Introduction, Rules, Guidelines

The #rational-politics chat room on Snoonet is an attempt to turn the rising tide of bickering, anger, and hate found in typical political discussions. We must find a way for political opponents to debate rather than rant; to honestly consider other opinions, always speaking, listening and replying with rationality and civility; to negotiate real solutions. These are our goals. It won't be easy. It may be impossible. We won't know until we try.

Start

The channel was registered Thursday, July 13, 2017. Technical settings, channel rules, and guidelines are being discussed. If you want to participate, just show up. Opinions that fall under the general theme of the channel will be considered, and possibly experimented with. However, the primary goal of encouraging civil, rational political discussion will ultimately determine which rules are made and kept, and how strictly each rule is enforced. This webpage will be edited to reflect changes in as timely a manner as possible.

Rules

Rules will be enforced by the channel operators at their discretion. The rules will always be subject to change. Any updates will be posted on this blog (again, in as timely a manner as possible). The rules are:

1. Keep it civil - Obviously, things can explode a bit when political discussion gets a bit heated- the channel ops will step in at their discretion to cool things off.
2. No personal attacks - Do not be rude, vulgar, racist, bully, sexist or anything of the sort. Keep it friendly.
3. Act like an adult - Joking around's more than welcome, but channel operators reserve the right to step in if you're dominating the chat to the detriment of discussion.
4. Ask permission before pasting large quantities of text to the channel - We don't object to text dumps per se, but we strongly recommend using something like PasteBin instead.
5. If you're kicked from the channel - Consider why you might have been, if it was a serious reason, before rejoining. A kick isn't a ban- it's intended as a time-out for you to consider your actions. You're entirely welcome back whenever you like- to rejoin, type "/join #rational-politics" and press Return. 

Guidelines

Guidelines may be enforced by the channel operators at their discretion. Guidelines will always be subject to change. Any updates will be posted on this blog (again, in as timely a manner as possible). The guidelines are:

1. Prepare. Arm yourself with rational reasons for your position and be ready to share links that support your statements. If your documentation of your facts can't be given, be prepared to back down until you can find such documentation. Don't expect people to "take your word for it". Issues need to be solved, but not necessarily immediately.
2. Be reasonable. If your reasoning is deemed by others to be faulty or lacking, again - back down temporarily. Retreat, and bolster your arguments. Make friends in the channel and ask them - or even your opponents - what might improve your reasoning.
3. Help each other out. Even if you disagree with your opponent, honestly attempting to help this way will not only build bridges, it may help your opponent (or maybe even yourself) to see things in a different light. It may not change your opinions, but it might lead to ideas about compromise.
4. Respect the topic. If there's a lively debate going, feel free to contribute as appropriate, but don't try to start a simultaneous second thread. Keeping to one topic at a time may help people reach conclusions. Remember: Your turn will come. If a topic is running on without making progress, ask the group to (or, if necessary, an op) to change the topic.

Note that rules and guidelines are both enforceable by ops. Ops will be asked to be lenient at first, but to be more strict as time passes. Enforcement of the guidelines will probably be much less strict, but ultimately the success of the channel goals will determine who must go and who is welcome to stay.

Logging

Be aware that some conversations may be logged on this blog. Logs may be edited to remove any irrelevant conversation, solely at my discretion. 

Changes
This document is a work in progress. Expect changes.