It has come to my attention...

[civilwartalk]

I has come to my attention that there has been some inappropriate posts here on the Secession & Politics forum. In particular, the "Was War Necessary After Secession?" topic.

I think it's worth reminding all of you that you MUST respect other members of this message board. Not SHOULD or MAYBE.

If you can't state your opinion without insulting, putting down upon, or degrading the person, OR the position of the person you're debating, then you shouldn't be posting.

This means posts that include the following are INAPPROPRIATE:

"I'm sorry if I insulted you in any way..."
"Not to insult you BUT..."
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way BUT..."

However, posting the following is totally appropriate:

"I'm sorry to respectfully disagree with your last statement. I believe that..."

Debates should not degrade to "he's wrong" and "she's wrong". Your debate should follow a format of "This is what I believe, and I believe I am right...".

Another thing I must remind you about from our Rules & Proper Etiquette:

"AVOID QUOTING WORD-FOR-WORD IN HEATED DEBATES - Some people will quote other posters statements word-for-word. This practice is okay if you are quoting a historical statement, or if you are politely trying to get clarification on a statement made in an earlier post. However, using word-for-word quotes in heated debates can be an offensive form of flaming, so be careful when using this technique."

Please keep the quoting to a minimum from now on, it's been getting out of hand, and it needs to stop.

This is a board about history. Posting your personal opinion is expected, but flaming another person, OR flaming another persons opinion cannot be tolerated.

Remember, this is a free and FRIENDLY community. Let's keep it that way.

The "Was War Necessary After Secession?" thread has been locked, and the last 20 posts moved to a secure area.

For the next week, and perhaps longer, the History Chat Board will be moderated with a message queue. This means every message will be scrutinized, and if you post something inappropriate, it will not be approved.

If you have any questions please email me. Thank you.