Politics Forum Charter, Guidelines & Information Resources - Updated 19/07/2014

K-9

Dr Galen wrote:

We have created two posts which outline the charter for this forum

The first post is a summary of the rules and the spirit of this forum

The second post is a more detailed explanation of the rules.

Please familiarise yourself with these rules before posting here. Ignorance of the Forum Charter is not a valid excuse for rule breaking.

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K-9

Dr Galen wrote:

This is a Politics forum, not Liveline.

Certain standards of debate are expected, and will be enforced. Your posts must contribute to debate, not derail it or drag it into mob chanting. There's been a serious decrease in the signal to noise ratio in the forum recently, and that trend requires reversal.

If your posts consists of little more than a statement that some group of people or other are bad people and/or deserve prison/execution as traitors, think long and hard before pressing "submit", because we'll be treating that as trolling from here on in.

If your OP consists of nothing more than a two-line thought that just popped into your head, don't start a thread. Again, that will be treated as trolling - the thread will be deleted, and you'll be banned or infracted, depending on how egregious the example is.

This forum is not a newsdump, blog or somewhere to post copy & pastes from other sites. All OP's and posts require some input of your own.

Thread derailing will be treated particularly harshly. If there's more than a couple of examples of a poster taking an unrelated thread and turning it into a public-versus-private / unionists-versus-nationalists / us-versus-them contest, then expect a sanction.

If you find you absolutely cannot post without using the term 'scumbags' or 'scum', don't bother to post, because you'll find yourself infracted, or, in case of persistent offenders, banned. Those terms are now in the same penalty box as 'beards', 'teabaggers' etc. Please see the post below for the full, but not exhaustive list of prohibited terms.

No personal abuse or getting too personal (i.e., challenge the post, not the poster).

No allegations of trollery in-thread. It's another form of personal attack.

No trolling or feeding the trolls (including no excuses for joining a flaming match).

No discussion of moderation. If you need clarification of this Charter, or wish to discuss actions taken that pertain to violations, PM the moderator.

Those are specific examples, but the general rule is "contribute to debate or GTFO". If what you're doing isn't discussing politics but competing for the top slot on Joe Duffy, you're in the wrong place .

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K-9

Dr Galen wrote:

This Charter lists the general guidelines on conduct in the Politics forum. It is not an exhaustive list and the general rule in the politics forum is "Use common sense when posting".

The charter may be updated at any time. Look for the revision dates in the thread title.

It is the responsibility of the user to be familiar with the charter. We will try to make it as obvious as possible to all users when an update occurs. Ignorance of the charter will not be accepted as an excuse for rule breaking.


Boards.ie General Rules

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Politics Forum Rules

The following are general rules on conduct in the Politics Forum. Some points may be expanded in subsequent posts.

We have also created a summary of the charter, with some general posting rules. This can be found above.

Some guidelines on posting, rules, content and common topics can be found in the posts that follow this charter.


1. Starting Threads

Topics should be relevant to the politics board.

Topics should not be verbatim quotes from some article without comment from the thread starter. Add a comment before or after the post, offering your opinion on the subject.

Please remember that we are not a blog, a news feed nor an announcement forum - if you are not willing to discuss what you post, then please don't post it. Thread will be locked and posters may face a sanction for repeatedly breaking this rule.


If a quoted article is available online, please supply a link to the article rather than quoting the entire article verbatim.

This isn't AH or Humour. Threads (and posts) that are not based on serious and legitimate Political discussion will be removed without warning. For the lighter side of Politics we have the Politics Cafe.

The Politics Cafe is not a free for all though, and we expect a certain level of discussion there, even though it is less serious.



2. Posting in Threads

Replies should be kept on-topic. We realise that threads may naturally "drift", but there are limits.

If you wish to discuss a separate issue which has arisen in a discussion, then take it to a separate thread, and post a link in the original thread if you feel it appropriate. Feel free to contact a Forum Mod if you need assistance with this, we’ll be glad to help out.

When offering an opinion, please state so. Please do not present an opinion as "fact" - it only leads to flaming and a moderator may demand further evidence.

When offering fact, please offer relevant linkage, or at least source. Simply saying "a quick search on google...." is often, but not always, enough. If you do not do this upon posting, then please be willing to do so on request.

Every poster is entitled to their opinion - whether it is ill-informed or not.

NEVER attack a poster. Attack the content of their post. (You can tell someone that their opinion is based on incomplete or incorrect information, but do not call them an idiot.)

Keep your language civil, particularly when referring to other posters and people in the public eye. Using unsavoury language does not add to your argument. The following words are not permitted specifically by this charter:

• Scumbag (or a variant)
• Beard(s)
• Crusties
• Teabagger(s)
• Unwashed hippies (or a variant)
• Zanu-FF
• sheeple
• zionazis

This is not an exhaustive list, and Moderator discretion remains.


If you are going to level allegations of lying at another poster, please be willing to prove that they are lying - that they deliberately intend to deceive. Simply calling someone a liar is not acceptable.

This forum is for discussion and debate, we will not tolerate soapboxing. If you are here to "shout everyone down" with your opinions, we will see you as a negative contributor to the forum and will take appropriate action.

Posting a link to a video hosted elsewhere does not constitute discussion. Not everyone is able to watch videos, for technical or other reasons, and points raised on a video are almost impossible to refute. It's OK to link to a video, but it should be accompanied by a detailed summary of its contents and arguments, and you must be prepared to discuss it.

Deliberately misleading posts or posters aiming to spread misinformation will be sanctioned. We do not expect posters to be experts in all areas, however, the onus is on all posters to fact check their information. If a poster is corrected, or information corrected in a thread, any poster who continues to relate misinformation as fact will be sanctioned.

Please note that any post deemed to incite hatred or promote violence will be dealt with in the strictest possible manner. Whatever your politics we expect discussion in a manner fit for adults, but first and foremost human beings.
Celebration/promotion/triumphing of murder, violence or aggression will result in an immediate banning from the forum and deletion of your posts.

In a similar vein, if all you can post about a recently deceased public figure is "rot in hell" or similar, don't post. Such posts aren't political discussion and generate endless pointless rounds of flaming - they will be infracted and/or deleted.

This is an anonymous board - it's perfectly possible for someone to pretend they are a PS worker posting on work time, a private sector worker doing the same, or to do either and deny that that's what's happening - you have no way of knowing what the truth is.

Posters therefore don't have any right to ask such an otherwise pointless question as "are you a PS worker posting on taxpayer's time" because it clearly puts the other poster in a cleft stick, where they are discredited whether they answer or not. "I'm just asking" is not a defence.



3. Reporting & Moderation

If you have a problem with a post, USE THE REPORT POST FUNCTION. Do not respond to the post in question. There are to be no allegations of trollery in-thread. It's another form of personal attack and posters will be infracted and/or banned for this.

If they agree with the complaint, moderators may edit/delete any reported post. Moderators will review all complaints and act at their discretion.

Moderators may also edit/delete any post/thread which in their opinion breaks the rules, whether it was reported or not.

When an argument breaks out, we will not care who started it. It takes at least two people to have an argument, and both sides will be dealt with appropriately.

Moderators may warn individuals of unacceptable behaviour, but not on a repetitive basis and if the situation warrants, users may be banned without warning. Repeated infractions will result in bans.

The moderators will not discuss their moderating in the Politics threads. If you wish to discuss moderation, there is one specific thread to do so here. This is the only thread in this forum where moderation may be discussed. If you wish to discuss an issue with a moderator privately or directly, either PM the moderators, or take it to the appropriate forum

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4. Linking Off Site

Linking to Journals, Blogs or any other forum to insult people, or abuse via signatures will be taken as if the insult was posted on this forum.

Some links to material that some people may find disturbing may arise during the course of a discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete these links if they are determined to be off the topic or otherwise not relevant to the conversation. We may also pull the link if it is particularly graphic or obscene. If you are going to link to potentially offensive material then be sure to include a clear warning as to the nature of the material you have linked.
It is also advisable to give some information as to the nature of the material to which you have linked. For example, if it links to a video clip, include a brief description of what the clip entails.

Any poster that adds a link to an illegal organisation or one that advocates illegal activities will be banned from Politics. This includes any links in users Signatures.



5. Duplicate Accounts

Any user suspected by the moderators of using a duplicate account on politics will have the duplicate account(s) and their original account banned permanently from the forum. The moderators may also petition the admins to ban the duplicate accounts and original account from boards permanently as well.


6. Political Canvassing

Do not advertise your party on here in posts.

This is not allowed. Any posts deemed to be solely for the purpose of advertising a party many earn people a ban. If you want advertising, pay for it.

.

GuanYin

The Dublin Regulation - READ BEFORE DISCUSSING ASYLUM IN IRELAND

There has been allot of misinformation regarding the Dublin Regulation, particularly regarding the onus on an asylum seeker to apply at the first member state they enter.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING

The Dublin Regulation - A Factsheet wrote:

If you have applied for asylum in an EU country covered by the Dublin Regulation and wish to have your application considered here, it is not certain that you are entitled to do so. Another country covered by the Dublin Regulation may be responsible for considering your application. As a result, you may have to go to that country. Following are some circumstances under which another country may consider your application:

1. if you have received a visa or a residence permit from another country covered by the Dublin Regulation
2. if you have illegally entered a country covered by the Dublin Regulation
3. if you have already applied for asylum in another country covered by the Dublin Regulation
4. if your family has already received residence permits in another EU Member State

Point 2 highlighted by me.

You cannot be deemed to have illegally entered a country until you clear immigration.

If you enter an EU country on a transit flight to another country, you DO NOT have to go through immigration.

Sanctuary in Ireland, Perspectives on Asylum Law and Policy By Ursula Fraser, Colin J. Harvey wrote:

Simple movement through a transit area without leaving it, does not count as regular entry into the first member state but if an application for asylum is made while in the transit zone, the member state where the transit zone is bears responsibility (Article 7 The Dublin Convention)

This has not changed for the updated Dublin Regulation.

This issue has been discussed and clarified many times in the Politics forum and is STILL used by some with a xenophobic agenda to derail threads.

While we do not believe that all users who argue against an asylum applicant are xenophobic or trolls, we EXPECT users to know the facts they are presenting. As such, the details of the Dublin Regulation on Asylum entry are clarified above.

Anyone proposing that it is NOT POSSIBLE for an asylum seeker to enter into Ireland as a first member state of entry, will be deemed to be trolling and will be infracted and banned from the forum.

There is no requirement that an application for asylum must be made in the first 'safe' country arrived in.

Anyone posting a suggestion to the contrary falls foul of the rule above, and will be infracted and banned.

nesf

What's acceptable: The top 3 levels.
What's not acceptable/discouraged: The bottom 4 levels.


The bottom two levels can get people banned, please don't resort to these.


Further reading:
Further explanation of the above
A list of fallacious arguments and how to spot them


Thanks go to Darragh one of our Community Managers for finding these.

Lockstep

Originally posted by gandalf:

All the following sites are official government / state websites except those under 'Irish Political Parties' 'General Resources', 'Statistics', 'Journalism Sources'.

IRISH LAW

Irish Constitution
http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/upload/static/256.pdf

http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/html%20files/Constitution%20of%20Ireland%20(Eng)Nov2004.htm

http://www.oasis.gov.ie/government_in_ireland/the_constitution/

Irish Statute Book
http://193.120.124.98/

There is a list of recent bills at
http://www.gov.ie/bills28/bills/default.htm

There is a list of recent acts at
http://www.gov.ie/bills28/acts/default.htm


IRISH ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUMS

Irish elections and referendums, refer to
http://www.environ.ie/electindex.html -> "Referendums" ->
"Click here for Referendum results in PDF format 1937-1999 Referendums in Ireland (463KB)"

Referendum Commission
http://www.refcom.ie/

Public Offices Commission
http://www.irlgov.ie/poc/

Constituency Commission
http://www.environ.ie/elections/dail.html


IRISH GOVERNMENT

Irish Government Website
http://www.gov.ie/

Oireachtas (Parliament) Homepage
http://www.gov.ie/oireachtas/frame.htm

Department of An Taoiseach (Prime Minister)
http://www.gov.ie/taoiseach/government/Default.htm

Oireachtas Live: Pilot Live Webcasts of the Houses of the Oireachtas
http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=%2Fdocuments%2Flivewebcast%2FWeb%2DLive%2Ehtm&CatID=116&m=o


UK PARLIAMENTS AND ASSEMBLIES

Northern Ireland Assembly
http://www.ni-assembly.gov.uk/

United Kingdom Parliament
http://www.parliament.uk/

The Scottish Parliament
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/

The National Assembly for Wales
http://www.assembly.wales.gov.uk/


EUROPEAN UNION

http://www.europa.eu.int/


UNITED NATIONS

http://www.un.org/english/


UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

The Whitehouse
http://www.whitehouse.gov

Central Intelligence Agency
http://www.cia.gov

US Department of State Daily press briefings
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/

National Archives And Records Administration
http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/nfpubs.html#pubponln

Freedom of Information Act
http://www.foia.state.gov/other.asp


AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT

Australian Federal, State and Territory Governments
http://www.gov.au/


SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT

South African Government Online
http://www.gov.za/


IRISH POLITICAL PARTIES AND GROUPS

From the Public Offices Commission http://www.irlgov.ie/poc/

Fianna Fail


Fine Gael
http://www.finegael.ie

Green Party
http://www.greenparty.ie/

Labour Party
http://www.labour.ie

Progressive Democrats
http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie
http://www.youngPDs.org

Sinn Fein
http://www.sinnfein.ie

Socialist Party
http://www.socialistparty.net/

Socialist Workers Party
http://www.clubi.ie/swp/

Workers Party
http://www.workers-party.org/

Comhar Críostaí - The Christian Solidarity Party
http://www.comharcriostai.org/

Communist Party of Ireland
http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/

Republican Sinn Féin
http://www.rsf.ie/


The following political parties and groups do not seem to have working political websites:

Donegal Progressive Party
Independent Fianna Fáil
Muíntír na hÉireann [registration cancelled]
The Christian Democrats (The National Party), formerly the National Party http://www.castletown.com/national.htm
Natural Law Party http://www.natural-law-party.org/ (ceased to exist December 2000)

South Kerry Independent Alliance


GENERAL RESOURCES

National Platform [Ireland - NGO]
http://www.nationalplatform.org/about/index.html

European Movement [Ireland - NGO]
http://www.europeanmovement.ie/

Co-operation Ireland [Northern Ireland / Ireland - NGO]
http://www.co-operation-ireland.ie/

Election Results - Dáil, NI Assembly, President, European (Republic), European (NI) - count by count
http://election.polarbears.com/ "Irish Election Database" [Ireland - NGO]

http://www.electionsireland.org/ "in association with Seán Donnelly (author)" [Ireland - NGO]

Nicholas Whyte's Northern Ireland Elections site [Northern Ireland - NGO]
http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/ Main site
http://explorers.whyte.com/ Old site - Main site - Old site
http://explorers.whyte.com/dala.htm Old site - Dáil elections - Old site

Federation of American Scientists [USA - NGO]
http://www.fas.org

cyberjournal.org
http://cyberjournal.org/

CAIN - Conflict Archive on the INternet
http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/index.html

Oireachtas - Useful Links, Frequestly Asked Questions, Political Parties and Members' Web sites,
http://www.gov.ie/oireachtas/a-misc/parties.html#Political%20Parties

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS University College Dublin [Ireland - QauNGO]
http://www.ucd.ie/~politics/irpols.html

Irish Politics Site
http://www.Politics.ie

C-Span Resources Page
http://www.c-span.org/resources/international.asp

STATISTICS

Irish Statistics [Ireland - official site]
www.cso.ie

Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook [USA - official site]
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Country Watch [USA - private site(?)]
www.countrywatch.com


JOURNALISM SOURCES

South Asian Journalists Association
http://www.saja.org/tipssources.html

poynter.org
http://www.poynter.org/


Acknowledgements

This is a copy of the previous thread compiled by Victor who did an awful lot of work in compiling and tidying these links originally. The Politics mods would like to thank Victor for this work here.


Additions

This thread will be locked. If any users have suggestions for additions to this thread please send your suggestions via PM to the Politics mods with a description of your link. Any links to illegal organisations or ones that advocate illegal activities will not be added and the users that send these links may have their access to Politics removed.

nesf

Scofflaw

I'm seeing too many claims by posters that the people arguing with them are "government supporters", "shills", "dupes", "big oil shills" and the like.

This is not acceptable. It is neither more nor less than an attempt to dismiss what your opponents are saying without arguing against what they're saying. Nobody is in a position to know that any other poster is actually posting on behalf of the government, which reduces the claim to the rhetorical tactic it is.

For those who like proper terminology, this is "ad hominem" argument. In general terms, it says "do not listen to the people who disagree with me, they are bad or deluded, and you can safely discount their arguments without listening to them".

For those who want it more colloquially, it's "playing the man, not the ball", and there is a long-standing rule against it.

Please take note of this, since offences will be actioned.

moderately,
Scofflaw