1. Ensure your posts don't impede discussion.
   1. Act in good faith. Dishonesty erodes trust, leads us to incorrect conclusions, and obviously encourages users to assume bad faith, with all the problems that causes.
      1. Don't be trolling. Trolling is here defined as posting with the secret, primary motivation of getting a rise out of other posters rather than engaging in discussion. Enforcement of this rule errs on the side of leniency so that posters do not fear they'll be considered trolls just for having a controversial opinion.
         
      2. Don't repeat a point that has been rebutted without acknowledging the rebuttal. This demonstrates a lack of willingness to discuss and is also very frustrating for posters arguing with you.
         
      3. Use precise language. Part of honesty is meaning exactly what you say. Avoid ambiguous terms, innuendo, and exaggeration; as well as insisting on non-standard definitions.
         
      4. Don't be sloppy with your assertions. Rather than a simple lie of posting something you know to be false, this is the deception of posting something you don't know to be true or false as though you know it to be true.
             a. Read sources and links that you cite.
         
      5. Do not argue via innuendo. State your points openly so they may be addressed by others.
             a. Explain sources and links that you cite. This spares others from having to guess what point you're making with them.
   2. Assume good faith. If you strongly suspect someone is operating in bad faith, report them rather than attempting to call them out in the thread. This avoids false positives where a poster is operating in good faith and forced to defend themselves.
      1. When replying, respond only to what the poster said. Doing otherwise leads to posters talking past each other. If you believe the post has some implications or suggestions beyond its literal reading that should be addressed, mention that is what you're doing. If you believe someone is deliberately arguing by suggestion rather than directly stating their beliefs, report them for bad faith.
             a. Don't misrepresent or strawman what someone said. A good rule of thumb is if they would object to your characterization, it is probably a strawman.
   3. Don't be hostile toward fellow posters. We are able to think more clearly and make better points in a friendly environment
      1. Don't insult fellow posters. Doing so raises personal stakes and makes it more difficult for them to continue the discussion rather than insulting you back or using desperate and less rigorous methods of argumentation to defend themselves, and keeps the thread about interesting discussion rather than a poster.
2. Ensure your posts add to discussion.
   1. Refrain from white noise cheerleading. Simple agreement or disagreement doesn't add anything to discussion. This does not include clarifications or concessions of your previously posted position, which are actually helpful.
      
   2. Post seriously. If you make a joke that we find funny, punishment may be deferred, but this is a chance you're taking.
      1. Don't put in significantly less thought or productive effort than a post you're responding to. Thought and productive effort are not the same as length.
   3. Make points that are fresh or falsifiable. If a point is stale, it can at least be interestingly debated if it's specific and falsifiable. If a point is not falsifiable, it can at least provide interesting food for thought by being original or not commonly known. If it's neither, there's little we can gain intellectually from it.
      
   4. Don't post about the forums themselves. The forums are a niche topic without wide applicability, and therefore have little educational value. This refers only to the forums being the actual subject; you could use them as an example of some broader point.
      1. Don't post about posters. Arguments in D&D are meant to stand on their own rather than on the credibility of the posters who make them, because they are pseudonymous, and knowing forums lore should not be a requirement for participating in or understanding D&D. This rule is waived in cases where someone claims specific expertise in what they're talking about.
3. Obey general rules of the SA forums.
   1. Bigoted statements against other users are not permitted. Since positions are not moderated, seemingly bigoted positions not directed toward specific users aren't either; however, these will unavoidably attract attention which leads to more scrutiny and other rules being enforced against them more strictly.
      
   2. Do not attempt to incite violence in a way that's illegal in the US. Philosophical arguments in favor of violence are permitted if they do not violate the law. Posts which do talk about the desirability of any violence should have an interesting point about what it would achieve, to avoid being uninteresting expressions of personal bloodlust.
      
   3. Don't share manifestos or videos from terrorists, such as mass shooters.

Somebody has issued a correction as of 17:06 on Apr 3, 2023

BrutalistMcDonalds has issued a correction as of 03:46 on Dec 8, 2017

BrutalistMcDonalds has issued a correction as of 14:50 on Mar 30, 2018