Comments Policy

The purpose of this site is to provide information and assistance to those working or interested in detention ministry. The purpose of comments here is to allow response, discussion and mutual assistance within the community of such persons online. But all communities have explicit and implicit rules to ensure their survival. The role of establishing and enforcing these rules is the job of yours truly, the Editor.

1. Commenting here is moderated. This means that the Editor has the chance to take a good look at all comments before they are posted. The Editor reserves the right to not post a comment for any reason the Editor sees fit to consider. Comments that are abusive, offensive, contain profane or racist material or violate either the Blogger Terms of Service or Blogger Content Policy will not be posted, and if they get through somehow, will be deleted immediately. Name-calling, personal or ad hominem attacks, racist comments or use of profanity by any commenter will not be tolerated and will result in the deletion of the comment and the Editor declining to post further comments from that person. This policy will be applied without notice.
2. Trolls will not be fed here, but they will be deleted.
3. Because this site deals with sensitive issues of imprisonment and of faith, some commenters may find it preferable not to fully identify themselves. The Editor may allow this, with the proviso that reasonable confirmation of the commenter's real identity by e-mail may be required before a comment is posted, and consistent identification in the comments is maintained. The creation of a Blogger/Google id before posting is not currently required, but the right to change to such a requirement is reserved by the Editor.
4. This site adheres to the Welborn protocol: all e-mail received by Detention Ministry News is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated by the writer. If you don't want your name to be used in a quote from e-mail, say so. The Editor reserves the right to edit all e-mail before posting.
5. You are responsible for your comments. Read and post here at your own risk.

The interpretation of these rules is completely up to the Editor. Reading and posting comments at Detention Ministry News constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to the terms outlined in this comment policy. This comment policy may be revised in part or in full at any time.

Notes:

• Inspiration for these policies and the manner of their enforcement comes from the exemplary work that Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden have done at Making Light. Comment policies from a number of different sites were reviewed in drafting this policy, in particular Jeralyn Merritt's excellent TalkLeft comments policy.
• Yes, capitalizing "Editor" is a bit much, but at least I decline to use the editorial "we". It would cause too much giggling around the house.