Comment Policy

This policy was adapted from the International Law Society Blog and modified for use here.

A non-exclusive list:

1. Comments are expected to reflect different points of view. Critiques of others' positions are to be expected, but those critiques should be of the argument, not the person. No insults. It is unacceptable to call into question a poster's/commenter's value or intelligence.

2. This blog allows anonymous/pseudonymous comments. Do not abuse that privilege in the form of sock-puppetry, impersonation, astroturfing, etc.

3. This blog is not an ad agency. It's fine for commenters to note that they have said something useful or related on their blog or in their book. However, comments should not simply plug unrelated blog posts, books, and so on.

4. Comments should be related to the blog entry to which they're posted, or to a subsequent comment on that entry. Of course, some amount of topic-shifting is normal in any discussion. However, completely-off-topic comments are not appropriate.

5. Comments are expected to be intelligible. That means keeping some internet-chat acronyms to a minimum; writing in plain English; proofreading; spell checking. Of course, perfection is not required, and we also understand that some commenters may not speak English well. In general, we just ask that commenters strive to make their comments readily intelligible.

6. Violations of intellectual property laws will not be tolerated. Violations of other laws, including defamation and slander, will not be tolerated.

7. While I am a strong supporter of freedom of speach, please strive to avoid blatantly offensive language/content or language/content that could be reasonably construed as such. My desire is to keep this forum as open and welcoming as possible to people of all nationalities, races, ethnic groups, sexes, sexual orientations, social statuses, ideologies, religions, and faiths. Keep this in mind when considering whether your choice of wording might be deemed patently offensive. Comments that I believe patently/blatantly violate a standard of respect for the views and beliefs of others, and/or could be reasonably percieved as obscene by other contributors, are not welcome.

8. These policies will be enforced by me. Enforcement may include some combination of warning offenders, requesting an edit, deleting offending comments/posts, and where necessary banning commenters' IP addresses.

9. These policies may be added to or modified as necessary. I welcome your comments and suggestions.