Code of Conduct

This group exists to promote thoughtful, open-minded discussion on topics of ethics, science, philosophy, politics, and the human experience. We value reason, compassion, curiosity, and dialogue. To maintain a space where all participants feel welcome to contribute, we ask all members to adhere to the following principles:

1. Respect All Participants

• Engage with others as equals, with kindness and good faith.
• Disagree without being disagreeable—criticize ideas, not people.
• Avoid personal attacks, sarcasm intended to belittle, or dismissive behavior.

2. Encourage Honest and Critical Inquiry

• Diverse viewpoints, including controversial or unpopular ones, are welcome—provided they are expressed respectfully and grounded in evidence and reason.
• Ask questions and challenge ideas, including your own.
• Be open to changing your mind in light of new arguments or evidence.

3. Seek Understanding, Not Victory

• This is not a debating society. The goal is not to “win” arguments, but to learn from one another.
• Avoid persistent point-scoring, aggressive argumentation, or attempts to dominate a conversation to prove yourself right.
• Constructive dialogue means being curious, not combative—even when you disagree strongly.

4. Speak Thoughtfully and Listen Actively

• Make space for others to speak. Avoid dominating the conversation.
• Listen carefully and try to understand before responding.
• Clarify your terms and assumptions when discussing complex or sensitive topics.

5. Avoid Harmful Generalizations

• Speak from your own experience and avoid making sweeping statements about groups of people.
• Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other forms of prejudice or discrimination have no place in this group.

6. Respect Privacy and Boundaries

• Do not share personal information about other members without their explicit permission.
• Recognize that not everyone will feel comfortable discussing all topics. Allow others to opt out of conversations without pressure.

7. No Proselytizing or Disruption

• Religious proselytizing, conspiracy promotion, or intentionally disruptive behavior is not permitted.
• Members are expected to participate in good faith and with a sincere interest in dialogue.

8. Accountability

• If a concern is raised about your behavior, listen openly and without defensiveness.
• Group facilitators may intervene, including asking someone to step back or leave the group if their behavior consistently violates this code.
  

By participating in this group, you affirm your commitment to these principles.
Our goal is not uniformity of thought, but a culture of inquiry, empathy, and mutual respect.

Self-Moderated Discussion Format

Everyone will be given the opportunity to speak.

• We will achieve that by going around the room systematically, speaking in turn.
• We ask that all participants be cognizant of the time available and how many more people are left to take their turn, and moderate accordingly.
• If necessary, we may implement time restrictions.
• When each speaker has finished their turn, they should signal to the next person that they are finished.

We welcome interjections.

• In the spirit of a lively and engaging discussion, we welcome interjections with reactions, comments and questions.
• We encourage hand raising as a signal to the current speaker that you would like to interject, again asking all participants to maintain cognizance of time.
• It will be up to the speaker to call on anyone that indicates they would like to interject. When it is your turn as speaker, you are the moderator.

Only one person speaks at a time.

• Please refrain from engaging side conversations as it is disruptive to those around you. You may not be as quiet as you are trying to be.

No one has to speak.

• When your turn comes, if you don’t have anything you would like to say at that time, just signal to the next person in line that you are passing to them.
• Passing on your turn does not limit your ability to interject when others are speaking, and you can also ask that we return to you once we have gone all the way around the room.

Everyone is empowered to lead.

• If things go off the rails, or the code of conduct and rules for self-moderated discussion are not being followed, all participants are empowered to assert authority to insist on a return to these norms.

Once everyone has had a turn to speak, we will transition to a more freewheeling format for whatever time remains.