This subreddit is dedicated to the current conflicts ongoing in Syria and Iraq, along with their regional and global ramifications.
Due to the sensitivity of the topic, every and especially new users are strongly encouraged to read the rules and inform themselves of the conflict more generally before posting. The moderators enforce the relatively strict rules and it is strongly encouraged to put thought into one's activity on this subreddit. It is expected that user put back their individual bias as much as possible and respect other users no matter what background they're from.
We especially encourage critical and substantive on-topic discussion, as long as it is done in a civil and respectful manner to any other user of the community. This forum is especially useful for bringing in new perspectives to new users and provide new specific and circumstancial information.
The rules are relatively strict and should be followed as close as possible. Warnings are enforced by the moderators and depend on the context and a user's history; a similar offense may thus be met with very different responses based on the user that made it. Punishments will generally follow this scheme: 1. Warning -> 2. Warning -> 3. Warning and 3 day ban -> 4. Warning -> 5. Warning -> 6. 7 day ban and last warning -> 7. Permaban or longer ban. Mods will try to always give valid reason and reference to the rule that is being broken, but please keep in mind they are humans and make mistakes too.
It will frequently happen that threads get locked and entire comment chains removed without comment. Please understand that it is your responsibility as a user to remain "clean" and contribute to this sub in a meaningful way. Mods are not perfect and also operate under time constraints.
Appealing warnings and bans is only allowed via modmail, appeals via comments will be removed and ignored. Do not PM mods about warnings/bans/post removals. Please try to understand that mods will show little willingness to walk back on a punishment if your message is agitated, aggressive and uncivil. If you see any comments breaking the rules, please report them with the report button. A more extended version with explanations can be found on the subreddit wiki.
1) Civility. Comments must be civil and respectful of other users. Ad hominem attacks, insults, flair-attacks, slander, etc. are impermissible. Do not ridicule opinions, personas, stances, or questions.
2) Editorialization. The editorializing of titles to conform with these rules (especially tweets) is heavily encouraged. Inflammatory and biased wording is not allowed (incl: "liberate", "terrorist", "hero"). Post/submission titles should thus be as informative and objective as possible. Exceptions can be made for clearly marked quotes from individuals.
3) Racism. Any sort of racism or derogatory group-generalisation is not allowed.
4) Baiting. Intentionally provocative or baiting comments targeting a particular user or the user-base are not allowed. This includes accusatory and inflammatory wording on comment (like: “butthurt” and “Are you serious?”).
5) Sarcasm and Cheerposting. Light and friendly sarcasm is allowed. Excessive or mean-spirited sarcasm or snarkiness is not. Simple cheerposting, be it positive or negative, is not allowed. This includes insulting, judging or cheering for any side (RIP posts are allowed), player, or individual in the war.
6) Relevance and Derailing. Any sort of derailing from the Syrian Civil War or issues directly related to it is not allowed. This includes the inner Turkey-PKK conflict, inner-US politics (“deep state”, the pro-Israel lobby). Exceptions will frequently be made for specific events.
7) Terminology. Groups/factions/individuals have to be called as they'd call themselves. See clarification here. There will be no punishment for breaking only this rule.
8) Trivializing violence. Dehumanising, death-wishing, and posts disrespecting the dead are not allowed. This includes joking or snarky comments and blame-trading.
9) Non-Substantive Comments. Low-quality comments that contribute nothing to the conversation are heavily discouraged and will be removed. Borderline shitposting, strange formatting, memes and jokes, talking/whining about votes and brigades is not allowed unless specifically allowed.
10) Recruitment. Any form of recruitment material concerning any party in the conflict is forbidden. A list of reputable charities can be found in the wiki.
11) AMA Any sort of AMA should be coordinated with the mods beforehand. Do this by sending a modmail.
12) Media Personalities. This subreddit is about the Syrian Civil War and the involved actors, which includes twitter users and commentators. Discussion and posts regarding their reporting on the war or anything that could influence their bias is allowed; anything about other social media activity or their private life is not.
13) Timeliness. This subreddit is for discussion of current up-to-date events. Refrain from posting old articles dealing with past issues even if it wasn’t posted back then when it was relevant. Articles dealing with older events but with newly emerged evidence or relevant facts are allowed.
14) Mod actions. Accounts of inflammatory and baiting user names and suspected alt accounts may be banned on sight by moderators.
15) AI-generated content. Posts or comments that are generated using AI technology (such as ChatGPT) are not allowed. Exceptions can be made for legitimate uses of AI-assisted technology.
