Welcome To The CROSSFIRE Echo
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[RULES] Last Revised: 11/05/2007

The CROSSFIRE echo is meant for the discussion political and social
concerns that affect society and to an extent, the people whom discuss 
them.

POLITICS are a tricky thing to discuss, patience and understanding are a
good thing to have when discussing it, right, left, center, not everyone
is the same. This means one persons opinions are very likely to
infuriate another. There is nothing that states that your position is 
the only position, but have the courage to stand by your convictions and 
dont tilt at windmills.

Political discussions often touch on or are affected by religion, the 
CROSSFIRE echo is not a safe haven for those with faith or those 
claiming to be atheists. If you are an atheist requiring a safe haven, 
take it over to POL_INC or HOLYSMOKE. If you are a person of faith, 
those without faith have an equal right to be here.

[Names] - The Otto Ruling

Aliases/assumed names, handles are forbidden.

The name selected by a echo participant that appears in the FROM field 
in their messages is the name they are to be addressed by or referred 
to. You can either use the first name, last name or the full name that 
appears in the from field of the persons messages, but nothing else. 

This ruling does not prohibit the attacking of the political positions 
of an opponent so long as its understood that a persons name not be used 
or mangled in such a way as to intimidate or provoke or constitute the 
basis of an attack on the opponents position. 

Calling one a "flaming liberal" or "stupid
conservative" does not rise 
to the level of this ruling.

Just because a persons first name might have other diminutives such as 
but not limited to:

Robert: Rob, Robby, Bob, Bobby
Daniel: Dan, Danny
Richard: Rick, Dick, Ricky

They are not fair game unless you obtain consent, but do not lose sight 
of the fact that the name in the from field takes priority in the 
absense of any consent.

[Moderator rulings and warnings] - The Moderators are GOD ruling

Leave the moderating of this echo to the moderators.

Moderator rulings or warnings are not up for discussion or rebuttal in 
the open echo, if you disagree with them, then use the private back 
channels outlined at the bottom of this ruleset.

The Moderators reserve the right to determine the rules for this echo, 
when a rule has been broken, whether or not to enforce a rule, when in 
doubt, leave the moderating of the echo to the moderators.

[I dont initiate, I retaliate] - The "I dont care who started it" ruling.

Given the nature of the echoes topic, Oneupmanship is to be expected.

Let me use an analogy:

In the NFL, when a player is flagged for a personal foul with the 15 yard 
penalty, in some cases a NFL fine and in some cases ejection from the 
game, it is more often than not the person who retaliated to a hit, and 
not the player who initiated it. Sometimes the initiator gets flagged or 
both get flagged but most of the time the retaliator gets nailed. 

Therefore if you want to live by the credo of "I dont initiate I 
retaliate" or "He hit me first" or "So and so started
it" and your 
reaction earns you a warning, just be aware of this. In many cases 
retaliations often exceed the level the initiation represented.

[Imported Content]

If you post a article of interest from elsewhere, the internet et al, do
not post without including or following it with some commentary and make
sure the source gets properly creditted. Posting the source URL is a 
very good idea and in many cases preferable over posting the article 
itself.

When posting Internet URL's if it cant fit on one line, try using one of
the URL services, like Tinyurl.

When posting articles, please make sure you format or reformat it so its
easily digestible by every ones readers.

When using a source, especially from the Internet, to support or make a 
point, please keep in mind that one can find content anywhere on the 
Internet to support their own point, position or idealogy. Dont expect 
that any reference you cite to be taken as the gospel truth, remember 
this hard truth, your opponent can also cite content to refute the point 
you tried to make.

[Flames]

Unfortunately, some will flame, be flamed or "feel" flamed, its how you
respond to them is what counts, ignore the person or ignore the flame.
Politics are a passionate topic for all those who take the time to
discuss it. 

The common list of swear words are not forbidden especially if used to
reinforce emphasis. However using them for the sake of using them can 
discredit your post. Spit spewing tirades will be dealt with on a case 
by case basis.

[Message Quoting]

When replying to messages in the open echo, you should quote back those 
parts of the original message to remind the person of what you are 
replying to. Please do not over-quote messages, if you are not 
addressing every point the original poster made. 

*DO NOT* edit any quoted text.

[IKYABWAI]

The "I know you are but what am I" debating tactic isnt forbidden, but 
is discouraged.

Your moderators are:

Ross Cassell, 1:123/500 or 1:123/456 E-Mail: rcassell[at]gmail[dot]com
 
Alan Hess, 1:261/1000 E-Mail: alanh77[at]comcast[dot]net
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