Welcome to the Swell Forum, a Place for Respectful Public Interaction
We invite you to treat this discussion platform with the same regard you would a communal park. Like a park, we are a shared resource for the community — a space to exchange expertise, insights, and passions through continuous dialogue. These aren’t rigid rules, but rather suggestions to assist our community’s human judgment and maintain this as a neat and welcoming space for respectful public discourse.
Enhance the Conversation
Help us shape this into an excellent platform for discussion by consistently striving to enrich the conversation, no matter how minor your contribution may be. If you’re uncertain whether your post contributes to the discussion, contemplate your message and consider posting later. The subjects discussed here are important to us, and we hope you treat them with the same importance. Show respect for the topics and the individuals discussing them, even if you find yourself disagreeing with some of the views expressed. One method to enrich the conversation is by exploring ongoing discussions. Spend time navigating the topics here before responding or initiating your own, and you’ll likely find others who share your interests.
Maintain Cordiality, Even in Disagreement
You might feel compelled to respond by expressing disagreement. That’s perfectly acceptable. However, remember to critique ideas, not individuals. Please refrain from:
- Insults
- Personal attacks
- Reacting to a post’s tone rather than its actual content
- Impulsive contradiction
Instead, offer well-thought-out counter-arguments that enhance the conversation.
Your Involvement Matters
The dialogues we engage in here establish the tone for all newcomers. Help us shape the future of this community by choosing to participate in discussions that make this forum an engaging place to be — and steering clear of those that do not. Swell offers tools that allow the community to collectively identify the best (and worst) contributions: bookmarks, likes, flags, replies, edits, and so on. Utilize these tools to enhance your own experience, as well as that of others. Let’s strive to leave our community in a better state than we found it.
If You Spot an Issue, Flag It
While moderators hold special authority and are accountable for this forum, so are you. With your assistance, moderators can serve as community facilitators, not merely custodians or enforcers. If you witness inappropriate behavior, refrain from responding. Responding only validates the inappropriate behavior, drains your energy, and wastes everyone’s time. Simply flag it. If a post accumulates enough flags, action will be taken, either automatically or through moderator intervention. To preserve our community, moderators have the right to remove any content and any user account for any reason at any time. Moderators do not preview new posts; the moderators and site operators assume no responsibility for any content posted by the community.
Always Maintain Decorum
Nothing undermines a healthy conversation more than impoliteness:
- Be courteous. Avoid posting anything that a reasonable person would deem offensive, abusive, or hate speech.
- Keep it appropriate. Refrain from posting anything obscene or sexually explicit.
- Respect one another. Don’t harass or grief anyone, impersonate individuals, or disclose their private information.
- Respect our forum. Don’t post spam or vandalize the forum in any way.
These aren’t rigid terms with precise definitions — steer clear of even the hint of any of these behaviors. If you’re unsure, ask yourself how you would feel if your post was featured on the front page of a major newspaper. This is a public forum, and search engines index these discussions. Ensure the language, links, and images are suitable for family and friends.
Keep It Organized
Make an effort to keep things in their proper place, so we can devote more time to discussion and less to cleanup. So:
- Don’t initiate a topic in the wrong category.
- Don’t duplicate the same post across multiple topics.
- Don’t post replies with no content.
- Don’t derail a topic by altering its course midway.
- Don’t sign your posts — each post is already linked to your profile information.
Instead of posting “+1” or “Agreed”, use the Like button. Rather than veering an existing topic in a drastically different direction, use Reply as a Linked Topic.
Post Only Your Own Content
You may not post any digital content that belongs to someone else without their permission. You may not post descriptions of, links to, or methods for stealing someone’s intellectual property (software, video, audio, images), or for violating any other law. These are the community guidelines for Swell. Let’s work together to create a respectful and engaging environment for all.