Mary, I'm glad you guys are working on this. What does "abusive language" mean?

If I say that what another person posted is moronic, and go on to explain why I believe that, is this abusive?

How about if I call someone "genius" in a sarcastic way? Is that abusive?

If I say "you are disgusting" is that abusive?

How about if I say derogatory, stereotypical things about a person's profession, and everyone in it? Will that pass?

How about if one member begins negatively speculating about the personal life of another?


These are all actual examples from this board. I"ll take credit for the first two. If I see something posted that is abundantly stupid or intellectually dishonest, I point it out. And once, I called a moron "genius" sarcastically. The rest is behaviour exhibited by other active members. Just a few of many many examples.

I'm not worried about rules about attacking others because I find it very easy not to attack other people, I just stick to what is posted. However, there are a significant number of people who can be counted on to go personal as soon as they're on the ropes in the discussion. I think you'll save everyone a lot of drama later by making it clear what they can get away with and what the can't.