Comments Policy

Jim Burroway

January 1st, 2014

Comments posted on this web site reflect the opinions of those who post the comments. They do not reflect the views of Box Turtle Bulletin, anyone associated with this web site, or other commenters.

The goal for this policy is to ensure that Box Turtle Bulletin remains a respectful and civil forum where everyone can feel welcome to provide their own perspective, regardless of where they stand on the subject matter. While we value a range of opinions, we may delete comments and/or ban or moderate commenters who engage in:

  • Libel or Slander
  • Copyright violations. This means no reposting of someone else’s material.
  • Threats, direct or implied. This can include implied threats through the posting of phone numbers, addresses, or places of business or employment.
  • Advocacy of violence or approval of acts of violence.
  • Persistent use of gratuitous profanity.
  • Link spam.
  • Gratuitous use of a thread to promote other web sites. Commenters are encouraged to bring other web sites to readers attention, but they must be relevant to the discussion.
  • Solicitation.

In addition, commenters may be moderated for persisting in the following behavior:

  • Ad hominem attacks. Please frame your discussion around what someone says, not who someone is.
  • Strawman arguments. Please restrict your discussions to what someone actually says. Do not stretch the meaning of someone’s words to go far beyond what that person actually said or wrote.
  • Defamation against entire categories of people.
  • The use of derogatory terms for the purpose of demeaning an entire group of people. Context is everything however. Expressions of sarcasm, satire or parody are permitted. (for clarity’ sake, emoticons are encouraged.) Prohibited terms include (but are not limited to):
    • Terms which demean one’s sexuality (faggot, dyke, homo’s, etc.)
    • Terms which demean one’s gender identity or expression (sexual mutilation, she-male, tranny, etc.)
    • Terms which demean one’s religious affiliation (Christofascists, kike, sky-god, etc.)
    • Terms which demean one’s race or ethnicity
    • Terms which demean one’s personal appearance or mannerisms
  • Excessive reliance on labels and broad assumptions as a substitute for informed discussion
  • Unsubstantiated claims, for example, claims which are not backed by direct quotes, links, or bibliographic references from independent sources
  • Unsubstantiated rumors or speculations, particularly where sexuality or sexual behavior is concerned
  • Deliberate misrepresentation of claims, opinions, research, or other statements made by others. This includes deliberate quoting of claims, opinions, research, or other statements made by others ouside of their appropriate context.
    • NOTE: We strongly encourage commenters to include links and blockquotes of sources whenever appropriate. When doing so, please keep in mind that comments with four or more links may be automatically marked by the blog software for moderation. You can post multiple comments to avoid this. Otherwise, we will release such a comment from moderation as quickly as possible.
  • Persistent disruptive off-topic comments.
  • Internet trolling. Admittedly, the definition for this is vague, so in that sense it’s like pornography: we know it when we see it.