L/V 10+ Tip of the Day #219 Forum guidelines

MJ. Smith

Another tip of the day (TOTD) series for Logos/Verbum 10. They will be short and often drawn from forum posts. Feel free to ask questions and/or suggest forum posts you'd like to see included. Adding comments about the behavior on mobile and web apps would be appreciated by your fellow forumites. A search for "L/V 10+ Tip of the Day site:community.logos.com" on Google should bring the tips up as should this Reading List within the application.

This tip is inspired by a forum post so divisive as to be inappropriate to link to.

I was going back rereading some threads that had derailed completely ... no cars left on the track. I find it a useful exercise to try to identify where and why the discussion derailed to consider possible ways to avoid repeats.  In this particular case, I found a post from FL that is worth resurrecting for understanding the guidelines.

To find the guidelines slick on Forum Guidelines (red box) on main page of the forums.

Please abide by the following guidelines as you interact on our forums.

1. Please keep your discussions focused on Logos Bible Software: our software, products, websites, company, tools, etc.
2. Please do not discuss or debate biblical, theological, or other controversial topics. Use one of the many web forums intended for these kinds of discussions.
3. Please treat each other with the love, courtesy, respect, and kindness that you would if you were sitting in your living room together.
4. Please do not use our forums to
   • sell or give away anything or link to anything you’re selling or giving away—including Logos products
   • promote or link to competitors
   • promote affiliate links or discounts
   • point people to other places that sell Logos-compatible products
   • advertise yourself, your business, your ministry, your website, etc. (a tasteful link in your forum signature is acceptable)
   • post Logos Coupon Codes. If you are aware of a special promotion Logos is running online, you are welcome to link directly to the promotion.
5. Please search before posting. It’s likely that someone has already asked your question.
6. Please help others follow these guidelines. If the problems continue after you’ve given a gentle reminder of these expectations, please click “Report Abuse” under “More” or send an email to forums@logos.com. If a user is a repeat offender, we may temporarily suspend their account. If the offenses continue, we reserve the right to permanently ban the offender's account from the forums either by shadow banning it or blocking it entirely.

Thank you for your cooperation. Enjoy discussing and learning about Logos Bible Software.

A Faithlife employee's explanation:

Ultimately, it's unproductive to set rules that specify exactly what statements are permitted, and which should not be allowed as "theological." Those rules would only beget more rules, until we spend all time litigating what counts as "correct" speech.

We have guidelines, not specific rules, precisely because we trust the people in our community to make wise choices to create a welcoming and helpful atmosphere. 

Please abide by the following guidelines as you interact on our forums.

1. Please keep your discussions focused on Logos Bible Software: our software, products, websites, company, tools, etc.
2. Please do not discuss or debate biblical, theological, or other controversial topics. Use one of the many web forums intended for these kinds of discussions.
3. Please treat each other with the love, courtesy, respect, and kindness that you would if you were sitting in your living room together.

-- from Forum Guidelines

I understand the tendency to include our deeply held beliefs in normal conversation, sometimes even as unstated premises that we take for granted and assume that everyone else here agrees with. And you know what, that's... fine. That's normal. It's also okay if someone gently points out that your belief might make someone else, who doesn't share it, uncomfortable. We just don't want the conversation to be dominated by those topics here. They are extremely important discussions, but that's not the purpose of this forum. We want our users to help each other with Faithlife products and tools, and no one should ever feel unwelcome, or feel like they can't get the help they need because they don't believe "the right things." (Because, really, no two of us believe exactly the same thing.)

Ask yourself: 

• Does my post help someone understand Logos?
• If a random person found this page off of a Google search, would it give them a good impression of Faithlife users?
• Does it contribute to a positive community experience for my fellow forum members?

At Faithlife, we have a long-held motto that guides our company culture: Honor God. Love Others.

That should serve as good advice to our forum members as well. Commit to kindness.

A Logos forumite's common sense

When I teach my high school students to write research papers, I explain to them that their opinions do not matter.  The purpose of a high school research paper is to distill what experts believe about the subject.  This is similar to the spirit of the rules here.  Discussion of Faithlife resources is welcome, but your opinion on their specific arguments is not the point of these forums.