Forum rules Update

1. This is a forum that focuses on the experience of being gay, lesbian, bi or transgender and Irish Traveller, in all the variations of what that means to different people. We seek to be respectful of all the different paths that people walk in order to find happiness — in singleness or through marriage (both same-sex and opposite-sex) and as such we ask that commenter’s refrain from judging others, keeping in mind that with what only together can we progress to better times.

2. We encourage open dialogue. We like a healthy disagreement across the full spectrum of ideas, because disagreement provides us an opportunity to understand ourselves better. We ask only that our conversations remain respectful. We prefer sharing experiences over making generalizations. We think it’s better to ask questions than to make assumptions.

3. If we feel a member has crossed a line by being disrespectful, engaging in personal attacks, or engaging in other forms of bullying behaviour, we reserve the right to delete or withhold those comments. If there’s a reasonable doubt as to the intention of a comment, we may give members a chance to revise a comment that comes across as disrespectful and then publish it. Repeat offenders who consistently detract from the goals of promoting understanding and respectful dialogue will be blocked.

4. Forum members are reminded of our strict code of privacy. As the organisers of the forum we will never request your name or any other means of devising your identity. You alone decide what and how you choose to share. Attempts to “out” others will not be in any way tolerated and offenders will be permanently banned.

5. The overall ethos of this forum is one of equality and inclusiveness.

6. If you want to meet other members of this board, there are regular meet ups - keep an eye out on the forum. Any poster can self organise a forum meet up. Meet ups should generally be inclusive of all and welcome to all members on the lgbt Pavee forum regardless of age, community, gender identity and sexual orientation.

7. Do NOT post content of an explicit nature here. This includes pornographic pictures, ascii art, sexually explicit text etc. These will be removed and you will receive an infraction or ban.

8. No trolling or flaming. This means posting something that you feel will incite anger and/or abusive posting. This is usually thinly veiled insults. Starting up threads for the singular purpose of inviting such flames is also discouraged. It is the moderators discretion to decide whether a poster is trolling or flaming.

9. Abusive language that is homophobic/transphobic will not be tolerated and the persons posting it will be banned from the forum. Saying that transgender is a choice, saying that trans surgeries are cosmetic, or calling trans people "a man/woman who thinks they are a woman/man ", will result in an immediate infraction and/or ban, as these things aren't "opinions", they are falsehoods rooted in transphobia.

10. Attempts to derail discussions in the forum will not be tolerated. It is at the mods discretion to decide if a poster is attempting to derail a discussion.

11. This forum is welcome to everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity to discuss LGBT issues. We do however insist that people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and that the forum be treated as a safe space for LGBT people. If you contribute to a thread you are expected to be willing to learn about the issues involved, and listen to what is said by members of the community/ies involved.

12. No advertisements or spamming.

13. If you feel that a particular post requires attention by a moderator for being against this charter or any other reason, then please report that post using messaging the moderators. The moderators will review the reported posts and either take no action or issue an infraction or ban.

Any questions feel free to contact any of the moderators.

Shine bright,
Hanu Fein