During the recent years of intense military action in DR Congo, in which an estimated 3.3 million have been killed, the h2g2 Community has not yet been asked to refrain from discussing the conflict on site.

This forum has been established as a dedicated area to discuss the conflict in the Congo and its wider implications. When posting please bear in mind the House Rules and the following guidelines:

Respect for Others

The main things to bear in mind when using h2g2 to debate the current situation are:

• Be especially aware of the sensitivities of all others using the site; try to look at things from the point of view of others on site.

• Do not post inflammatory messages, as these do not contribute to an atmosphere of debate; tensions run high during heated debates, so please try not to cause or respond to argumentative behaviour.

• It is vital to avoid racial or cultural abuse, so avoid posting anything that is simply offensive to others and does not contribute to the debate. For example, do not employ slang or offensive terms for people from a specific race or country.

Other Conflicts Which May Affect h2g2

The above portion of this page has been mostly copied from The Iraq Conflict Discussion Forum with a few alterations. I'd like you to also think about whether an h2g2 policy is likely to be established for the Congo Conflict, and why you think so. This is also intended to make you consider how many other wars will have this kind of impact on h2g2, and why they are treated so differently.

Also, there are many wars raging that may slip beneath the "radar" of international news, although BBC is one of the best sources of international news that I have access to. Think of other conflicts that people should know about, and create your own pages for discussing them. Please give links to your page(s) in a conversation below this entry. Indonesia, Philippines, Colombia, Sri Lanka. How many wars are happening in Africa or Asia right now? How many across the world? I know journalists are supposed to be jaded, but why does a box office report for The Matrix Reloaded get higher billing than ongoing wars?