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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Henry" data-source="post: 2339234" data-attributes="member: 158">We originally didn't really have a "no politics or religion" rule in ye early days -- it was all Eric closing threads that people were fighting in. (Good God those proto-forums were nasty-looking software, but they were free! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />) His original rule? "Guys and gals, play fair, and keep it clean - I like to keep it such that my grandmother could read these boards and I wouldn't feel embarrassed."The more formal yet still loose rules grew from Eric observing what got pointless flames and what got meaningful discussion. The watchword was "His house, his rules" - meaning it's like coming into Eric's house like you would for a get-together. Just like one would ask the host if it's OK to smoke, or watch for cues on whether to drink, curse, etc. We watched Eric and his mods for cues on what's OK and what's not. When Eric made a deal with Morrus to take over the site and forums, he liked Eric's rules and moderation style, and kept it. What it did foster was an atmosphere in which a lot of people feel comfortable in - just one more venue and one more option to experience on the net, alongside the RPGnets, the NTLs, the WOtC's, etc. If the moderation style changed drastically, it wouldn't feel like the same place for a lot of people. As I said, I enjoy it for what it is, and it's why I spend as much effort as I do to be here and help out.</blockquote>

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