informative or interesting on any level?” "Am I presenting my own views on the subject in sufficient depth to provoke discussion?"If you can answer “yes” to both of these, then please post. If not, please do not.
ix) The edit button
The edit button is there for you to correct spelling mistakes or minor errors in your post. It is not there for you to delete your posts thus ruining the sense of entire threads.