1. Personal attacks will not be tolerated. If someone says something with which you disagree you should attack the argument, not the person who made it. Persistent harassment of another user will also be judged as a personal attack.
2. There is no litmus test on the issues. Attack the argument, not the person who made it. There are Democrats who, while generally agreeing with most of our platform, hold some views the rest of us don’t: they are allowed to make their case should they choose to do so respectfully.
3. It is acceptable to say something nice about a Republican, or something negative about a Democrat, without being labeled a troll. Not every Republican is evil, nor is every Democrat a paragon of virtue. We won’t delete a comment to the effect of “John McCain adopted a southeast Asian child, and I respect him for doing that.” That’s fine. It’s also fine to say something like “Congressman Jefferson looks guilty as hell, I mean, they found a ton of cash in his freezer!” They are both reasonable observations. Constructive criticism is not only acceptable, it is welcomed. Context is key.
4. It is emphatically not acceptable to try to dissuade other members from voting for Democratic candidates. We know that this is subjective and it is possible that someone could honestly believe that what they are promoting is best for the Democratic party, but there is a point past which this turns into trolling and it will be dealt with accordingly. If we see that a member’s only contributions are lamentations as to the general evil of the party, it’s nominees, or their supporters we will likely consider that person to be a troll.
5. It is unacceptable to campaign for or promote Republican candidates. The fact that we accept contrarian issue diaries and comments does not mean that a member can include something to the effect of “And that’s why I’m voting for John McCain, and that’s why you should, too.”
6. Profanity is not allowed in Diary titles. Profanity is permitted in diary content and comments except where it runs afoul of rule number one. We expect you to behave like an adult, of course, but you are free to use salty language. Don’t abuse that privilege.
7. Derogatory language against arbitrary groups is not acceptable. We strongly discourage labeling any group in a negative way. Derogatory terms used against fellow Democrats or Progressives are absolutely verboten and will be dealt with accordingly. A person is not evil because they belong to an organization you do not, or believe something you don’t, and casting wide nets of derision over them is against the fundamentals of Democratic beliefs.
8. No commercial interests are permitted in comments or diaries without explicit prior permission on our part. Explain to us why it makes sense to allow you to promote a commercial interest and we’ll think about it. It is incredibly unlikely that we will approve any such requests.
9. One person is not permitted to have multiple accounts (so-called “sockpuppets”). If a member is banned, they are not permitted to register a new account without prior approval from the moderation team. Accusations of sock-puppetry should only be made if absolute proof is known. If you have proof, provide it to the Moderators. Without solid proof, continued accusations will be seen as trolling.
10. The First Amendment does not apply here. We are not an arm of the government and we are not a state-actor. As such we are free to regulate your diaries and comments as we see fit. We are disinclined to touch anything you write, respecting the fact that the free flow of information and ideas is essential to our society. However, we have created this forum in large measure because we want a place wherein we can organize for our issues and our Party. If you’re here to harm that effort we have no use for you and you are not welcome. If you are here to take part honestly but disagree with the majority of us on some issues that is fine. Again, there’s a line and it isn’t easy to define. If we see that a poster is getting hide-rated into oblivion, for example, that would be a good indication of trolling.
The following may result in immediate banning.
1. ‘Outing’ another member’s private info (be it their name, likeness, address, phone number, email, place of work, etc).
2. Promoting Conspiracy Theories and/or repeatedly linking to sites that embrace and promote them.
3. Blatant trolling, spamming or any other flagrant abuse of our hospitality.
Consequences:
Getting a warning every few months is no big deal, good people can make mistakes, but if a member cannot operate within our rules we will act to maintain the purpose of the site. We have no willingness to allow open Republican trolls or other obvious agitators to derail useful conversations and Moderators will act accordingly to stop the bleeding.
* Deleted Comments and/or Diaries, or the breaking of any of the above rules, will result in the user being issued a Warning. Repeating the offense can and will lead to the member being Banned.
* If a Comment or Diary is deleted by Moderators, an explanation as to the deletion will be left in their place.
* Any moderator can temporarily freeze/suspend an account, after which the Moderation Team will meet to decide what action to take next.
* If you find that your account has been frozen you will be informed of the reason, and of the Moderation Team’s decision, within 48 hours.
* Banned members have the right to an appeal. If reinstated, the community will be informed of the reasons. Deleted content, however, is deleted forever. (be it a comment or a diary)
* Though the community will always be informed of the reasons for a member having been banned, we have the right to ban anyone at anytime for any reason.
