To ensure that comments left on the blog enhance and not detract from the benefits of cooperative community, I’ve created a formal comment policy.

Comment Moderation

In order to maintain the integrity of the blog and its content, first time comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks made to the blog are moderated. I work to review and approve comments as quickly as possible, but please do not resubmit your comment if it does not appear right away. Once you have an approved comment, there should be no delay in your comment appearing.

Language

Everyone is an individual with their own opinions and their own voice. While these opinions may differ from your own, that does not make them automatically wrong. With that understanding, please avoid harshly worded language and the use of profanity. Flaming or the use of threatening language is not allowed and will not be tolerated. Failure to adhere to this will result in your comment being either edited or deleted.

Length

Ideally, your comment will be under 150 well chosen words with paragraphs as necessary. If an entry gets you psyched, jazzed, hyper, or makes you search the recesses of your soul that the words pour forth like water through a damn floodgate, consider publishing it as an entry on your own blog and trackback to the original. If you are unable to use a trackback, then please be sure to leave a comment summarizing your entry with a link to continue reading it.

Signatures In Comments

Adding a signature is completely optional. If you decide to include one, please keep it short (2 line maximum) and do not include a link to your website. You are welcome to add your website’s link in the designated URL box just below your name and e-mail address and your name will automatically be hyperlinked. Personally, I’ve always found signatures to be redundant and unnecessary but I do provide the option.

Subscribing To Comments Via E-mail

In order to receive notification of comments left after yours, it is essential that you provide a valid and working e-mail address. You will not be subscribed to a mailing list as a result of subscribing to the comments and you can have your e-mail address removed at any time by visiting the comment subscription manager. To sign up for comments, make sure to leave the check mark next to “Notify me of follow up comments via e-mail” before submitting your comment.

E-mail Addresses

Please use a valid e-mail address when commenting on the blog. It will not be displayed unless you type it in the body of your comment and you will not be subscribed to any mailing list by leaving a comment. If you use an invalid e-mail address or one which requires any type of human interaction to confirm I’m not a spammer, your comment will be deleted — no exceptions.

Editing Comments

I reserve the right to edit or delete comments as I feel necessary… which will be never unless you fail to adhere to the policy you are reading right now.

Special Provisions For Comment Spam

I take comment spam seriously and all IP addresses used for spamming will be reported to the internet blacklists, the ISPs/hosts for the offending domain will be notified, and the owner of the IP block will be notified of the problem.

While comment spam continues to proliferate, I can do my part to help combat it. I encourage you to as well.

Rights Of Use

You are the only person who is responsible for your own words. They are yours and you get to keep them, however, by posting your comments to the blog you are granting me the right, in perpetuity, to use, alter, and/or display them however I see fit.

Once your comment is submitted - that’s it - you will be remembered for a long time by the substance of those words. Choosing them carefully is highly recommended.

(From time to time, this comment policy may be updated or changed, so please make sure to check back once in awhile.)

Developing A Blog Comment Policy