Tundra
October 26th, 2006, 12:15 AM
I’ve decided to attempt to rethink this whole ‘religion on NiH’ issue.
At the moment, religion is pretty much banned from the forum, other than questions for characters or research in the Q&A thread.
I had several reasons for doing this- I have seen far too many forums be ‘overrun’ with religion, [mass amounts of hijackings of threads in the name of religion, constant religious moral imperialism, so many mentions of God that it becomes ridiculous, constant Witnessing, snide remarks, randomly inserting their religious beliefs in totally unneccessary places to prove I don't know what] and also it so quickly turns to insults on both sides.
I don't want that to happen here, and there have been instances where it has. It's a community forum, and I don't want people upsetting or offending each other, which I hope you can all understand. But I think many of you may prefer the option as to whether or not religion is discussed here.
There will be conditions to this though.
Religious threads may be made- but they cannot be anti or pro religious debates. By this I mean, you cannot start a thread on say, Islam, saying that Christianity is much better, here’s why. Or “This is why you should be a Christian”. Or “People who don’t believe in religion are totally wrong” or “people who do believe in religion are totally wrong”. If you’re unsure if your thread breaks this rule, please PM me to clarify.
Threads about your/forum member’s own personal beliefs must be treated carefully, Please remember not to insult other’s beliefs. We have to remember that on NiH, there are many different belief systems.
Please, do not Witness on NiH unless it is specifically asked for.
If a thread about religion is posted in the Q&A forum, particularly for characters – no unnecessary debate on it. For example, if someone asks about a form of Wicca, no one may come in and state that it’s against their beliefs. That is irrelevant.
No personal attacks (saying what you don’t or do like about a religion is fine, as long as it is your own opinion, and it is not aimed at anyone in particular, and does not come across as insulting), or conversion attempts. It is alright to acknowledge that people are different to you- perhaps you have questions. But please try not to imply that your beliefs are superior to theirs.
No use of religion for racist, sexist, or homophobic purposes, outside a religious beliefs related thread and even then, it must be about your personal beliefs, and not be used as an excuse to hurt or insult people, and no threads can be made specifically to be racist, sexist, or homophobic in the name of religion. I haven’t noticed any of this so far, but just a reminder.
No blatantly religious material in signatures or avatars. Mentions of God in a ‘secular’ way [eg "God, I hate school!"] are not to be considered ‘religious beliefs’, and are therefore excepted.
Religion stays in the thread that is made for it. So, no use of religion outside a religious beliefs related thread. An exception however may be in the 'why are you upset' thread, saying that you'll pray for a member, as long as it's the sort of thing that needs praying over. Bringing religion into a totally non religious based topic is not allowed.
NiH is still ‘secular’. Scientific or social discussions which don't directly involve religion are not to be treated as an insult to any religion, and therefore I don't want to see anyone’s religious opinions in there. These are not considered religious beliefs and may be discussed freely without fear of insulting other people. (unless it directly breaks another rule)
These rules are designed to protect both religious people and non religious people from persecution of their beliefs, and allow mature conversation about religion if we so choose. When a thread becomes abusive, and this goes for any thread about any topic, it will be locked or removed, the offending posts will be removed, or the people involved will be spoken to.
Something to note is that NiH is not a ‘debate’ forum anyway, so I am not expecting the drawingroom to be flooded with debates on anything, let alone religion.
Any questions or comments? Do you think you will be able to cope with these rules? I will be adding to them and clarifying over the next few days.
Please note that if the rules are not followed, I will make it a purely secular forum again.
At the moment, religion is pretty much banned from the forum, other than questions for characters or research in the Q&A thread.
I had several reasons for doing this- I have seen far too many forums be ‘overrun’ with religion, [mass amounts of hijackings of threads in the name of religion, constant religious moral imperialism, so many mentions of God that it becomes ridiculous, constant Witnessing, snide remarks, randomly inserting their religious beliefs in totally unneccessary places to prove I don't know what] and also it so quickly turns to insults on both sides.
I don't want that to happen here, and there have been instances where it has. It's a community forum, and I don't want people upsetting or offending each other, which I hope you can all understand. But I think many of you may prefer the option as to whether or not religion is discussed here.
There will be conditions to this though.
Religious threads may be made- but they cannot be anti or pro religious debates. By this I mean, you cannot start a thread on say, Islam, saying that Christianity is much better, here’s why. Or “This is why you should be a Christian”. Or “People who don’t believe in religion are totally wrong” or “people who do believe in religion are totally wrong”. If you’re unsure if your thread breaks this rule, please PM me to clarify.
Threads about your/forum member’s own personal beliefs must be treated carefully, Please remember not to insult other’s beliefs. We have to remember that on NiH, there are many different belief systems.
Please, do not Witness on NiH unless it is specifically asked for.
If a thread about religion is posted in the Q&A forum, particularly for characters – no unnecessary debate on it. For example, if someone asks about a form of Wicca, no one may come in and state that it’s against their beliefs. That is irrelevant.
No personal attacks (saying what you don’t or do like about a religion is fine, as long as it is your own opinion, and it is not aimed at anyone in particular, and does not come across as insulting), or conversion attempts. It is alright to acknowledge that people are different to you- perhaps you have questions. But please try not to imply that your beliefs are superior to theirs.
No use of religion for racist, sexist, or homophobic purposes, outside a religious beliefs related thread and even then, it must be about your personal beliefs, and not be used as an excuse to hurt or insult people, and no threads can be made specifically to be racist, sexist, or homophobic in the name of religion. I haven’t noticed any of this so far, but just a reminder.
No blatantly religious material in signatures or avatars. Mentions of God in a ‘secular’ way [eg "God, I hate school!"] are not to be considered ‘religious beliefs’, and are therefore excepted.
Religion stays in the thread that is made for it. So, no use of religion outside a religious beliefs related thread. An exception however may be in the 'why are you upset' thread, saying that you'll pray for a member, as long as it's the sort of thing that needs praying over. Bringing religion into a totally non religious based topic is not allowed.
NiH is still ‘secular’. Scientific or social discussions which don't directly involve religion are not to be treated as an insult to any religion, and therefore I don't want to see anyone’s religious opinions in there. These are not considered religious beliefs and may be discussed freely without fear of insulting other people. (unless it directly breaks another rule)
These rules are designed to protect both religious people and non religious people from persecution of their beliefs, and allow mature conversation about religion if we so choose. When a thread becomes abusive, and this goes for any thread about any topic, it will be locked or removed, the offending posts will be removed, or the people involved will be spoken to.
Something to note is that NiH is not a ‘debate’ forum anyway, so I am not expecting the drawingroom to be flooded with debates on anything, let alone religion.
Any questions or comments? Do you think you will be able to cope with these rules? I will be adding to them and clarifying over the next few days.
Please note that if the rules are not followed, I will make it a purely secular forum again.