The following is a more fleshed out version of the rules, as well as our procedures for punishment.

Rules:

1) We respect your right to have, and express, your opinion.

2) We also respect your right to have, and express, differing opinions.

3) Expect arguments.

4) Threads do not necessarily need to be related to ponies.

5) We will not condone:

- Name-calling.
Keep some form of adult respect for your fellow human being. They have the same right to respect as you do. It does not
matter how much you disagree with them, or how angry their opinion makes you.

- Self Promotion.
This is a place for intellectual conversations. Not your personal ad campaign.

- Trolling.
Purposeful baiting in order to provoke a negative emotional reaction will not be tolerated. This isn't
a place for anger, it's a place for discussion.

6) There is an exception to every rule.

7) Arguments do not need to end friendships.

Punishments for infringing on any of the aforementioned rules are as follows:

Stage One:

Warning.

Just in case the offending party did not fully understand the rules they agreed to, or if they simply made a mistake, the first step is a warning. The offender will receive an official warning from one of the admins.

If offenses continue in an obvious disregard for the rules, the punishments will become more severe.

Stage Two:

Temporary ban.

If the offending party continues to break the rules of this group, even after a warning, temporary ban will be employed. The offender will be given one day away from the group, to calm down, and ruminate upon offensive behavior.

If the offender shows flagrant disregard for authority, the most severe punishment will be employed.

Stage Three:

Permanent Ban.

If the offending party show unrepentant behavior, even after permanent ban, they will be permanently removed from the group. The offender will be given no more warnings, they will merely be decisively banned.

Please take notes of these caveats:

1) "I was only joking." is an excuse. It is not justification of offensive behavior.
2) "This offends me." is an opinion. It is not inherently grounds for punishment.

Note that exceptions to these punishments will be employed, based on the severity of the offense, and the time frame in which the offenses occur.

Examples:

Someone who makes a thread about their newest fic will be issued a warning, but someone who gives a link to a story in an ongoing thread that is related to such a thing will not be issued a warning.

Someone who frequently makes troll threads and comments will be temporarily banned, someone who occasionally makes troll comments will only be given a warning.

Exceptions to punishments also apply to instant punishment, if the offenses are severe enough.

Examples:

Spamming the group with offensive and/or disturbing threads will be punished with a concise permanent ban.

Personally attacking other users, and/or threatening other users will be punished with instant temporary ban.

Admin Rules

It is against group rules for Administrators to abuse their powers. Any admin guilty of breaking this or any other rule will be punished accordingly.

Admins/moderators reserve the right to interrupt and dissolve discussions at any point, should they feel it necessary to intervene. Failure to comply with this command can result in the locking of the thread, banning of incompliant members, and in extreme cases, even forbiddance of the topic.

Forbiddance of a topic will be reserved, only for when a topic shows consistent devolving into petty bickering, and shameful behavior.