Comment Policy

Greater Greater Washington encourages comments from all, regardless of point of view. We hope to build a strong dialogue around the issues discussed. A healthy debate and differing opinions are important parts of making our region even greater.

Welcoming a discussion with multiple points of view does not, however, mean that anyone has the right to post any comment. Comments that attack other commenters or contributors or dissuade others from posting their ideas serve to chill the discussion.

The basic rule is this: Be civil to one another. If you're being uncivil, you're likely breaking one of our specific comment policy rules below.

We will monitor comments and may, without notice, delete those that violate these guidelines:

  1. All commenters must treat their fellow commenters, authors, and other users of the site with respect.
     
  2. Comments should address the substance of the argument being made, not the person making the argument. Arguments which criticize a person rather than specific ideas are not permitted. Nor are efforts to discredit a contributor or commenter based on background or past statements, rather than the substance of the article or comment. This includes attempts to discredit someone based on where they live, their age, gender, sexual orientation, race, or length of residence in the region, or any other form of attack on the person rather than their argument.
     
  3. Name-calling or comments which berate, belittle, or interrogate other individuals will not be tolerated. If you disagree with someone's ideas, please make your case using a well-reasoned, logical argument about the issues rather than attacking the author, his or her motivations, or other personal elements.
     
  4. Comments should not discourage other commenters or contributors from posting their views or suggest someone should not have spoken up. Greater Greater Washington is a space for people to post ideas and opinions which may or may not be fully thought through in every detail. If you think something is missing or incorrect, provide useful additional information rather than criticize another for posting without that information.
     
  5. Don't get into an aggressive argument with another commenter. The comment section is a place many people go to learn more about an issue and hear more perspectives. While we're glad you're passionate about making the Washington region a better place, please don't let your passion carry you away. If you get into a stalemate or a vicious back-and-forth with another commenter, you stifle discussion from others and make it less likely that anyone else is reading your comments. If you repeatedly derail comment threads in this manner, you may be placed on moderation.
     
  6. Trolling will not be permitted. We welcome opposing viewpoints, and we don't want Greater Greater Washington to become an echo chamber. However, if you come here solely to get a rise out of people and sow discord, we may delete your comments or put you on moderation.
     
  7. Comments should be on topic. If you're passionate about an issue, that's great. But if you start posting about that issue, repeatedly, in threads that are unrelated to it, we will delete your comment(s).
     
  8. You are not required to use your full name to comment here. However, you must provide a real email address when commenting. Moderators make every attempt to notify commenters when their comments are deleted and for what reason. However, if you use a fake email address, we can't contact you to explain the problem. Email addresses will not be disclosed to anyone besides the site's administrators except as required by law.
     
  9. If you use a pseudonym to comment, please be consistent. Stick with the same name (or “handle”) and do not publish multiple comments under various names. Please also pick a handle that is unique. If another regular commenter already uses the same one, you may be asked to change yours. Impersonating another commenter is not allowed. You should always speak in your own voice.
     
  10. We do not tolerate profanity or abusive language. It is important to keep the dialogue civil.
     
  11. Do not advocate violent acts against any individual. Comments which do so may be referred to appropriate authorities if necessary.
     
  12. It is not appropriate to post the same comment in multiple areas of the site.
     
  13. If you have concerns about another comment, please use the “report” function at the bottom of the comment to flag it for the moderator. If your comment was deleted, please email the editors to discuss. Do not post this in the discussion thread itself. Posting comments on the site about the comment policy is not appropriate (except on articles about the comment policy).

Editors may, at their discretion, remove any other comments that do not contribute to a healthy discussion or which fail to treat other commenters or contributors with respect. Editors may also remove any other comments for any reason at their sole discretion.

The moderators make every attempt to enforce this comment policy fairly. Comments are not deleted based on their content, but based on the points outlined above. When comments are deleted, the moderators will do our best to contact you to explain why, so please use a real email address. If you have concerns, you can always contact us at moderator@ggwash.org.

We try to read most of the comments, but depend on readers to report comments (there is a link at the bottom of each comment). If you see a comment that you think may violate the comment policy, please report it. The moderators may not have seen it, and you can help us keep the threads civil. Please do not reply to the comment.

Greater Greater Washington is not responsible for the content of comments generated by users of the site. By submitting content to the comment section of any post, you agree to comply with this policy and give Greater Greater Washington a perpetual, transferable, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, publish, display, edit, modify, create derivative works from, and otherwise use your submission for any purpose in any form and on any media.

If you have any questions or comments about this policy, please contact the site editors at moderator@ggwash.org. Thank you for reading Greater Greater Washington and helping to build a strong dialogue.

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