Matt Read, Flibbertigibbet

If you want to post a comment on this site, I ask that you abide by these principles:

• be courteous
• add value
• give accurate information in the spirit of being helpful
• if you disagree with me or another commentator, disagree respectfully
• use the correct venue for your comment — keep your comments on-topic
• admit the possibility of fault and respect different points of views
• if you screw up, take responsibility for your actions

The key to the comments policy is respect for others. In your comments, treat everyone — including politicians and other commentators — as you would want to be treated. Anyone is free to disagree with me, or with other commentators, as long as it is done politely. In short, my comments policy is simple: play the ball and not the (wo)man.

I am no fan of personal abuse. I do not want this site to become a bear pit for sledge fests. I am more interested in the contest of ideas than the contest of egos. If your best argument is to call someone a Nazi, a left wing loony or a f*ckwit, you have already lost the argument. If you cannot play by these rules, you should at least read my moderation policy.

Moderation policy

I will delete those comments I judge to be offensive, aggressive, abusive, bullying, trolling, sexist, racist, slanderous, defamatory, lewd, illegal, repetitive, or otherwise unacceptable. Unacceptable comments include but are not be limited to:

• insults, name-calling, abuse and vilification
• a pattern of commenting that harasses, stalks, or threatens others
• libelous or knowingly false comments
• comments that infringe upon any copyright, trademark or trade secret of any third party. (If you quote or excerpt someone’s content, it is your responsibility to provide proper attribution to the original author).
• violating an obligation of confidentiality or the privacy of others
• excessively frequent comments, where the effect of such comments is to discourage the participation of others or turn a debate around into one about themselves
• consistently repeated and/or aggressively stated opinions which fail to engage with others is regarded as a form of trolling
• comments which are designed to derail threads
• comments contesting earlier moderation decisions

If a comment is off-topic, I may move it to another thread rather than delete it. I expect comments on the blog to add value. They should be on-topic and say something that has not been said before; something others will want to read. They should avoid repetition. Making a comment on this blog is not a right. It is a privilege. Use it wisely.

Dispute mechanism

There is no dispute mechanism. It is my blog, and it operates at my discretion. No correspondence will be entered into regarding moderation decisions. Comments complaining about moderation decisions may be subject to moderation. If you don’t like my comments policy, don’t post any comments.

Legal notes

The opinions expressed in comments threads are entirely the responsibility of the various contributors. While I will do everything within reason to ensure that they are not defamatory, I accept no liability for them or the content of links included in them. If there is a comment that needs be sanitised or removed, please contact me.

I reserve the right to amend this comments policy without notice and without consultation.