People! I Have a Comment Policy!

Over this past week I have been growing increasingly frustrated at the growing number of people violating my comment policy. Some of these violations are committed by newcomers who may be unaware that I have a comment policy, but others are committed by regular readers. I have a lot on my plate right now, and stepping in and moderating all of these conversations to warn or ban those who violate my comment policy is really starting to take its tole. You’ve noticed that I don’t have my Created To Be His Help Meet post up today? That would be because of all the time I’ve been spending policing bigotry and pettiness in the comments on my earlier post about Minneapolis’ Somalis’ efforts to create a Halal food pantry.

When reprimanded for comment policy violations, the most frequent complaint is that I am not being fair—that I am not holding the regulars or those I agree with to the same standards as newcomers or those who espouse views I disagree with. There is some merit to this claim, but it is a result of the fact that I don’t have time to go through every comment making sure my comment policy is being followed. As a result, I often only notice a problem when people start flagging posts, and it is newcomers or those who disagree with the majority here who are typically flagged.

So, several important points.

Regular commenters, and those who agree with the views I express in my blog posts, are just as bound to my comment policy as are others. Please step it up here. I understand that reading and responding to others’ comments can be frustrating, I really do, but I don’t have a comment policy for it to be ignored. I believe it is possible to demolish sexist arguments (or what have you) with reasoned arguments. There is no need (in this space, at least) to resort to personal insults or other nastiness.

Please cut down on the gratuitous flagging of others’ comments. Do not flag a comment just because you disagree with it or don’t like its content. When a comment is flagged, it disappears into moderation. This means it cannot be seen or responded to in the thread. I’ve had numerous complaints that people flagged comments they were about to respond to with epic takedowns. If you guys can’t keep the flagging down, I am going to talk to Patheos to see if there is a way to change the settings, because this really can’t go on. Please only flag comments that are actually abusive.

Feel free to warn others when they violate my comment policy, but please do so evenly and by simple word of explanation. Do not boss other commenters around. That is not in keeping with the spirit of my blog. If someone has violated my comment policy, been warned, and violated it again, flagging would be appropriate (but even in that case, please don’t flag every single one of that person’s comments).

Above all else, please read my comment policy. It can be boiled down to three things: Attack arguments rather than people, engage other comments in good faith, and do not engage in bigotry. Comments that bigotry will either be deleted or demolished by other commenters. When I decide to let a bigoted comment stand, it may be to document the bigotry that sadly does exist or to be instructive, with the replies that follow it, for future readers.

As a side note, if someone is asking a question or is engaging in discussion in good faith and makes comments that involve sexism or other isms, those should be pointed out, refuted, and discussed. It is overt and unrepentant bigotry that I am most concerned about here. I and many of my readers once held bigoted views ourselves, and I believe in giving others the chance to see where they went wrong, to educate themselves, and to adjust their viewpoints. In other words, what really matters is not so much their first comment as how they respond going forward.

One last note: Starting now, my prohibition on bigotry includes bigotry against religion.