Commenting Guidelines

LGBTQ Nation appreciates and values our community of commenters, and occasionally moderates these forums in an effort to ensure discussions are productive for all who participate.

We ask that you respect the following guidelines when commenting, and encourage readers to “flag” only the comments that violate these guidelines. (See “Flagging comments” topic below).

Abusive language:

In general, We do not censor or mask profanity or other “mature language” in your comments, no matter how “colorful.” However, when profanity or other abuse language is used towards other commenters, it can either start non-productive arguments or silence the discussion. Any comment deemed abusive towards other commenters is subject to removal and commenters who continue to engage in abusive behavior will find their accounts blocked.

Posting the same comment repeatedly may also get you blocked, as well as posting comments that are off topic, unintelligible, simply punctuation, or designed to inflame or incite other commenters.

Please “flag” comments with care, understanding that passionate disagreement with another commenter’s opinion does not necessarily constitute abusive behavior.

Advocating or threatening violence:

Any comment that threatens violence against others (commenters or subjects of stories) or advocates that someone be subjected to violence (including that they should do violence unto themselves) is subject to removal, and commenters who continue to engage in this behavior will have their accounts blocked.

Trolling:

If your sole contribution to a discussion is to insult the participants in it, or the LGBTQ community as a whole, your comments are subject to removal and your account blocked. It’s both unproductive and uninteresting. This applies not only to outward expressions of homophobia and transphobia, but racism, sexism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism.

That said, we acknowledge that not all readers accept or understand those whose sexual orientation and gender identity differs from their own. This, on occasion, contributes to comments that can be easily interpreted as homophobic or transphobic, when in reality the commenter may simply lack knowledge or awareness on the subject. We do not automatically interpret such disagreements as outward expressions of homophobia and transphobia, and generally allow such dialogue to continue in an effort to promote open discussion, education and tolerance.

However, we’re not oblivious to “subtle phrasing” either. We know “outward expressions of homophobia and transphobia” when we see it, and such comments are subject to removal and the commenter’s account being blocked.

Hyperlinks, Spam and Pre-Moderation filters:

In an effort to keep our comment boards free of spam and other unproductive “noise,” we have enabled certain filters that may trigger a comment for a moderator’s review. If your comment triggers this filter, it is held for a moderator to approve before it appears on the site. Please be advised that any comment containing a hyperlink is automatically held for moderation. We review comments in the moderation queue at least 3 times daily.

Comments to the Editor or moderator:

We do not read each and every comment, and generally rely on the community to govern itself. If you spot an error in an article, or would like to direct a comment to our Editor, please contact us here, rather than post in the comments.

Flagging comments:

Flagging comments is a way of communicating to LGBTQ Nation that a comment, or commenter, is inappropriate and potentially violates our commenting guidelines.

Generally, comments should be flagged for: Spamming, violating our commenting policy; being clearly unrelated to the article or subject matter; and attacking other commenters personally.

Generally, comments should not be flagged because you disagree with the content or commenter. Everyone’s opinion is welcome, so long as they refrain from “abusive language,” “advocating or threatening violence,” and “trolling” (as we have defined above).

When a comment is flagged, a moderator will review the comment, usually within hours. If the comment is found to have violated our guidelines, it will be removed, and depending on the violation, the commenter’s account may be blocked from posting further comments.

Typically, when a comment is removed by the moderator, any “replies” to the offending comment by other commenters are also removed.

If your comment is removed or your account is blocked, and would like to appeal that decision, you may contact us here.