FAQ: Times comments policy
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Over the last few days there has been in an increase in the number of comments on The Homicide Report that do not meet Times guidelines. We would like to remind readers of The Homicide Report that all comments on this blog are moderated by The Times, and posts that are inappropriate will not be published or may be removed after they are published.
Here are some excerpts from The Times’ guidelines for moderating user-generated content:
We may at our discretion decide not to post or to remove already posted user-submitted content from the site, either for reasons that can include taste or to maintain the quality of the discussion. Our Terms of Service, posted on our site, make clear what the ground rules and expectations are for posting material. Reasons user-generated content could be excluded or removed from the site include, but are not limited to:
- Contains abusive, hateful or objectionable language, threats, violence or inflammatory attacks.- Contains obscene or coarse language, pornographic material or nudity.- Is defamatory.- Harasses or personally attacks any individual.- Violates the privacy rights of any individual.- Promotes or encourages dangerous or illegal acts.- Includes copyrighted or other proprietary material.- Advertises any goods or services.- Is off-topic or “spam” (i.e., indiscriminate and repetitive posting).- Links to objectionable material.
Please keep these guidelines in mind when posting comments to The Homicide Report and other Times blogs. We encourage readers to use the comments section to ask questions, correct information, and respond to our coverage. Comments critical of Times coverage are always welcome, and we will do our best to respond to reader questions about content on the blog. Comments that threaten or personally attack specific Times staffers will not be published.
Also keep in mind that because of the nature of The Homicide Report the comments on posts may not always fit neatly into our guidelines. We take care to evaluate each comment in context for its contribution to the discussion.
-- Anthony Pesce
