Debate and Current Affairs Guidelines

Check to see if your thread idea is already here!

This is easy, have a look in the forums and see if something you wish to discuss is already being discussed. If you can't see anything, then use the search function. When you search make sure you check the date of the thread - A 3 year old thread is not worth bumping and is likely to earn you warning points; It's probably advisable to assume any thread which had it's last post 6 months back is too old/dead to bump. Once you are sure you have followed these steps and are assured your topic is not being discussed, then follow the next few steps on creating a thread.

Are you in the correct subforum?

In D&D we have six sub forums;

UK Politics -- Debate issues related to the politics of the UK, such as the actions of any MP, any current or potential law, or any other factor affecting the British political system.

International Affairs -- Debate events occurring around the world, relations between countries, or actions of any group or organization with an international focus.

Social and Cultural -- Debate issues that have a social and cultural impact, including but not limited to issues such as racism, teenage pregnancies, the social impact of religion, and the state of the education system.

Political Theory and Philosophy -- Discuss the merits and deficiencies of political theories and philosophical questions.

Theology and Religion -- Discuss religious, spiritual, and theological issues concerning Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or any other religion.

Historical -- Debate and discuss issues related to past events, people, places, or old empires and civilisations.

Axioms in creating your thread

DO

• Present a topic concisely.
• Give an aim of the discussion.
• Give your view.
• Provide references.
• Put long articles in spoiler tags, ie. [noparse][spoiler]article[/spoiler][/noparse], or expand tags, ie. [noparse][expand=Article name]article[/expand][/noparse]
• Follow all the rules that normally apply.

DO NOT

• Post a long article without a source and personal opinion, or point of discussion.
• Plagiarise!
• Use a foreign language without an English translation provided.
• Use threatening or inflammatory language.
• Preach.

How do I avoid plagiarism/provide a source?

Make sure you cite where you are quoting from correctly! One of the easiest ways to do this on TSR is to put your source in quote tags, for example: [QUOTE=news.bbc.co.uk]Insert quote from article here[/QUOTE]

Useful links and resources

Here is a list of useful resources which are related to each D&D subforum.

How do I provide a translation?

Here is an example of the correct method:
[QUOTE]1:1 ?????? ?????? ???????????? ????????? (ARABIC SCRIPT)
Bismill?hi r-ra?m?ni r-ra??m (TRANSLITERATED)
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful: (ENGLISH TRANSLATION)
[/QUOTE]
You should always provide the English translation, if you are posting in a non-English script (such as Greek, Arabic, Cyrillic) then it might also help users if you provided a transliteration alongside.

Suggestions for improvements

Do not reply to posts with personal insults, or make personal remarks

Flaming and inappropriate provoking will be punished severely; If provoked inappropriately, report the post, your reply to the post will still be subject to the same rules. This includes calling someone an idiot, or stupid, or being racist, or threatening. If someone makes a personal insult to you, please report it and do not respond unnecessarily. Moderators will deal with it.

Do not spam

This includes posts: Which boil down to "God doesn't exist LOL!" when for the purpose of the argument the OP has assumed that God does. Which merely contain smilies, or "Cool story bro" or similar internet memes. Which consistently attack SPAG / typos rather than addressing the argument. Off topic and pointless posts are subject to deletion and warnings. Unreasonable multiple posting by the same user simply to bump the thread. Posts must contribute to the discussion; one word responses do not do so.

Please consider other users when posting

Do not use text speak. Use clear English providing a translation if using a foreign language. Avoid overly large fonts, difficult to read colours, and extremely long chunks of text. Learn to use the spoiler tags. The mods will edit your post and you may well be warned if they need to do so repeatedly.

Do not post anything that may incriminate you for "glorifying" or "inciting terrorism"

Celebration or glorification of troop/resistance fighter deaths or troop/resistance fighters' successes will be removed. While posting news articles or engaging in frank discussion is welcome, language that may be viewed as celebratory should be avoided. Incitement, advocacy or suggestion of activities illegal under UK law will all be removed and warned severely.

Anti-Semitism/Racism/White-Supremacism

Will not be tolerated, and considered either offensive and/or trolling. Discussion on these topics is allowed, preaching is not, nor is incitement.

Do not copy and paste long articles without...

..providing your source. ..providing your own opinion in your own words. Write your own arguments yourself. Excessive copying and pasting of long articles without a good reason may lead to deletion of your posts.

Contributions to the forum should be in the interest of discussion and debate

Do not post if you don't want to discuss or have your views challenged, and don't get upset when this occurs. If you have no intention of discussing the topic in a mature manner, then this is not the place for you.

All other TSR rules still apply

See Faq on Rules

Posts

Make every effort to backup all argument with as much factual and/or source evidence as possible. You are discouraged from posting one word or one sentence replies.

Official Threads

Certain topics, such as 'The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict', have their own official thread to prevent the forums from being cluttered up, use them. Certain events in current affairs will result in a lot of discussion and interest on the subject. At these times it is likely a thread will be created and stickied in order to facilitate this discussion in without cluttering up the subforum with countless threads; Please use them.

Other

Do not ask/beg for reputation. Do not post your email, phone number, or advertise. When linking articles and videos, make sure it is appropriate and obeys TSR's rules. Do not post your warning, or complain about it, in the threads, use the moderation contact as below. Aggravating other users will be taken seriously, try to respect other people's beliefs and views even if you disagree with them.

• Your post will be removed or edited to get rid of the offending content.
• You may receive an 'Alert' - this is a polite way of informing you that you have broken a rule, and gives you the chance to learn from it.
• You may receive a 'Warning' - this is a strict way of informing you that you have broken a rule. Gain at least 15 warning points overall at any time, and you will be banned temporarily from TSR. Repeat offences, or posting material that warrants it, will result in a permanent ban from TSR.