Comment Policy

Daily Nous has a nice opener to their comment policy to get you in the right mindset for commenting:

Before you comment, imagine the following. You are seated in a comfortable chair at a table with all of the other commentators. You have gathered to discuss an issue of mutual concern, and you are aiming to learn something from the conversation. Take off your shoes if you’d like. Wriggle your toes. Appreciate the wonders of everyday life in the twenty-first century. On the table in front of you is your favorite beverage. Through the window is your favorite view. And seated next to you is a child, who you brought with you for a lesson on how to discuss controversial issues with strangers. Are you imagining all of that? Okay, now you may be in the right mindset to comment.

I think there’s value to the open discussion of ideas so I will often leave up comments I think are wrong or controversial. But I will not approve comments that are unnecessarily mean or hurtful. In practice, this means:

• No spam or self-promotion
• Be polite: e.g. no name-calling or insults
• Avoid offensive terms (e.g. sexist and racist slurs)
• Don’t post people’s personal details without permission
• Don’t promote crimes or do other obviously not okay stuff

I’m currently allowing anonymous comments but will moderate most of the comments that go up here. I may update this policy as I go and in the meantime I reserve the right to delete comments as I see fit.