On another board I used to participate in (and theoretically am still a moderator for) they included a thumbnail synopsis of the rules at the top of all of their fora. A large part of it boiled down to “intolerance for other viewpoints is NOT welcome and respect for other posters IS required at all times”. (That’s a direct quote from the web site; we might need to reword slightly.)
I don’t know if this software allows a synopsis to be added, but doing so avoids posters claiming that they didn’t see that x behavior wasn’t permitted when they agreed to the TOS. Whether we can add one, or not, I have always liked that particular stricture and think we should add something similar.
If nothing else, it gives the webmaster (and the moderators, if the webmaster so chooses) more latitude to police the tone of the posts hosted here, when it is deemed necessary. If you are the webmaster or a moderator with the power to remove/edit/ban for content, you WILL get these challenges. Every one of them will invoke 1st amendment rights. That’s great, and moderation must be done with a light hand (IMO) when those issues come up, but, ultimately, s/he who pays for the playground sets the rules for the playground. Even if it is only in labor, the webmaster (and maybe the mods) “pay(s)” for this playground. Best, I think, to spell something like this out if this is a value we have.
Sure, we could add something about ad hominem attacks, but I know from experience that there are a lot of people (including those who are highly educated) who don’t know (or claim not to recognize) what that means. I like the simplicity of this one and have had more than one occasion where I have been able to effectively invoke it. (The other board involves popular television programs and includes an Off-Topic section for non-tv discussion. It’s gotten a whole lot more volatile than anything I’ve seen on CHE — but we are about to leave the world of CHE and may end up with members we don’t expect who have their own axe to grind. Been there; best be prepared for it.)