The Rules

These ground rules are both exhortation and example, and are goals to strive for, not expectations.

1. Preserve a spirit of courtesy.


2. Focus on minimizing the amount of time the reader has to spend trying to understand what you write. In particular:
   
   
   
   1. Be as concise and understandable as you can.
   
   
   2. Begin with summaries. Some people may want to skip the details.
   
   
   3. Consider deferring detailed explanations. They might not be necessary.
   
   
   
   
3. Please don't be shy. There is no such thing as a dumb question, and wild ideas and partially-understood concepts can be useful.


4. Don't monopolize attention. If you have a lot to say, consider writing it up in a separate article and posting a link here with a summary of why it's relevant.


5. Post things where they belong. For example, the discussion about rules belongs here.


6. Go with the flow. If someone suggests a new rule, try to follow it unless a general consensus emerges that it be dropped.