Introducing On-Topic Conversations

Some topics have repeatedly proven that they're nothing but trouble. Threads on these topics will not be opened for discussion. People who repeatedly try to raise these topics will face further consequences and may be banned from the OTC subforum.

Topics that are permanently banned

• Abortion
• Cancel culture
• Theism vs. atheism
• Justifications for piracy
• Paedophilia
• Rape
• Suicide
• Gamergate (discussion on Anita Sarkeesian is allowed however).
• How humanity sucks, how life sucks, and/or anything about how we all need to kill ourselves or stop having children.

If a specific event relates to one of these topics but is also clearly on-topic for another thread (e.g. proposed changes to abortion laws in a country with an open OTC politics thread), that aspect can be discussed there — but shouldn't turn into a wider conversation about the issue.

Topics that are indefinitely banned

• Israel and Palestine (there was one approved thread for this topic, but as of Mar 2024 it is locked indefinitely due to repeated problems)
• Antisemitism (there was a thread for this topic, but as of Mar 2024 it is locked indefinitely due to repeated problems)
• US Politics and US elections (there was a central thread for US political discussion, but as of Mar 2024 it is locked indefinitely due to repeated problems).

If a specific event relates to one of these topics but is also clearly on-topic for another thread (e.g. US political events directly impact domestic politics in a country with an open politics thread) then that aspect can be discussed — but only in regard to its direct impact on the open thread's topic. Any further discussions about the banned topic itself are still prohibited and this rule will be strictly imposed.
These aren't permanent bans — we are hopeful that threads on at least some of these topics can be reopened or relaunched at some point.
However, that's not going to happen until world events make them less volatile, emotive topics (which is unlikely to happen for some of them) and/or an improved moderation toolkit makes the threads easier for the staff to manage.

Other things we don't want to see

• Threads or posts intended to generate outrage over things that can't reasonably be regarded as anything but outrageous. Events in this category can be reported and discussed, but content-free statements of outrage aren't helpful.
• Arguments about which side has it worse, or which side is more oppressive, in any given debate (men vs women, religion vs atheism, etc.). These are not productive discussions, and even if we have independent and unbiased academic studies to rely on, we probably won't reach an answer that everyone will accept. If you want to participate in the Oppression Olympics, please do so on another site.
• Appeal to Worse Problems: declaring that the topic at hand isn't worth discussing because there are other topics that you consider worse or more important. It's a logical fallacy because it assumes that someone can only be concerned with one thing at a time. It's a dirty debate tactic for the same reason.
• 'Link-Discuss' Opening posts consisting of a Link to something off the wiki (most often, but not always, a news story or editorial), and an instruction for follow-up posters to Discuss it.. These mean that the thread will not be opened, no matter what the topic is.

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Note: This list is not exhaustive, nor is it absolute. The moderation team will exercise appropriate judgement in each individual case.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Apr 10th 2024 at 4:10:07 AM

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.

The topic list has been updated to reflect the currently locked threads, to add "Cancel culture" to the permanently banned topics, and to draw a distinction between permanent and indefinite bans.