Hi folks. I recently had to take steps to block a commenter, and it struck me that it might be a good idea to point out a few things about commenting here at Daily Nous.

Sculptures by Fan Yanting

First, if you’ve never done so, or if it has been a while, please take a moment to read the comments policy. Thanks.

What follows are some points I’d like to emphasize, some (but not all) of which are in the policy.

Names:

1. Pick a name to comment with and use it consistently (preferably your real name, but that is not required). Don’t change up your commenting name across different posts unless (a) it’s a post for which I say I’m allowing that, owing to the topic, or (b) you write to me to let me know you’re doing this. (Comments from authors using their full real names are likely to get a lighter moderating touch.)

2. Definitely don’t change your commenting name across comments on the same post. As I’ve said before, such “sockpuppeting” will get you banned.

3. Don’t pick a commenting name that contains the words “anon” or “anonymous” (etc.) in it. Your comment won’t go through.

Self-Promotion:

4. While it’s fine to share in your comments links to your own work, projects, writings, etc., as relevant, if most of your comments consist of almost nothing but such links, your comments are likely to cease to be approved.

Snark, Insults, Decency:

5. Humor is welcome. Mere snark? Unlikely to get approved.

6. Insulting language is highly discouraged. It isn’t conducive to good discussions. I have in mind not just direct insults but the more common use of insulting descriptions (especially adverbs—e.g., “woefully”, “bafflingly”, “embarrassingly”). I’ll add that, in my view, insulting language tends to make the commenter using that language look worse than its target.

7. Please interpret each other charitably. Assuming the worst of your interlocutor is unlikely to generate a good conversation

If Your Comment Is Not Approved:

8. Be patient. Sometimes perfectly acceptable comments are held back by the system until I manually approve them. This may be the result of the system working as it is supposed to (the content for some reason or another has been flagged); but occasionally I have no idea why this happens. I’m not watching the comments 24/7. I sleep, I have other work to do, I take breaks from my screens. So if your comment is held back for moderation, it may take a little while for me to get to it.

9. Consider revising it. If, after a while, it becomes clear that your comment is not going to be approved, you may be able to identify why that happened, revise the comment accordingly, and resubmit it.

10. Be careful about jumping to conclusions. Some people interpret my not approving their comments as evidence of bias. Keep in mind, though, that you do not know about all of the other comments that, like yours, have not been approved. In discussions of many controversial subjects here, some comments on “both sides” have been held back. Perhaps it is not your position, but how you are engaging with people, that is a better explanation of what has happened.

11. If you submit a comment and it disappears, or it hasn’t shown up in the discussion, there is a chance that, for some reason, your comment was directed to the spam folder. I don’t often check the spam folder, so if you suspect this has happened to you, shoot me an email and I will check.

Exceptions:

12. Your comment may follow all of the rules and not be approved. Why? Because I might judge it to be so close to the line that it is likely to provoke many rules-violating comments in response, and I don’t want to have to deal with that. Sorry.

13. As longtime readers know, I tolerate a fair amount of criticism and even insulting rhetoric here when it is directed at me. But I’m not without limits. If you’ve harassed or vilified me elsewhere online (or tried to do so here), I’ll be less inclined to give you a microphone at Daily Nous.

Some General Points About Online Discussions:

14. No one owes you a reply. Furthermore, if someone declines to engage with you, or decides to suddenly stop engaging with you, you probably won’t know why. You could guess, but there are all sorts of possible reasons and circumstances you’re not privy to, and your guess is likely to be shaped by indignation or other bad feelings, and so you shouldn’t have much confidence in your guess. Probably best to just let it go.

15. You don’t owe anyone a reply. Furthermore, to fail to reply is not to thereby concede a point, confirm an accusation, admit defeat, etc. Some people may interpret your lack of response that way, but their doing so almost never matters.

16. Take your time. The pace of online discourse seems to generate in many people the feeling that they must respond quickly to whatever is happening, or to what’s being discussed. The widespread propensity to succumb to this feeling, I think, is the cause of much online foolishness, or worse (the effects of which do not always remain merely online). Be careful.