Hi everyone,

Throughout this site's history, we've allowed virtually any topic to be discussed. This has led to many heated discussion, though we've generally told people they can expect some latitude in the moment as long they don't let it go too far, and make a good faith effort to be civil and substantive. Until recently, this worked well.

But this lassez faire approach was contingent on most of the people buying into both sides of that informal, pact, and over the last several months, the arrangement has broken down. Virtually every political discussion has devolved into sarcasm and ad hominem attacks, and the arguments that do get sprinkled in are increasingly mere contradiction. In some threads, there's been no trace of any desire to even persuade, let alone understand.

Therefore, we've concluded that a new standard is needed. Here it is, in a sentence:

Any controversial topic in the Intermission forum is going to be moderated very, very strictly. Threads will be closed or removed faster. Posts will be edited or deleted faster. Temporary bans will be issued for multiple offenses, and provocation, unless extreme, will not render someone exempt from any of it.

Basically, whereas the practice before was "it's a heated topic, so it's okay if you go over the line now and then," the practice now will be the opposite: "it's a heated topic, so you need to go out of your way to be civil and stick to the topic." It's on you not only to avoid crossing that line, and in many cases, that's going to mean not straddling it constantly, either.

If you have feedback on this change, or merely want clarification, please PM me.