Comment Policy

It occurred to me that I don't have an "official" comment policy page.

So this it.

Here is the comment policy:

I do not delete comments because I don't like them.

Other than that, I will delete spam and comments that "out" anyone.

So:
1. No spam.
2. No "outing" of anyone.

That's it. :-)

Okay, here's a more detailed explanation:

Comment Policy

The basic rule:
I will not delete comments because I don't like them. Or if they offend me, or even if they're intended to be offensive to me or anyone else.

If you want to delete your own comment - and you can do so - be my guest. Google emails me all the comments, so if need be, I can simply recreate the comment with or without attribution if I feel like it.


1. No spam.
If your comment is all about linking to something commercial, criminal or what-have-you, it will be deleted. Google is proving to be quite good at catching spam comments, so that's a help.

If your comment has a name that links to a product, commercial or criminal activity, the comment will be deleted.

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2. No "outing" of anyone.
Someone wanted to out an individual on my blog and I realized that could be a problem. You do not get to out anyone on my blog.

One person likes to try and taunt me with "real name" nonsense; stuff like that can stand as long as no one is outed in the process.

New rule:
3. I might stop you if you are simply commenting to hear your own voice and it becomes excessive. Or I might highlight your idiocy with a blog post. More than likely I will simply drop your comments into the Google-provided Spam folder and, if I have my guess right, Google will then consider your comments spam across the board.

My choice and there's no appeal.

Another new rule:
4. Try not to put email addresses into your comments. While I won't delete them, I might.

For instance, if you put Jane Doe's email into a comment, and she's not aware of it, your comment stands a very good chance of being deleted. If she asks, it will be deleted.

Procedural stuff
I don't think you can delete Anonymous comments. So if you say something that you wish you hadn't, and I can figure out who said it - I am *not* going to delete the comment.

If you say something that's clearly illegal, advances a criminal act or what-have-you, I will contact the appropriate police force. In the US, that's the FBI, in Britain, Scotland Yard, and so on.

Advocating for something illegal (e.g. smoking marijuana) will be decided purely on the context.

I will not delete comments because I don't like them. 


Here, let me repeat that:
I will not delete comments because I don't like them. 

Or if they offend someone, even (especially?) if the offense is intentional.

If your comment ends up in my spam or moderated comments queues, Google put them there. There's not a lot I can do about that.

I forgot:
Google puts comments to old posts in moderation. I keep it that way because I've discovered (experience, a hard, hard teacher... Woe is me, etc  :-P ) that it keeps the spam down. So if you're responding to a post more than 7 days old (I think), it will go into moderation until such time as I notice. Which might not be for awhile.
[Added: Apr 10, 10:53PM]

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This blog is about freedom of expression. You can insult me all you want (I do appreciate the insult more if you put some effort into it, however). You can, and are encouraged to, challenge the ideas I put forth.

I encourage you to be civil; it helps the conversation and is more intelligible.

So please, go forth and comment! :-)

Carolyn Ann

PS I'll update this if there's a need.