The Baptist Standard :: The Newsmagazine of Texas Baptists

Comments Covenant

Welcome

If this is your first time to comment, please read the following covenant. If you agree to it, register with us and start posting. If you don't agree, please continue reading, but keep your thoughts to yourself.

A Covenant for Online Commentary

Posting online commentary implies a conversation, much like what would take place if we gathered in someone's living room for a discussion. It implies civil behavior and a shared personal respect, even in disagreement.

You don't violate someone's hospitality and good faith in the name of free speech.

Presenting original material and posting comments each involves certain responsibilities.

Authors of editorialsm blogs, opinion pieces and other articles pledge to:

   1. Tell the truth.

   2. Write deliberately and with accuracy.

   3. Acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly.

   4. Preserve the original post, using notations to show where changes have been made so as to maintain the original's integrity.

   5. Never delete a post. (There are exceptions to this. We sometimes edit or delete a post for security reasons, for instance, if the information could endanger a missionary).

   6. Not delete comments unless they are spam, off-topic or otherwise violate the spirit of this covenant.

   7. Reply to e-mails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly.

   8. Strive for high quality with every post – including basic spellchecking.

   9. Stay on topic.

10. Disagree with other opinions respectfully.

11. Link to online references and original source materials directly.

12. Disclose conflicts of interest.

13. Keep private issues and topics private, since discussing private issues would jeopardize personal and work relationships.

   (Adapted from a list by Charlene Li at Forrester Research. See her original here ).

Posters of comments on blogs and other articles also have responsibilities.

The following advice was adapted from Gina Trapani's guide to weblog comments at LifeHacker.

As in real life, online there are some people who are a pleasure to converse with, and some who are not.

Good commenters add to the discussion and are known as knowledgeable, informative, friendly and engaged. Build your own online social capital and become a great commenter by keeping these simple guidelines in mind before you post.

Stay on topic.

Editors enable comments on specific posts so readers can receive more information about the content of the post. Don't change the subject. There's nothing more annoying than seeing a comment on a post about Hurricane Katrina that reads, "By the way, do you know anything about turtles?"

Contribute new information to the discussion by reading all the comments first.

Twelve people saying the same exact thing in one comment thread is useless and irritating. Before you comment, read the entire thread and make sure your comment offers something new to the conversation. If you don't have the time or patience to read an entire thread, then don't comment at all. The longer a comment thread the more likely someone already has said what you're thinking, and the less likely it is to be read by future visitors anyway.

Don't comment for the sake of commenting.

Commenters who only say "First!" or "Nice site" on an open thread have no business hitting that "post" button at all. Further, only spammers comment for the sake of adding their name and URL to a web page. Useless comments will gain you the reputation for being a useless commenter.

Know when to comment and when to e-mail.

An online comment is a public one-to-many communication within the context of the original post. An e-mail is a private interaction. AN online comment that reads, "Oh yeah, that link is cool. By the way, how's your sister?" doesn't contribute to the public conversation and belongs in an e-mail message to the author instead.

Remember that nobody likes a know-it-all.

The best kind of comments come from thoughtful, knowledgeable people who add more information about a topic. However, tongue-lashings from condescending smartypants will go over as well on someone's blog as they would in that someone's living room. Expect to get shown the door in the form of the delete button. When fact-checking, pointing out a typo or dead link or asserting a dissenting opinion, do it in a respectful, friendly way.

Make the tone of your message clear.

No one can hear the tone of your voice or see your facial expression online. Sarcasm, in-jokes and exaggerations can easily be taken the wrong way in a public forum. Remember that a simple colon and a parentheses can change the meaning of a sentence entirely. If you can't convey this using simple English, use emoticons or additional information to communicate the spirit of your message. (On the other hand, if you can't clearly communicate what you're feeling with words, maybe you shouldn't post at all). :)

Own your comment.

Anonymous commenting, while sometimes necessary, can be seen as cowardly. Build your identity and own your words by placing your name and e-mail address on your comments wherever possible. (But refrain from including "vanity" links to your own web site).

Be succinct.

Longwinded lectures are for college professors, not blog comments. Stay short and to the point. Everyone appreciates brevity. Try to keep comments to 250 words. Do not post serial comments one after aother without interruption. Only the first post of a serial collection will be retained.

Cite your sources with links or inline quoting.

To comment on specific bits of a post, copy and paste the lines in question and add your response below each section. If you're referencing information located elsewhere, provide a short summary and a link to your source so others can click through for more information at their discretion.

Be courteous.

Chances are something someone says in a comment or post is going to irk you. Still, personal attacks are unacceptable, useless and can quickly degrade a discussion to a third-grade flamefest. Resist the urge, and be respectful and objective at all times.

Don't post when you're angry, upset, or emotional.

There's no taking back a published blog comment - once you post, it's there for everyone to see and for Google to cache. Remember, you're not going to show your best face in the heat of an emotional moment. If you find yourself angrily typing a message into someone's comment box - STOP. Get up. Take a breath. Walk around. Give it a day. Revisit the thread when your head is clear. This goes doubly for public comments as it does for private e-mail messages.

Do not feed or tease the trolls.

No matter how many articles like this get written, there will always be people who surf around the Internet and inject pointless vindictiveness into any available textarea. Don't let the terrorists win. Do NOT acknowledge these people with refutations, disagreements or even a mention of their screen name.

If you're ready to agree to our covenant, go ahead and post a comment.

Otherwise, continue reading the article or return to our main page.

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