These are the rules that are to be followed by every member of Gour Govinda
Katha, and are sent to all members every month as a reminder.

1 - No use of profanity in any form. Please maintain Vaishnava etiquette at all
times. A polite and respectful tone is requested of all participants, even when
engaged in controversial discussions.

2 - No personal attacks on other members will be tolerated. Proper Vaishnava
etiquette should be observed at all times. Maintain a respectful stance towards
all individuals, even when disagreeing with them. Members are also free to
disagree politely with each others' ideas, but please do not resort to a tone or
remarks which come across as condescending, sarcastic, threatening, or blatantly
insulting.

3 - It is acceptable to discuss one's understanding of the teachings of guru,
sadhu, and shastra so long as primary sources are quoted. One need not be
correct in his understanding of the above sources to post, and the moderator
does not enforce philosophical correctness nor claim to be qualified enough to
do so. Nevertheless, one must at least be sincere in his effort to represent the
sources which he alludes to, rather than deliberately ignoring what they
actually say.

4 - Sincere, even controversial discussions are acceptable, but stubborn
argumentativeness is not. Examples of the latter include, but are not limited
to: (4.1) Strawman arguments, or in other words, criticizing an opinion
attributed to an opponent even when it is obvious that he/she never wrote such
an opinion, (4.2) Evasive arguments, or in other words, deliberately ignoring
answers or evidence offered in previous postings and rehashing an argument as if
it had never been answered, and (4.3) repeatedly ignoring requests to
substantiate opinions with evidence. These kinds of arguments merely lengthen
the daily list mailings and waste the time of those who participate.

5 - When discussing the viewpoints of other parties, please avoid referring to
them by name if you cannot quote directly from their writings. If you wish to
refer to an opposing party by name, please give explicit references to books,
web sites, etc in which the objectionable material which is to be debated can be
found. This is meant to discourage hearsay and speculation about individuals,
which can lead to Vaishnava aparaadha.

6 - When replying to a message, please use quoted text sparingly. Replies with
excessive amounts of quoted text that do not clearly need to be present will be
rejected.

7 - The subject line of a message must always reflect its content. In
particular, list members who reply to the digest form of the list should delete
the default subject line (i.e. "Re: Digest # xxx") and replace it with a more
appropriate subject line. Postings with "Re: Digest #" in the subject line will
not be accepted. This is intended to make it easier for members to search
archives by subject line.

8 - Fanatical behavior is strictly prohibited. This especially includes attempts
by list members, whether in public or private, to suppress questions and doubts
or in any other way to discourage polite discussion. At no time will any member
be made to feel ashamed for politely expressing doubts.

9 - Postings of a political nature, especially those concerned with the
management of specific spiritual organizations, are inappropriate for posting on
this list. Under no circumstances is the list to be used to criticize spiritual
organizations or their management. It may be that in some cases, there is a fine
line between discussing differences in philosophy and discussing politics of
different religious institutions. List members are asked to use common sense,
and to consult the moderator for help when such matters arise. Members who wish
to discuss controversial subjects related to Gour Govinda Swami are urged to
visit and join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gourgovindaissues/

10 - Use of e-mail addresses appearing on Gour Govinda Katha for the purpose of
spam-mail or other mailing lists is strictly prohibited, unless the members
whose e-mail addresses are used give their permission in advance. Those who
violate this rule will be promptly banned from the list.

11 - Advertisements of all kinds are strictly prohibited from the Gour Govinda
Katha list. This includes web sites, classes, and commercial items. The
Yahoo!Groups administration appends advertisements to each posting, but this is
a consequence of utilizing this free service. It is neither sanctioned nor
desired, and it should not be taken as justification for further postings of the
same nature.

12 - All complaints, questions, moderation appeals, and other material not
intended for public posting should be submitted to the moderator at:

gourgovindakatha-owner@yahoogroups.com

Please note that this is not an invitation for flaming against the moderator.
Constructive criticism, polite disagreement/appeals about moderation, or
questions/concerns about the rules or appropriateness of questionable postings
are welcome. Such concerns should not be posted to the list, and they will be
rejected if they are.

As per the admittance policy, this forum is PRIMARILY meant to serve as a
discussion room for devotees. People who are known to be offensive or in any way
disruptive will be on a careful watch. Should such a person cause considerable
upset, the moderator may have to make a decision regarding that person's status
as a group member. As an alternative, a vote may be taken among the members to
decide if that person should retain their membership status. The moderator's
decision is final.

Following in the footsteps of dharma, posters will be given THREE chances. On
the first occasion of misbehaving, the poster will receive a private warning.
The second occasion warrants a public warning, and the third occasion warrants a
senior decision to delete an offender's account.

If the offense is grave and serious, the offender's account may be deleted
automatically without consultation with members.

Please note that Moderator reserves the right to change these rules at any time.

I hope this outlines things clearly.

Moderator, Gour Govinda Katha