Comment Decorum

Over the last few days, I’ve had some comments on posts that have been a bit disturbing because of their content.  I’ve since removed them, but just the same I want to put out a few simple rules for comments to make this a better place for all the readers I have.

• Speak your mind, but remember: you own what you post.  I love comments: I read them all and to the best of my knowledge I respond to everyone.
• My site has had 100 thousand visitors from 56 different countries including France, Belgium, Australia, Taiwan, Turkey, Venezuela, and Mongolia among many others, and the translator on my site gets a regular workout.  More than 50% of those visitors have been on the site 25 times or more.  What’s the point to my sharing this?  It’s simple: people from every walk of life and nationality are coming by.  All are welcome here and as such any disparaging comments  based on race, sexual orientation, nationality or HIV status mean that will be removed and you’re blocked for good.  I have a zero tolerance on this item.  To give you some idea of the lack of tolerance I have on this subject, read this.
• I’ve gone to great lengths to set up a comment system that does not require you to register on my site.  You can use your Facebook, Twitter or OpenID credentials to post your response or you can just post anonymously.  I know some people are very concerned about their privacy and I completely respect that.  This is the reason that I put the Disqus system in place.
• While all comments are approved immediately, I do receive notification when they’re posted to the site.  As the comments are a bit slow for now I have plenty of time to read all of them.
• If you don’t agree with something I’ve written, say so!  Comments aren’t about agreeing with me or patting me on the back for a job well done.  I don’t censor my opinions and you shouldn’t either.  But, you can also disagree with me or any other comments without being a dick about it. Flames will not be tolerated.  At all.  There’s a big difference between “I disagree with you and here’s why…”, and “You’re an asshole because of this…”  If you can’t disagree and respect everybody else you’re not going to be around here long.
• Threats will absolutely not be tolerated.  Regardless of your intent, even the most benign suggestion that comes up to this line in the sand will be taken seriously.  Again:  you own what you post.  If you think something you’re writing is iffy, walk away from it for 15 minutes then read it again.  I’ve found that little timeout is beneficial before I hit the “submit” button.
• With regard to the Writer’s Consortium: You don’t have to love the content of every writer in there, but be mindful of the fact that even if you don’t like it, people are still putting their own creativity on display and in some instances that takes a fair amount of guts.

One of the reasons I put so much into this site is because of the readers I get and their comments.  I absolutely welcome the chance to start a healthy debate around here, but, we all need to play nice too.  Please know that I absolutely ban flame wars.  Being civil and disagreeing is one thing; when it spirals out of control I show the offending party the door.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please leave them in the comments or contact me directly.

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