Guidelines for Discussion of Israeli/Palestinian Affairs

[Skinner]

Welcome to the Democratic Underground Israeli/Palestinian Affairs discussion forum. As you know, this is where you may discuss issues surrounding the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. These can be very emotional issues for many. In order to facilitate rational discourse, we have found it wise to implement a few guidelines in addition to the general DU rules for discussing I/P issues that one will not find elsewhere on the website.

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the following guidelines. Offending threads will be locked or pulled. Offending posts may be deleted. Those who repeatedly violate these guidelines may be banned.

Concerning the overall nature of the post:

• Don't embed graphics or photographs of any kind into your messages. Maps or statistical graphs are okay.
  
• Don't put anything in your signature line that has any relation to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
  
• Don't start a new thread on a topic that has already been covered. Duplicates will be locked or deleted.

Proper subject matter:

• New threads must be based on a recently-published news item or op-ed piece. Citations and references should include a link to the original source. Exceptions will be allowed if the moderators feel a thread is appropriate.
  
• The subject heading for threads must contain the title of the source article. The only exception is when you must shorten long titles or to make the subject of the article more clear. Editorializations and comments are to be saved for the Message body and be separate and distinct from the text of the article.
  
• Do not selectively quote articles with the intent to change the original meaning.
  
• Don't discuss the truthfulness and/or stupidity of various religions. Don't assume you know what someone believes simply because they practice a certain religion.
  
• Posts pointing out violations of the forum rules are forbidden. Such posts add nothing to the discussion and often create more problems than the original rules violation.
  

A note on sources:

• Please use discretion when referencing obviously biased or factually questionable material. Vanity websites are generally not as credible as the New York Times, the Washington Post or the UK Guardian.
  
• Please avoid posting "information" from overtly racist websites. A good, but not exhaustive, guide is Franklin's Hate Directory (www.hatedirectory.com). Posting from Whatreallyhappened.com is also not allowed.
  

Proper use of certain words:

• Please exercise extreme caution and sensitivity when using the words "anti-Semitism" or "Zionism." There is a wide range of opinion on the meaning of these words. If you must use them, please make sure your intended meaning is clear.
  
• Don't use the term "Zionist" to mean "Jew" or "Israeli."
  
• Don't use the term "Jew" to mean "Israeli."
  
• Don't call Palestinians "terrorists" unless you are actually talking about people who blow up cafes or busses filled with civilians.
  
• Don't compare Middle East regional leaders and parties to Hitler or the Nazis. Any use of these words should be done with extreme sensitivity.
  
• Don't call other members of this message board "terror apologist," "Palestinian apologist," "Israeli apologist," "Nazi," "Fascist," "Sharonist," "Likudist", etc.
  
• Don't make over-sweeping or stereotypical generalizations of any group or individual.
  
• Please refrain from personal attacks.
  
• Don't publicly accuse anyone of anti-Semitism, racism, or any bigoted bias. If you feel such a comment is necessary, you may do so privately using the "Alert" button.
  
• Do not post accusations of anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry, personal attacks, plagerism, duplicate threads or any other rules violation. This includes claims against yourself or other people. Use the "Alert" button instead, and the moderators will deal with the post as soon as they are able.
  

Our goal is to provide a forum where issues concerning Israel and Palestine may be discussed openly but intelligently in an atmosphere of mutual respect for opposing sides. Please help us towards this end.

If you have any questions, please contact the board monitors or the site administrators.

Thank you

[Skinner]

1. These rules have been revised.

The new version is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=21970&mesg_id=21970