Comment Policy

Updated: September 8, 2025

Welcome! We use Disqus to power conversations on this site. To keep discussions thoughtful, safe, and on-topic, we ask everyone to follow this policy. By participating, you agree to these rules and to our Privacy Policy.

1) Be respectful

  • Critique ideas, not people. No personal attacks, harassment, or dogpiling.
  • No hate speech or discriminatory slurs based on protected characteristics.
  • Don’t troll, flame, or intentionally derail threads.

2) Keep it on-topic and constructive

  • Stay relevant to the article or thread you’re commenting on.
  • Add value: share insights, sources, or thoughtful questions.
  • Low-effort or repetitive comments may be removed.

3) No illegal, dangerous, or harmful content

  • Do not promote or facilitate illegal activity, self-harm, or violence.
  • No doxxing or posting others’ personal/sensitive data.
  • No sexually explicit or exploitative material; no pornography.

4) No spam or self-promotion

  • Genuine recommendations are welcome; advertising isn’t.
  • Don’t post affiliate links, referral codes, or link farms.
  • Excessive link drops or copy-pasted promos will be removed.

5) Language and formatting

  • Write in the language of the article unless otherwise noted.
  • Avoid ALL CAPS, excessive formatting, or link shorteners.
  • Disclose AI-generated text and verify any claims.

6) Sources and claims

  • Extraordinary claims require credible sources.
  • Label opinions as opinions; don’t spread misinformation.
  • We may ask for citations or remove unsourced medical/legal/financial advice.

Moderation: how it works here

We use a combination of Disqus tools, spam filters, and human moderation. Moderators may edit, move, or remove comments and may restrict accounts at their discretion.

Pre‑moderation & queues

  • First‑time commenters and posts with certain keywords/links may be held for review.
  • Comments that trigger Disqus’ automated filters (spam, toxicity, links) may be auto‑hidden until reviewed.

Auto‑moderation rules we use

  • Word/phrase filters (common slurs, hate terms, spam triggers)
  • New‑account cooldowns and rate limits
  • Link limits (e.g., >2 links may send to review)

Enforcement actions

Depending on severity and history, we may:

  1. Nudge (friendly reminder)
  2. Remove content (with or without notice)
  3. Issue time‑outs (temporary bans)
  4. Permanent ban (account, email, IP as needed)

Appeals

If you think a moderation action was a mistake, reply to the removal notice if available or contact us (see below) with:

  • Your Disqus username
  • A link/screenshot of the comment
  • A brief explanation

We’ll review once; repeated appeals may not receive additional responses.

Participation guidelines specific to Disqus

  • Accounts: We allow Disqus accounts. Guest posting may be disabled at times to reduce spam.
  • Profiles: Do not impersonate others or misrepresent your affiliation.
  • Upvotes/Downvotes: Don’t ask for votes or brigade other threads/communities.
  • Edits/Deletes: You can edit your own comment for a limited time. Deleting a comment may leave quoted replies intact.
  • Media: If you attach images/GIFs, they must comply with this policy and copyright law.

Legal & privacy

  • License to display: By posting, you grant us a non‑exclusive license to display and archive your comment on our site and feeds.
  • Copyright: Share only content you own or have rights to share. Cite sources when quoting.
  • Privacy: Don’t post private information—yours or others’. See our Privacy Policy for how Disqus and this site process data.
  • Jurisdiction: We may comply with valid legal requests and retain moderation logs as needed.

Tips for great comments

  • Read the full article before commenting
  • Quote the part you’re responding to for clarity
  • Be curious; ask questions in good faith
  • Assume good intentions; disagree without being disagreeable

Reporting problems

See a rule violation? Use the Disqus flag tool on the comment. For urgent issues, contact us.

Contact:

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. Significant changes will be noted at the top with the updated date. Continued use of the comments after changes constitutes acceptance.

Quick summary (TL;DR)

Be kind. Stay on topic. No spam, hate, harassment, or illegal content. We moderate proactively and may remove comments or restrict accounts to keep the conversation healthy.

Disclaimer: This page has in part been created with an AI tool.