It has become clear as of late that what is needed is a neutral space that has no allegiances or ties. A place that has nothing to lose if somebody speaks their mind or voices an unpopular opinion or an opinion that is not allowed elsewhere. The Cigar Lounge is just that place.
What is the topic of discussion at the Cigar Lounge? There is no topic of discussion, you are free to discuss whatever you want as so long as you follow a few simple rules. First and foremost is the Golden Rule, so be respectful of other people in the Lounge. Many people here will have opinions that may differ from yours or mine. You may discuss or debate those opinions passionately but at all times you must remain civil. If you manage to get yourself in a childish war of words with somebody else in the Cigar Lounge, you and any other involved party will be put in separate corners to be quiet and think about what you’ve done. When you are ready, you will be asked to kiss and make up. If you find you cannot do that, you will be asked to leave.
Since there is no topic of discussion here, some people may choose to post images of scantily clad ladies (or dudes, if that’s your thing). Because some of us may wish to enter the Cigar Lounge while at work, all that is asked is that a buffer image be placed at the top of the post before the fun can begin. The image up top is the line in the sand. Anything more provocative or revealing that that should have a buffer image. If you do not have a buffer image, one will be provided for you but you will be asked to provide your own next time.
Some people are offended by opinions that are not identical to theirs. Those people have their own blogs and sub-blogs elsewhere on the Kinjasphere where discussion and thought are tightly controlled. Because what can be said here can often times not be said elsewhere, it is asked that you do no directly re-share any discussion to any other Kinja blog. If you wish to invite people from other parts of Kinja into a discussion, you may make a reference to the discussion at the Cigar Lounge in a post or even provide a link in a comment, but a direct re-sharing is not allowed. That being said, feel free to re-share discussions that are taking place elsewhere in the Kinjasphere to the Cigar Lounge front page.
REVISION 7 FEBRUARY, 2015: A consensus has been reached and the decision has been made to lift the moratorium on re-posing Cigar Lounge discussions. That being said, the Lounge moderator staff asks that you apply some common sense when it comes to deciding what to re-post. If the topic of discussion is not in keeping with the rules of the Kinja blog that you are re-posting to, then it is probably not a good idea to re-post the discussion there. Furthermore, in keeping the spirit of the rule that immediately follows this, any Lounge member who is found to be purposefully re-posting discussions to places where they are not allowed for the purpose of muckraking, trolling, or causing general mayhem and discord will be summarily banned.
Finally, while the Cigar Lounge is a place for open discussion, it is not a place to plot, plan, or scheme against any individual or organization elsewhere in Kinja or in the outside world. You may discuss at length how much you dislike some people, but you may not discuss how to “get even” with people who’s opinions you don’t like. This last rule may seem a bit odd and obvious, but there are specific current events going on in the greater Kinjasphere that have informed the making of this rule. The specific events have been left out so as to make the rule as general as possible. The purpose of the Cigar Lounge is to relieve stress in a relaxed environment, not to cause stress elsewhere.
So, if you are reading this, you may be asking yourself how you can join in on the discussion. Truth be told, it is a long and complicated process of simply asking. You may ask either in the comments below or elsewhere in Kinja where a Cigar Lounge admin can be found. Currently, we have four admins comprising of The Transporter, Diesel, Jcarr, Peter Black;Sv wrangler and PatBateman. Also, the Cigar Lounge can be reached by e-mail at CigarLounge.Kinja@gmail.com.