We welcome discussions of political matters on AoS. However:

1) Such discussions are not the place to seethe,"vent spleen" or deride those of a different political persuasion/mindset from you. Therefore, no-one here is entitled to be insulted personally, simply because they don't sign up to your 'world view'.

2) Other than that, you can say what you like, as long as:

it's polite and doesn't personally insult any members participating in or reading the discussion.
your argument/political stance 'plays the BALL, not the MAN', which is essentially the same as 1), only expressed differently.

3) TOLERANCE and RESPECT is shown towards other members at ALL times, no matter whether you agree or disagree with them. This is a core part of 'Our Ethos'. Please see that section of the forum for further details.

Posts that are deemed as contrary to the above, or are made in relation to anything other than the specific thread topic, will be deleted without further warning, with those responsible banned for the minimum of one week, after which the thread concerned will be locked permanently.

Most importantly, do remember that no-one's reasonable political views will ever be censored. Short of someone admitting that they're a Neo-Nazi, closet ISIS sympathiser, or something of that ilk, we care not a jot how people vote or what their political stance is, but simply how views are expressed - and we insist that it's conducted in a gentlemanly manner.

If you can't observe the above rules/sentiments, and behave calmly and civilly, then walk away and stick to participating in hi-fi discussions, where incidentally the exact same rules apply!!

**Starting a political discussion, or participating in one, in Abstract Chat, therefore automatically presumes that you've read and digested the contents of this announcement**

Marco.