Welcome to the Atheists & Agnostics Group (New set of rules)

1. Initial caveat: while the Atheists & Agnostics group is a safe-haven with its own set of guidelines, everyone posting in A&A is subject to DU rules and the DU jury system. And although they should, jurors won't necessarily know that A&A is a safe haven, and may not respect the boundaries set up to govern posts in A&A. Anytime you post in A&A you take the chance that an outsider alerts on the post, no matter how acceptable the content is to the atheists and agnostics here at DU. If you'd like frank conversation about religion without the restrictions placed on us by potential religious alerts, we have several external chat groups in which you may participate. Contact a group host for more information.

2. Discussing a DUer's private information, whether an A&A regular, a religious believer, or members blocked from A&A, is STRICTLY prohibited. (Note that an exception can be made if the DUer brought the topic up themselves and you keep your comments limited to the thread in which the DUer posted the private information).

3. Discussing the Religion group, even if not explicitly named, is discouraged. The A&A hosts feel the Religion group is so toxic that our recommendation is to trash the group completely. If a thread posted in A&A references the Religion group, the hosts reserve the right to lock the post. If you find that the Religion group makes you angry every time you go there, stop spending time there and spend more in A&A. Discussion of or mentioning Interfaith or any other Group is strongly discouraged. We all hope that DUers will respect our safe haven and the expectation is that other safe havens will be respected here.

4. The hosts want to discourage negativity and encourage the promotion of the positive aspects of non-belief. If you read a good thread in A&A, rec it. If you encounter an atheist or agnostic in other areas of DU that you don't see in A&A, invite them over.

5. There are certain terms that are considered offensive to the members of the A&A group. If you use these terms or insinuate them, you'll be asked to self-edit. If you decline a self-edit, you will be blocked from the A&A group. A few of these terms are: "fundamentalist atheist"; "evangelical atheist"; "scientism"; "atheist dogma"; "secular indoctrination"; etc. Also if you like to refer to atheism or agnosticism as a "religion", don't.

6. As a Progressive community, we don't tolerate conservative viewpoints. Expressing those viewpoints is likely to get you blocked from A&A and eventually kicked off DU.

7. If you make A&A suck, you risk being blocked.

8. While as Progressives, we're pretty tolerant, we're not tolerant of religion apologists.

9. Posters that take A&A meta to other DU groups may find themselves blocked from A&A. If you have an issue with an A&A member, work it out with them directly or contact the hosts. If you have an issue with a believer you are urged to put them on ignore.