Welcome to the ET Opinion Directory Rules!

((These rules are under construction, as well. This is a first draft of my rules and regulations. The rules will be fair, but strict. They most likely will not protect you from harsh criticism. Under the current (as of 5/21/2011) concept of the wiki-format, all essays an EOD member submits will be their own personal wiki pages and therefore be their own Elftown property. Because of this you can make your own rules for comments on those wiki's that are your property. But if someone wants to criticise or otherwise mention your essay wiki on EOD-owned wikis, you are not protected from any sort of comment that is within EOD's rules.)

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Your only limitations to free speech will be minor, and as follows:

**A warning system against constant personal attack (I believe you have a right to name call, but there is a line between free speech and harassment and I will define it as much as I am allowed to, but Elftown and its rules will be the ultimate authority)

**A posting limit that will be subject to change, but meant to keep members from flooding issue categories with repetitious arguments and other redundancies that threaten the quality of the sites layout. These posting limitations will largely be defined by:

1. A strict limit on links posted by a single member over a specific amount of time.

2. Strict categorization of ideas. I will move your links if they are incorrectly filed.

3. Repeated rule breaking or malicious posting (as defined by Elftown Rules,) Malicious editing of other's work, or purposefully moving links to inappropriate categories will result in me calling the guards. Free speech does not equal anarchy.

**This wiki will NOT, I repeat NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT feature links to special interest wikis OR fan wiki's. This wiki will feature written things by single Elftowners. By this rule I cannot allow collaborative works or single works that are written by more than one ET member or at least make that claim. A single member will sign their work, and a single member will take credit for a single work. You may post rebuttals or agreements in comments on those wikis, or your own works in rebuttal or agreement, but collaboration is not allowed.

This is to protect the quality of an idea. It is for your personal opinion's own good. There will not be allowed the advantages, disadvantages, or intellectual consequences of a single statement of opinion having multiple pens. You may include direct quotation of other's ideas. You may even comment on these works to agree with them. You can post wiki's in agreement. But you cannot be allowed to give a lone idea implied weight or depth by cosigning it with multiple people. You must have intellectual integrity.

** By the tenet above, this wiki will have STRICT penalties against plagiarism. Since this is a wiki of ideas and opinions, you must have your own ideas and opinion. Plagiarism is defined by taking other's statements, art, published and copyrighted work and claiming it as your own. This is the artistic form of grand theft. It will be punished as harshly as I can punish anyone with authority as a wiki owner under the specific rules of Elftown itself. If you quote, paraphrase, copy, or in any other way present specific information that you did not create, cite the source.

I don't care how you do it, but expressly comment that any work that's not your own IS NOT YOUR OWN. You must provide the name, publication, or website, and in every case the specific person who is the author of that idea and/or information, and if that entity is a member or group on elftown, you must claim to have their express consent to use the information. If you fail to do so, or if I or anyone I give administrative powers to this wiki to catches you in plagiarism, or lying about the consent of use of Elftown intellectual property you did not create-- which is plagiarism-- you will be expelled from this wiki and further posting and possibly even further commenting on any specifically Elftown Opinion Directory owned page will result in a report to the guards.

**** In relation to the last two tenets, The Elftown Opinion Directory has direct authority only over the pages it owns, specifically it's sanctioned administrators owned pages that do carry the directory's own namesake: The Elftown Opinion Directory and here, this wiki may be called EOD. [Sideways] and the sanctioned administrators of the EOD determine what links, and what information appears there. We can and will decline to feature links that break EOD tenets and rules, and will delete comments linking to any wiki that breaks EOD's tenets or rules. These comments will be considered harassment if they persist.


**This wiki is, like my opinion of a democracy, the closest thing you can get to perfect discussion. The only way your right to free speech can be impeded is if it infringes on anyone's right as an member of Elftown. Also, like many imperfect but awesome examples of democracy, we have an agreed upon leader (or in this case, self elected dictator, but I digress) who will enforce the rules of this wiki as he (meaning I, [Sideways], sees fit. I can offer you nothing other than the promise that in this wiki your opinion will be defended to the farthest extent of my capacities and privileges as a wiki owner.


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