IMPORTANT FORUM INFO: Please read!

[Rachel Malloy]

General Guidelines

• Always abide by the forum rules.
• Civility and a respect for each other should be foremost.
• Posters are expected to treat each other as equals with equal expectations of each other in terms of research, logic, challenges, and portrayal of Catholic teaching.
• Questions are a better approach than assertions, unless the latter are framed in a non-confrontational and non-accusatory manner.
• Don't answer a question with a question. If you don't know the answer, say so.
• Rhetorical questions may be used to introduce a new aspect of inquiry but not to evade challenges or to call into question the intelligence, education, or any other personal qualities of another poster.
• It is acceptable to question policies and practices
• It is never acceptable to question the sincerity of an individual's beliefs
• It is never acceptable to assume or say you know what another person thinks or needs.
• If you aren't going to go into the discussion with the resolution that you could just possibly have your view broadened, you may as well not go into it.
• Terms of derision, derogatory remarks, baiting, and inflammatory statements are prohibited.
• Avoid categorizing people by a term which could be considered derogatory (e.g., Nazi or neocon) unless they have embraced that title. In which case, you may qualify them with the term as long as you preface it with the word "avowed." Posters are asked to use their best judgement when posting articles using such terms. Do not abbreviate terms.

Sarcasm, Making Corrections and Jumping Threads

• On the use of sarcasm: Use emoticons when possible to convey your intent. A smiley-face or a wink can demonstrate that you are not intending malice. End the post on a positive note, devoid of sarcasm. A pleasant ending can act like sugar helping the medicine go down. Think of sarcasm like salt. Just as you wouldn't dump a shakerful on your food, don't dump a load of sarcasm into a post. Use it sparingly.
• Don't jump threads. If you get involved in an argument in one thread, it's considered poor manners to restart the previous argument in the middle of an unrelated thread. Also, if the moderator closes a thread, consider the subject closed and do not begin it anew in another thread.
• It is easy to stray from the rules in the heat of battle. Try to make corrections gently, with the assumption that no offense was meant. It usually is not. Also, keep in mind that some people are thick-skinned. What seems a vicious attack to you may seem a light-hearted spar to them.

Praise

• When you agree with a part of what someone said. Tell them. It doesn't hurt your position to agree with some part of an opposing argument. In fact, it lets others know that you are listening.

What to look for in your post before you press submit

• Is the post civil and charitable?
• Does the post challenge those to whom it is directed or does it bash them?
• And remember: always, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Guidelines on posting articles to Catholic Answer Forums:

• Stay on the topic of the forum you are posting in. If you are going to post an article, make sure you are placing it in the correct forum.
• Use the original title. When you post an article, be sure to use the original title in the subject of your post. This helps users find the article and lessens the chance of a double post.
• Always provide a link to a publicly available news source.
• Avoid quoting from copyrighted works. Instead, paraphrase what is said and provide a link. If you do quote, limit your quotes to one to three paragraphs.
• Do not post articles that make personal attacks or are in other ways inappropriate for the CA forums.

[Rachel Malloy]

Guidelines for posting on religious discussions

Members are not allowed to be disrespectful of anyone's faith or religion, whether it is Catholicism or not. If a member is disrespectful, he will generally be counseled first and suspended if he persists in disrespectful postings.

If the nature of an initial posting is blatantly disrespectful to any religion (e.g., "the pope is the anti-Christ" or "Rome is the Whore of Babylon" or "Muslims are terrorists"), suspension may be immediate and without prior counseling.

Members are free to discuss, dialogue, question, disagree with, and debate the doctrines and dogmas of both Catholicism and non-Catholic religions. However, all discourse must be civil and charitable.

Guidelines
For both Catholic and non-Catholic posters:

• It is acceptable to question the doctrine or dogma of another's faith
• It is never acceptable to question the sincerity of an individual's beliefs
• Bringing up historical controversies peculiar to a particular religion should be done cautiously*
  • It is acceptable to discuss the effect the incident had on current policy or practice.
  • It is acceptable to seek the truth vs. commonly-held beliefs or conventional wisdom about actual events.
  • It is fallacious reasoning to use embarrassing incidents to claim that they "prove" a particular religion is false.
• Expecting members of any Church to defend or answer for the excesses or extremism of bodies that have broken with it is a technique that has no merit and can't be defended.

*It is our observation that discussion of such past events rarely serves a useful purpose and inevitably opens a thread to posts that violate forum rules and/or the bounds of civil discourse. So, while such threads may be useful, they raise a red flag for the Moderation staff.

[Therese Martin]

Forum moderators:

Jo Benedict

If you experience difficulty in the Motu Proprio Sub-forum, please use the private message system to contact Jo Benedict.

[Therese Martin]

How to Report a Problem Post

Problems with inappropriate content should be reported via the "Report Post" feature. Just click the image in the problematic post and fill out the form.

Ideally the complaint should cite the specific rule than has been transgressed. For reference, forum rules are posted here.

There is no need to submit the same report twice or to join with others to express outrage over an offensive post. One report is sufficient. Multiple reports on the same offense only add to moderator work loads.

[Joe Monahan]

Banned Topics List

Catholic Answers has an obligation to protect our members and assure that the Forums remain a respected discussion environment in which members feel secure in participating.

To achieve this, it is necessary to ban certain topics, content, and posting techniques. If you are unsure whether or not something falls within the scope of this list, inquire of a moderator privately, before posting

1. Advocating violence or threatening a person or institution
2. Inappropriate language or graphics (crude, obscene, rude, vulgar, or blasphemous)
3. Pornography and links to pornographic sites or sites which host links to or advertise pornographic sites
4. Sexually explicit or graphically violent material or content that is inappropriate for non-adult members or might offend adult members
5. Hate material and links to sites that promote bigotry, hatred, or prejudice toward those of any race, religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality
6. Derogatory terms characterizing a class of people by religion (Papists, Prods, Fundies), political affiliation, or national/ethnic origin
7. Blatantly disrespectful characterization of any faith, ("Rome is the Whore of Babylon", “Nazarenes are Holy-Rollers”, “Jews are Christ-killers”, "Muslims are terrorists") its tenets, practices, or adherents
8. Proselytizing Catholics or encouraging them to leave the Church
9. Debating moderator action, including discussing, disputing, or speculating as to why a member’s posting privileges were restricted, why posted messages were edited or deleted, or why threads were closed or removed from public fora
10. Posts in circumvention of a restriction, suspension, or ban imposed by staff
11. Solicitation of personal information (e.g., age, income, or location), beyond that freely offered by members through inclusion in their public profiles
12. Identifiable information pertaining to individuals, including the names of non-public personages who have not consented to being identified, their mailing or e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, or details of their private life (or such information - not already in the public domain - which relates to a public personage who has not consented to it being revealed)
13. E-mail or private correspondence from a third party
14. Discussion of political candidates, including posts that name a candidate, allude to a particular candidate, use euphemisms for a candidate, or refer to surrogates for a particular candidate
15. Rumored "conversions in process" that involve third parties, particularly public figures. Exception: If the possible conversion is itself a news story, that news story may be discussed in the Catholic News sub-forum so long as a link to the news story is provided in the original post
16. Encouraging “swarming” of other forums to engage in debate of anti-Catholic postings there
17. Links to blatantly anti-Catholic sites, except as a valid reference point for discussion
18. Addresses or telephone numbers of individuals, institutions, or commercial enterprises to promote activity that might negatively affect another’s life or business operations
19. Identifying individual parishes, clergy, or hierarchs as “unfaithful to the Magisterium”, guilty of “liturgical abuse”, or otherwise engaged in unacceptable or unpopular practices, based on personal “knowledge” or opinion
20. Soliciting or proffering financial, legal, medical, or mental health advice
21. Asserting credentials as a clergyman, religious, theologian, or legal or medical professional, on which members might rely to their detriment, when the credentials cannot be verified to the satisfaction of CA staff
22. Lengthy excerpts of articles or publications that exceed standards for “reasonable use” (generally no more than three paragraphs) or might otherwise be construed to infringe copyright
23. Unlinked news stories or those not linked to a publicly accessible website (one that does not require registration or payment)
24. Intentionally deceptive material, including plagiarism (presenting another's work as one's own) or text attributable to or quoting others that has been altered
25. False statements maliciously made to defame another’s reputation
26. Promoting unapproved apparitions and revelations (those not approved by the Church for private or public devotion) or alleged private locutions
27. Soliciting business for any commercial enterprise without prior approval by CA staff
28. Soliciting donations for any individual or institution without prior approval by CA staff
29. Spamming (multiple or repetitious messages consisting of identical or nearly identical text or links without substantive commentary)
30. Using “sock puppet” identities to deceive others, promote an agenda, bolster one's own credibility, filibuster, or engage in debate with oneself in furtherance of a point of view

From time to time, it may be necessary to adopt content rules applicable to individual forums because of their particular nature. Members should periodically review the Posting Guidelines of forums in which they regularly participate

[Joe Monahan]

Please review the forum descriptions before deciding in which to begin your thread.

Ask an Apologist - get expert answers to questions on Catholicism - read this first

Karl Keating's E-Letter - react to it here, pro or con

Radio - offer feedback or discuss Catholic Answers Live

This Rock - talk about articles in CA's magazine

New Projects - be informed about upcoming CA endeavors

Apologetics - learn to respond to questions about and challenges to your Faith, including effective presentation techniques, examine historical controversies

Sacred Scripture - discuss the Bible, including translational issues and exegisis

Moral Theology - explore moral implications and ramifications of Church doctrine and dilemmas affecting you and find the answer to the question, "Is this a sin?"

Social Justice - dialogue about Church teaching with societal implications, pro-life/pro-choice issues, just war doctrine, human rights

Traditional Catholicism - talk about the Traditional Latin Mass, the Indult, SSPX, sedevacantism

Eastern Christianity - learn the history, spirituality, and practices of Eastern & Oriental Churches, Catholic and Orthodox

Non-Catholic Religions - explore the history and beliefs of non-Catholic and non-Christian faiths, dialogue with their adherents

Liturgy & Sacraments - discuss Mass and Sacraments, roles of ordinary and extraordinary ministers, liturgical music, church etiquette, the "other" Western Rites (Ambrosian, Bragan, and Mozarabic), Anglican Usage

Family Life - talk with peers about marriage, educational concerns, interpersonal relationships, family planning, other aspects of daily family life

Parenting - chat with others about coping with the joys, sorrows, practicalities, and challenges of raising children

Evangelization - meet with others involved in religious education, catechesis, RCIA, CCD, and missionary outreach, compare experiences, learn from one another

Spirituality - learn about Catholic apostolates, Secular and Third Orders, prayer, fasting, sacramentals, devotionals, Saints, your own spirituality

Prayer Intentions - post prayer requests, respond to those of others, participate in perpetual prayers

Vocations - discuss discernment of your own vocation to the religious, married, or single life; share your experiences with others; get information on diocesan and secular priestly formation and on religious orders

Popular Media - dialogue about our culture, including art, magazines, books, computers, television, radio, music, theatre, and the performing arts

Catholic News - talk about news events involving the Church, its leaders, and the laity

Secular News - share perspectives and analyses of current events in our country and the world

War on Terror - discuss emotional, social, and spiritual concerns involved in reacting to terrorism

If your topic doesn't fit criteria for any forum, try the Back Fence - a mix of the ridiculous and sublime, or The Clubhouse - chat there is light, but can be educational

Finally, the Concierge Desk - a collection of subforums designed to meet your needs, visit it to: get or offer Tech Support; better understand forum use through Mini-Tutorials; familiarize yourself with the Rules of the Road; and, even test forum features in the Sandbox

With these choices, everyone should find a forum to meet their needs. Enjoy yourself, and use the Suggestion Box to let us know what we can do to make your experience better.

[Catherine Grant]

I've noticed that a lot of threads are going all over the place. I'm going to be sorting them out, but I'd appreciate your help.

Please keep each thread on-topic.

When you have a new topic to discuss, please look for existing threads on the same topic and post to them.

If there is not an existing thread on the topic, please start a new one instead of inserting an off-topic post into another thread.

Please make descriptive thread titles so that all know what will be discussed inside the thread.

Thank you for your assistance!