An incident I don’t want to detail has shown I need to briefly touch on what is and is not acceptable on the OTR Digest, or for that matter here on the Nostalgic Rumblings blog and on the Nostalgia Pages Forums, too.

Honest, it isn’t terribly restrictive…I mean, any discussion can become a little heated, especially when it’s as hot as it is here in the Northeast and we northeners are all a little cranky. Heck, disagreements can make the most interesting discussions to read…the trick here is to disagree with the points, not the person making them. Don’t attack the person, attack the idea. Do it politely even while being forceful, remembering the person on the other end is, above all, a person. Here on the Blog I tend to encourage more forceful discussions, and encourage you, my readers, to disagree with me and show me where I am wrong.

But I gotta tell you, swearing at another reader or subscriber, and frankly that includes me, is really not a good idea. I’m trying to keep all of the areas around here safe for folks of all ages, since it’s only by bringing in young people can we keep this hobby alive. So civility is required, and anyone forgetting this can expect a week or two “time-out” from the services here.
(more…)