What's expected from members

It stands to reason that most of those who will contribute to this forum are likely to be Plaid Cymru supporters, but we in no way want to limit contributions. There are supporters of other political parties who want independence, and there are indeed people who support Plaid Cymru who do not want independence. Anybody who wants to present a point of view or participate in any discussion is free to do so. This might well include those who wish to see greater devolution for Wales within the context of the United Kingdom, and it might even include those who are against devolution altogether, provided their opinions are offered in a constructive way. Any changes to the way Wales operates will only come about when there is a broad consensus that such change is advantageous. It would be hard to imagine that anyone in Wales would be against improving our transport infrastructure, or the effectiveness of the justice system, or reducing unemployment ... even if they were the most ardent of Unionists. As such, we share a measure of common ground, and should build upon it for the sake of a better Wales. In fact, we might find that there is much more common ground between us than we thought.

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The main forums are split into a number of headings that are intended to address every aspect of what Wales should be. At the start of each forum there is a brief "About this Forum" explanation of the sort of issues that might be discussed, however this is meant to be suggestive rather than restrictive. There is bound to be overlap between subjects, and people can decide for themselves in which forum to start any topic. If it becomes apparent that a topic is in the wrong place because of the direction in which the discussion goes, the moderators can move it.

This forum is intended to be a serious forum for debate and criticism. As such the tone of debate is important. People are likely to have differing ideas, and each of us needs to respect other points of view. There is room for humour, and there is room to be bluntly dismissive of other opinions. But such views will only be tolerated if offered constructively. If you want to be negative about someone else's ideas, you must try to offer a better alternative.

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The main focus of the forums is to discuss the shape an independent Wales should take, so our emphasis should therefore be long term rather than about day-to-day policy matters. Different parties are bound to have different views on policy; that is the essence of politics and there are other blogs and forums which might be a better place for such discussions. In building an independent Wales we must ensure that our structures are neutral, rather than skewed in favour of any particular political perspective. Of course, wanting an independent Wales is in itself a political perspective, so the rule of thumb is not whether we want to advocate political policies which are more left or right wing, more liberal or more authoritarian, more centralist or more local ... instead the focus of this site should be about building a Wales in which the views of the people of Wales can more accurately be reflected in the way we operate as a society and the way we govern ourselves. Every few years we will elect new national and local governments with new policies, so if our national structures are to be durable we need to design them with a degree of flexibility and adaptability. That should be our focus here.