So, my second set of rules. Yes, these topics are only going to appear in the contentious areas... with good reason.

Religion is everywhere. Buddhism to Christianity and onto Shamanism, there are more religions and faiths followed than there are brands of toothpaste in your average shopping centre... which is gonna cause chafing. Or crusades. Preferably the former.

Various religions are an equal-opportunity flaming bonanza, second only to mentioning Star Trek on StarWarsFans.com. For that reason, we've got a few polite guidelines (read: rules) for you to follow.

1: People who follow Buddha's teachings are called Buddhists.
Just as people who follow Islam are Muslims, folllowers of Christ are Christians, and so on. Trust me, many many accidental (or purposeful) internet-firestorms can be avoided by using the right word in the right place. Buddhists are not 'hippies' or 'crazy people', Muslims are not known as 'terrorists', and Christians are not 'those witch-burning assholes from the South'.

For the love of [insert non-denominational deity(possibly plural)'s name here], use the right name.

2: 'I disagree' is better than 'You are wrong, good sir!' which is better than 'You're wrong!' *flame*
You should know this already. I'd only let you in the guild if you proved you could behave yourself.

3: Some religions have dirty pasts, yes. That doesn't mean all Christians want to start the next Crusade.
The past should stay where it belongs: in the history books. Remember, most major religions (just like any and every person) have things they would rather forget. Just as 99% of Germany would like to forget the crazy man with the toothbrush moustache (And so I invoke Godwin's Law), most of Christianity wishes to forget the Crusades and the Salem witch trials, most of Islam have no love lost for the extremist nutcases who occasionally crop up on the news decrying women's rights and many neo-Celtic-Pagans happily ignore the fact that the Celts used to practice human sacrifice.

4: I'm not sure, but...
A golden sentence opening if there ever was one.
Here's the scenario: You're stating some fact about a religion you're not part of. A fair bit of evidence agrees with you, but some don't. This opening says "this is what I think and/or have heard." It means people are free to correct you if they know better.

If you're polite, then they'll be polite as they tell you "no, Hindus don't ritually sacrifice frogs". Of course, if you're making a blatant generalisation, then... well, yeah.




If a thread gets out of hand, one of the mods will step in. We'll shut down an argument before (or if) it gets ugly. You're free to continue it through PMing or on MSN. If you're having a problem with someone who's being a general a*****e in this forum, do tell one of us. That's what we're here for, after all.