First things first: I love comments, and I appreciate the time and effort anyone spends to share their ideas and feedback! I encourage debate and disagreement and communication in general, as that's how the world is made a better and more rational place. So long as you are respectful, I will never ban someone simply for daring to express a different point of view. Indeed, the hallmark of an intelligent, rational person is the ability to change one's mind as new facts and evidence are presented, so who knows? Make a persuasive enough argument, and you may change my mind on a given topic. Even if we merely end up agreeing to disagree, you won't be blocked or silenced for disagreement.
However, as is nearly always the case when discussing politics, religion, and sex (and this blog routinely hits all three subjects), people can get a bit emotional. Conversations can quickly become heated, and while debate is encouraged, flame wars will not be tolerated. If your comment, ESPECIALLY if it is in reply to another poster's comment, contains no purpose other than to insult, it will be removed. If you want your comment to stay where it is, please adhere to the following guidelines:
Profanity
Being quite foul-mouthed myself in everyday life, I take a very laid-back approach to profanity, when it is part of an otherwise useful comment. If you write an informed paragraph refuting some point that I or someone else has made, and it is littered with "fucks" and expletive-laden references to various deities, you will probably be okay. If there is so much obscenity in there that it obscures an otherwise useful point you were making, I reserve the right to remove it, edit it to tone down your fury, and repost the cleaned-up version. When considering whether to cuss someone out, however, please keep in mind that there is an actual, feeling person on the receiving end of your comment, and they may not have skin as thick as yours. Keep further in mind that ignorance is not usually intentional, and that you should thus always assume that they are genuinely misinformed. You'll most likely find that people will be more open to your points when you're not tearing them down in the process of making said points. Educate, don't eviscerate.Insults
This blog is called RATIONALIST Reflections, not Belittling Tantrum Reflections. If you don't like or agree with something I, or another commenter, have written, express your disagreement respectfully and preferably with sources so everyone can learn, and I’ll extend you the same courtesy.That being said, while insults* are not encouraged, I will not generally consider them a bannable offense, subject to the following conditions:
Tread carefully. There is a difference between an insult and hate speech, and hate speech will not be tolerated. It is fine (though not encouraged) to call someone an idiot. If they have stupid views, it is entirely proper to call them out, again, so long as this calling-out is part of an informed, useful comment (though what you should really do is call the particular view, not them as a person, stupid). If, however, you are attacking someone for their race/sex/religion/whatever -- something that has no relevance to the point they have written -- you have crossed the line from "insulting" to "hate speech". If it happens as part of an otherwise useful comment, I MAY elect to simply edit out the offending speech, let the rest of the comment slide, and let you off with a warning. If it happens repeatedly, and/or it is especially clear that you had no intent other than to discriminate, I reserve the right to remove your comment and ban you from further discussion on the spot.
*A Quick Note about the Terms "Tranny" and "TERF"
Since this blog will routinely cover feminist issues, it's necessary to clarify the use of these terms. Yes, they cross the line from simply rude to borderline hate speech. Do not use them. I'm not saying that you have to respect the views of either position, but there is a difference between disrespecting the views and disrespecting the people who hold those views. Attack the opinions, not the people. I am also not saying that you need to refer to them by names that you disagree with, if those words reinforce the position you are disagreeing with. Some feminists, for example, dislike using the word "transwoman" because they don't believe transwomen are women, and thus don't want to refer to them, even partially, as such. A common alternative to "transwoman" that I know of is MiT (male identified transgender); there are probably others I haven't heard of. I consider this acceptable. Some transgenders don't like referring to "TERFs" as feminists, because they don't believe it is a feminist position. As an example alternative to "TERF", I consider it acceptable to simply accuse the view as being "trans-exclusionary" (words typed out). Basically, as long as you don't use the literal words "tranny" and "TERF" or one of their synonyms, I will most likely let it slide. Just try to be constructive with your criticism.Threatening Language
Yeah, no. This will not be tolerated. If it's a comical, clearly-not-serious threat ("I will hunt you down and beat you over the head with my hardcover copy of Feminism 101."), it's fine. You make rape threats, threats of actual violence that even remotely sound like they could be taken seriously, threaten to expose someone's private information, or the like, your comment will be deleted and you will immediately be banned, no warning given. If you are incapable of engaging an opponent in rational debate rather than threats and censorship, then you are neither mature nor intelligent enough to be hanging out on a blog called RATIONALIST Reflections. Go throw your tantrum elsewhere, and come back when you are an adult.Comments Including Links
If you wish to include a link in your comment, there needs to be a reason for it, and this reason needs to be explicitly stated in your comment itself. Linking back to a blog post you have read/written somewhere else that is relevant to the topic at hand is entirely acceptable. Linking to scientific studies/summaries of studies you wish to reference to back up the points your are making in a comment: highly encouraged! But if you provide a comment with nothing but a link, it will be automatically deleted. I will not waste my time following it to see if it is relevant to anything -- it will simply be removed. Likewise, if you write out a thoughtful, relevant comment, and then there's just a random, unexplained link at the end of your comment, I may remove your comment, edit out said link, and repost the cleaned-up version. Affiliate links and obviously promotional links to content or sites will be removed on the spot. Stay on topic, and if you provide a link, tell people what that link is for.Anonymous Commenting
Unfortunately, due to the nature of this blog, you must register an account in order to comment. Something about writing about politics, feminism, and the like really brings out the trolls of the Internet.Moderation and Spam Filtering
At this time, all comments are moderated and spam filtering is in use. It is not perfect, so if you left a comment more than a couple days ago and it has still not shown up, and you believe said comment was legitimate and in accordance with this Commenting Policy, send me an email at rationalistreflections@gmail.com, and I'll go dig it out for you. Be sure to clearly indicate in your subject line what your message is about; messages with blank subjects will almost certainly get filtered as spam as well.In Summary
All the above guidelines notwithstanding, this is my blog, and I reserve the right to edit or delete any comments submitted to this blog without notice and for any reason. Though I will make every effort to be fair and give (many) second chances, I further reserve the right to ban any commenter in violation of this policy at my sole discretion, with no warning whatsoever. This comment policy is subject to change at anytime.TL;DR: If you follow the simple rule "don't be a jerk", you'll be fine.
