After a bit of discussion with @laverabe, we've agreed to update the sidebar with a more specific rule set. We have about 2 decades of moderation experience between us, and we're more or less on the same page about how to kick-start the community and get things rolling.

To put it simply, we are significantly less interested in enforcing our rules on opinions or content than we are on behavior and your treatment of others. Barring truly horrific opinions (which probably violate Lemmy's ToS in the first place), we're open to any and all perspectives, no matter how tasteless, crass, or toxic other people may believe them to be. There is no shortage of people on the left who think people on the right should be censored, just as there's no shortage of people on the right who think people on the left should be censored. We will not censor opinions because they're liberal, conservative, libertarian, egalitarian, utilitarian, humanitarian, Rastafarian, muggle, sith, Borg, etc. We will remove content that's abusive. So just don't be an asshole and everything will be peachy.

This forum is not meant to be focused on any particular topic or region, but we reserve the right to remove content on the rare occasion that it doesn't suit the purpose of the community. Given that nearly everything is political nowadays, that might be an entirely moot point, but just in case we ask that you not post lasagna recipes, driving directions, product reviews, or other unrelated stuff.

Content Rules:

1. Self posts only.
2. Opinion pieces and editorials are allowed on a case by case basis.
3. No spam or self promotion.
4. Do not post grievances about other communities or their moderators.

Commentary Rules

1. ~~Obey the golden rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.~~ Don't be a jerk or prevent honest discussion.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Don’t criticize the person, criticize the argument.
4. Provide credible sources whenever possible.
5. Report bad behavior, please don’t retaliate. Reciprocal bad behavior will reflect poorly on both parties.
6. Seek rule enforcement clarification via private message, not in comment threads.
7. Abide by Lemmy's terms of service (attacks on other users, privacy, discrimination, etc).

Please upvote/downvote based on quality of contribution to the discussion, not based on whether or not you agree with the post or comment.

Since our rules are new, we'll probably issue a lot of warnings in the early stages. We're not expecting to issue any bans unless something is truly out of bounds and unproductive. We're also just humans who have actual jobs, so we just don't have time to babysit folks who can't be cooperative.

Please provide your thoughts on anything you think should be more or less specific, as well as added or removed. We can't promise that we'll see eye to eye, but we'll make every effort to help you understand where we're coming from and how we see the community developing.

Edit: Updated rule 1 to be more specific, in case someone decided to be rude because they get their rocks off by fighting.