I'm writing this message to clarify how moderation will enforce existing rules on the site going forward. The rules of the site are clear: personal attacks and harassment, particularly when they done over a prolonged period of time and target specific member(s) of the site, are ban-worthy offenses. We've given some leeway to allow conversations that include these to proceed so long as both sides were taking part in the same behavior to some extent.
That will no longer be the case. Moderation will now take action against cases of personal attacks and harassment even when both parties are participating. In order to ensure that everyone is on the same page with regards to this change in enforcement, we will not begin enforcement until this weekend ends. While past posts may be regarded as evidence of persistent behavior going forward, we will only enforce bans based on posts made after that period unless they are the subject of ongoing discussions within the moderation team. That being said, members will not have free reign to act with impunity - you will still be subject to a warning and ban within this time period if you push it too far.
To clarify, here are a few examples of the behavior that will result in a warning and, should it persist, a ban or restraining order:
- Insulting someone's intelligence (as distinguished from attacking a given claim or argument)
- Posting call-out threads
- Assigning nicknames that are meant to belittle or harass
I'd also like to note that these will be enforced regardless of who acted first, though that may affect the duration of the resulting ban/RO. "But they started it" or "I was just defending myself" will not be a valid excuse for returning the favor. That being said, while the occasional insult may be tolerated with warnings, a pattern of insults and/or harassment will not.
If you have questions about how this will be implemented, this is the place to ask them.