Our Forum Guidelines

Prior to participation in our CIRCLES discussions, carefully review these Forum Guidelines and Policies. They are subject to change without notice so review them from time to time.

Civil debate

Discussion and civil debate are welcome. Remember what it is all about. We are Roman Catholic theologians who firmly believe that the discussion on women priests should be left open. We love our family, the Catholic Church. We fully accept the authority of the Pope. We respect his personal integrity as an outstanding spiritual leader. But we are convinced that the Pope and his advisors in Rome are making a serious mistake by dismissing women as priests. We feel obliged in conscience to make our carefully considered reasons known. Our site's mission is to promote the case for women's ordination in the Catholic Church.

Our arguments are based on truth. We endeavor to help people understand both sides of the arguments, and to create space for discussion about them. You are free to discuss, debate and disagree but this is not the place for thoughtless, anti-Catholic rhetoric. Be understanding of one another. We gather in the spirit of Christian dialogue. Many times a thread will come down to two opposing views, neither of which seems to be willing to agree with the other side. It is times like these where posters generally come to the agreement to "Agree to Disagree".

Internet etiquette

Civility requires that we abstain from name-calling, insulting other members, inappropriate language, or bullying behaviour. Avoid using all-caps. In the age of the internet this means someone is YELLING. This comes back to point #1: courtesy and civility in discussion.

For general internet etiquette rules, please see: http://www.albion.com/netiquette.

The Moderators

The moderators are in charge of adjudicating civility. They volunteer their time to keep friendly and lively discussion in place. They are like referees or umpires during a match. They fulfil an essential role and a good game cannot proceed if they are not firmly in control.

The following are our moderating procedures:

• The moderator is available for questions and comments. If you have questions about any of the articles posted or about arguments being made, please contact the moderator by sending a private message (facilitated through membership) or by leaving a post in the Forum.
• The moderator is here to facilitate learning. From time to time, she will post articles from our library for information and discussion.
• If debate spills over into abusive discussion, the moderator will make a ruling and may delete posts.
• If you have a question or comment about a moderator's action, message him or her. If he or she is unhelpful, message the administrator.
• Sometimes a post may be moved. Why? The Moderator may move posts when she discerns there is a better forum for it. When moving a post, she will typically leave a shadow topic (link in the same forum) so those who were following the discussion in the initial forum can continue to engage in it.
• Threads that are a year older or more will be moved into our Archives Forum -- Treasures for Keeping. Once included here, they are available in a read only format.

Can I become a moderator? Yes, you can. Moderators are appointed by the Forum Administrator. If you would like to become a moderator, let us know. The ability to keep abreast of the discussions, contribute posts on a regular basis, and demonstrate a capacity to be fair and objective are the key requirements. It is helpful to have been posting on a regular basis, to have a good feel for the forums, and a knowledge of the issues.

If you have further suggestions as to what could improve the fairness and efficiency of our discussions in CIRCLES, please let us know!

The Administrator