The Rules of Parlia* 🏴‍☠️

⭐️Golden Rule: Please be kind 🤗

Please remember: nobody on Parlia is here to ‘win’, we’re here to share and learn. If someone disagrees with you, it’s an opportunity to understand why. It is NOT a personal attack. And it is not always a challenge for you to change their mind. Sometimes the best policy is to agree to disagree.

1. Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that’s easier to criticize. Assume good faith. This might be the most important rule.

2. We’re trying to be definitive, but no more. If your argument has been made by someone else, give them a ‘Good Point’, please don’t repeat your own version.

3. We’re trying to be accretive. Always try to add to the arguments you’re seeing. Please start from where they leave off.

4. Please always play the ball not the person: ‘You’re discriminatory” is always better phrased as “This comment could be interpreted as discriminatory”

5. Don’t be snide or sarcastic. Approach each conversation with genuine, open-minded curiosity; don’t cross-examine, don’t nit-pick. Please don’t rant. Please don’t sneer, including at the rest of the community.

6. Please avoid all aggressive or inflammatory language. Don’t call names. Don’t attack people’s integrity or intelligence.

7. As a topic gets more divisive and potentially offensive, so the comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less…

8. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. “That is stupid; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3” can be shortened to “1 + 1 is 2, not 3.”

9. Please don’t post shallow dismissals, or caricature other people’s positions. A good critical comment teaches us something.

10. If you get something wrong, or you misunderstand something, apologise, or concede graciously - you’d be amazed at how warmly people react to others’ openness. Always err on the side of kindness ;-)

11. Try to take all emotion out of your posts . No sarcasm, no insults, no rhetorical questions, no injunctions to “go educate yourself…” - they don’t add anything of value to the work we’re doing together.

12. Never write in anger. Stop: take your hands away from the keyboard! Everyone you engage with on Parlia is here sincerely, to share opinions they hold dearly. They are not your opponent, they are not here to attack you, they’re here to learn. Please remember, they’re a person just like you with a different opinion.

13. “Have you even read…?” Or “Do you not know that…?” doesn’t help, and should always be replaced with “X article/book explains that…” or “This report shows evidence that…”

14. Please don’t use uppercase for emphasis. If you want to emphasise a word or phrase, put ** asterisks ** around it and it will get bolded, or _ underscores _ around it and it will get italicised.

15. If you feel someone on Parlia is NOT arguing in good faith, or IS trying to win or bully or attack you - don’t respond to them, report them. You can do that by ‘flagging’ the Report button, and by emailing us directly: hello@parlia.com

To give us feedback about the site, our policies and anything else (including these Rules), please email hello@parlia.com

* modelled on the Pirate rules of ‘Parley’