Times and Seasons Comment Policy
A non-exclusive list:
1. Comments are expected to reflect different points of view. Critiques of others’ positions are to be expected, but those critiques should be of the argument, not the person. No insults. (For more detail on this point, see Jim’s in-depth discussion of the issue, including his list of practical suggestions for commenting and posting).
2. As a general matter, Times and Seasons is a forum for believing members or for others who are willing to respect members’ beliefs. Commenters do not need to believe in the Church, but comments that suggest that all believers are per se unintelligent or uninformed are not welcome.
3. On the flip side, it is also unacceptable to call into question a commenter’s personal righteousness.
4. Times and Seasons is not an ad agency. It’s fine for commenters to note that they have said something useful or related on their blog or in their book. However, comments should not simply plug unrelated blog posts, books, and so on.
5. Similarly, comments should be related to the blog entry they are posted to, or to a subsequent comment on that entry. Of course, some amount of topic-shifting is normal in any discussion. However, completely-off-topic comments are not appropriate.
6. Comments are expected to be intelligible. That means keeping some internet-chat acronyms to a minimum; writing in plain English; proofreading; spell checking. Of course, perfection is not required, and we also understand that some commenters may not speak English well. In general, we just ask that commenters strive to make their comments readily intelligible.
7. Violations of intellectual property laws will not be tolerated. Violations of other laws, including defamation and slander, will not be tolerated.
8. Comments that are excessively rude or offensive (as determined by the blog administrators) are unacceptable, as are comments along the lines of “if you think that, you should just leave the church.” “Potty humor” is not welcome. Such comments will be deleted. Please respect the bloggers and readers.
9. Trolling (posting offensive or provocative messages, particularly if there is no indication of willingness to listen to other perspectives) will not be tolerated.
10. Entering a comment requires providing an email address. This address should be a valid address so that we may contact you regarding any problem with your comment. We do not provide these email addresses to others, nor do we send out non-administrative messages to those addresses. However, failure to provide a valid, working email address may lead us to delete your comment or take other enforcement action.
11. These policies will be enforced by the blog administrators. Enforcement may include some combination of deleting offending comments, warning offenders, and where necessary banning commenters’ IP addresses.
12. These policies may be added to or modified as necessary. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
If you have any questions, please let us know.