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About Politikus

Perhaps Politikus can best be described through an FAQ:

What is Politikus?
In short, Politikus is an online political discussion forum in which its users can get a view of how the rest of the community views their political leaning through participation in the forum. It is also a political news site in which its users supply the content.
What do you mean, "get a view of how the rest of the community views their political leaning?"
Basically, by voting on user submitted articles and comments and discussing them in the forum your profile will begin to show a color somewhere between red and blue. In and ideal world, perhaps everyone would be purple and we'd all get along. The idea is to vote on an article (or comment from another use on an article) by categorizing it as either red, blue, or neutral. The twist, AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, is that you vote on that artice/comment from your point of view. Meaning, is the opinion expressed in that article more red than your leaning (then vote red), more blue than your leaning (then vote blue), or somewhere along the lines of your leaning (then vote neutral). Voting in this manner will allow you to compare yourself and your views with your fellow community members.
What are your codes of conduct?
We expect this to be a self-policing forum. We also expect people to be treated with respect. Though not implemented at this time, we will be implementing so tools for users help police each other. For instance, if someone is just spouting off and not actually discussing issues, etc but rather trolling and in general, trying to get a rise out of someone, you will be able to tell that person to "Cool It!" If enough people agree, that thread will become locked for that person. If they get locked out of enough threads, the will be black balled for a period of time in which they won't be able to participate in the forums. Please, when the feature becomes available, (probably not until the Beta is overwith), do NOT abuse this. We want Politikus to be a civilized discussion forum, not just someplace where you feel you can tell someone to "Fuck Off" if they disagree with you. We expect you to make your point, accpet that others may not agree, and move on.
So how do I use this thing?
First you must register. After registering and logging in, you will be able to submit links to articles/blogs/sites for voting and comment on exising articles. As you vote on submissions/comments their color will change to begin to reflect their leaning. Assuming we have a pretty even mix of people, articles will likely stay shades of purple. The magic is in the comments however, as you vote on someone's comment, their profile will begin to change color to reflect how people are voting on their comments. This is what allows you to see how other people in the community compare to your political leaning. Kinda nifty...
Can I help out?
Yes! But the best way to help is to register and start inviting your friends and colleagues to join. We're considering some sort of free schwag when you refer enough people. What and when exactly, we haven't quite nailed down yet. Also by participating, and reporting bugs/issues, you'd be helping out more than you know. If you'd like to donate money to the cause to help keeps us running, we'll take that too!