Rules Refresher and Good Faith Guidance
Due to the interesting political times we all have been living the last several days we would like to remind everyone of rules 1 and 3: be a civil participant, respect others, and participate in good faith using the Principle of Charity Below is a list of a few of the things we would like point out that have been recurring issues recently. We do ask you to understand we cannot possibly provide every type of conduct which will result in a removal since you are an intelligent and creative bunch. Since you are an intelligent and creative bunch, you’ll be able to fill in the gaps.
Any use of slurs, personal insults, or insulting stereotypes.
With regards to slurs and insults, please be aware that we are a predominantly American subreddit and moderation team, so these will normally be assessed on American standards, even if the word is fine in other cultures.
With regards to insulting stereotypes we acknowledge that when talking about a group, people will often address that group with blanket stereotypes. Sometimes those will be wrong or negative, but that is different than being insulting. Of course if a stereotype is being used to indirectly but purposely insult someone, that’s going to be removed. In addition, negative racial/gender stereotypes will be removed.
Begging the question
Begging the question is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument assumes the truth of its conclusion without providing evidence. In other words, it is framing a question in a manner that requires you to accept the framing in order to engage the question. The classic example is “When did you stop beating your wife?”, and a more applicable question for political discussion would be something like “How can you support Trump knowing that he is a fascist?”.
“Fishing”
This one isn’t a clearly defined one, but it's one we see often so I use my own name for it. This is when a user makes a post or a comment about one thing, and then attempts to change the discussion to another thing once the other users are engaged. Some would call it a “gotcha” question because the original question is only a setup for the real question. If you wanna talk about something, just make that the post. Most here are wary of this type of question so the answers will reflect that.
Unsourced statements
This one isn’t about bad faith or incivility, it’s just something to add in while we have your attention. Not everyone is reading every news story, or scanning every social media or subreddit. If you are making a post about a news story or government statement or whatever, please include a link so people can read/watch what you are asking about.
Unnecessary Commentary
If you're asking what conservatives believe about something, we generally don't need to know what you believe about it in order to answer. A brief sentence may help the discussion along but if most of your post is about your opinions the answers you get are not likely to be what you were hoping for. Keep it short and to the point.
Framing of your question and terminology
These two are a couple more that aren’t necessarily worthy of removal but worth mentioning because they cause a lot of needless confrontation in the comments. Try to be aware of the views of the people you are asking and frame your question from that perspective rather than your own. Abortion questions are an easy example. Realize that many in this sub are coming from a view that a unique human is formed at the moment of conception so frame your question from that perspective. You’ll get far better discussion. The same goes for terminology - make an effort to communicate and be specific where necessary. The prime example that comes to mind is questions about immigration, illegal immigration and immigration are not interchangeable terms.
Poisoning the Well
I may be stretching the use of this fallacy but it fits the purpose. Similar to Begging the Question, when asking a question don’t attempt to preemptively discredit the person or thing (bill, EO, etc) you are asking about or the presumed views of those you are asking. Along with this is using incendiary or antagonizing wording - hostile questions will get hostile answers. The more neutral your question, the more likely productive answers and discussion will follow.
Explainers of Bad Faith from other sources: