Author Topic: General Guidelines. Pls read before posting for the first time. Thanks.  (Read 28307 times)

OzmO

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Welcome to the Conspiracy Theory board.

Here are some general guidelines for the board.

The intention of the CT Board is for the debate & discussion of any and all conspiracy theories.  

I encourage all reasonable discussion and debate free of purposely antagonizing, baiting and or personal attacks.

From this point on, if you disagree with a persons point of view or beliefs legitimate discussion and debate is required otherwise the post or portions of the post will be deleted.  All other GetBig forum rules apply.


I believe some posters and even some mods get the wrong idea of what a mod's role is on a forum.  My view of a mods role is to encourage discussion and enforce the rules of the forum.  Therefore the mod must be fair, firm and even tempered; not necessarily a supporter or detractor of the forum's subject matter.

While I am an admitted skeptic when it comes to CT's, my role on this board as a Mod is NOT to push my opinion/beliefs when it comes to moderating duties.  Nor do i believe it is Ron's intention to do so either.  Also, on the Political Board i have done my fair share of antagonizing/attacks on certain posters and CT's.  I will not do this on this board.  

If you interested in helping Mod this board please send me a PM.

Thanks.


PS:  In the next few days i may be adding some other guidelines as they may become necessary.

OzmO

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Re: General Guidelines.
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2010, 09:44:04 AM »
Here is a definition of conspiracy theories from Wiki that Ron posted:

Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal, or political conspiracy. However, it has become largely pejorative and used almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning.

Conspiracy theories are viewed with skepticism by scholars because they are rarely supported by any conclusive evidence and contrast with institutional analysis, which focuses on people's collective behavior in publicly known institutions, as recorded in scholarly material and mainstream media reports, to explain historical or current events, rather than speculate on the motives and actions of secretive coalitions of individuals. The term is therefore often used dismissively in an attempt to characterize a belief as outlandishly false and held by a person judged to be a crank or a group confined to the lunatic fringe. Such characterization is often the subject of dispute due to its possible unfairness and inaccuracy.

According to political scientist Michael Barkun, conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media. He argues that this has contributed to conspiracism emerging as a cultural phenomenon in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and the possible replacement of democracy by conspiracy as the dominant paradigm of political action in the public mind. According to anthropologists Todd Sanders and Harry G. West, "evidence suggests that a broad cross section of Americans today…gives credence to at least some conspiracy theories."  Belief in conspiracy theories has therefore become a topic of interest for sociologists, psychologists and experts in folklore.

OzmO

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Re: General Guidelines. Pls read before posting for the first time. Thanks.
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2010, 07:34:56 PM »
Added rule or guidelines:

-  Getting banned on the CT Board will simultaneously result in a ban on the politics board.