Fair and Honest Discourse

What follows are my personal rules and general philosophy for engaging in discourse. All of this information is tentative and will change in response to better information.

• The purpose of discourse is to discard incorrect ideas.
• I am a better person when I hold fewer incorrect ideas.
• Discourse on a particular idea shall stop when:
• requested.
  
• it becomes unproductive.
  
• everyone involved finds that they are in agreement.
  
• Discourse that stops without general agreement is evidence of incomplete understanding.
  
• General agreement is not evidence of the correctness of an idea.
• Without the consent of those it affects, sensitive information shall be excluded from discourse.
  
• A single piece of evidence is sufficient to disprove an idea.
  
• An idea that has not been disproved must account for all relevant existing evidence.
  
• An idea can never be proven to zero uncertainty.
• Honest participation requires fair and full treatment of all proffered evidence.
  
• One who discards an idea should graciously acknowledge the act.
  
• One who discards an idea should credit the person who provided the evidence.
  
• Goal posts can be moved as long as one clearly acknowledges their prior insufficiency.
• The validity of a claim is not affected by its source.
• The burden of proof is on the person making the claim.
  
• Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
• That which can be claimed without evidence can be discarded without evidence.