Comment Policy

The increased presence of Christian trolls on this blog has prompted me to do something I probably should have done a long time ago: develop a comment policy. I'd like to encourage everyone to review this policy before leaving comments. I have heard the increasing complaints, and I'm now far less tolerant of disruptive trolls.

Introduction

First and foremost, please understand that this is an atheist blog. The author is an atheist, and the intended audience is made up of atheists, secular humanists, and other freethinkers. Of course, I welcome theists who are genuinely interested in learning something. However, those interested primarily in argument, antagonism, or proselytizing should go elsewhere. You see, blogs are not intended as places for readers to debate each other. This is what forums are for, and I can recommend some excellent ones that value atheist-theist debate if it would be helpful.

March of the Asshats: What is a Troll?

There are several forms of blog trolls, ranging from those who engage in "drive-by link sharing" to those who camp out and hurl insults, make threats, or otherwise try to disrupt the blog. The current infestation of trolls on this blog are primarily of the civil but antagonistic type. Some do not appear to understand how blogs work (i.e., blogs are not the appropriate place on the internet to facilitate debate among commenters); others are bent on converting atheists to their particular brand of superstition. However, they share a common feature. They are not here to learn but to argue, and the nature of their argument is irrational. They insure that comment threads grow too long and veer of topic quickly by attempting to debate their fellow commenters on every little source of disagreement. They have no recognition that blog comments are supposed to be relevant to the blog post. They are determined to share their "good news" without realizing that we do not visit atheist blogs to be antagonized by Christians.

The best way for rational readers to deal with them is to ignore them because this deprives them of what they want most - argument. Since this is not happening and complaints from valued readers are on the increase, I am pushed to act. The presence of trolls on this blog has been significantly disruptive, and it will no longer be tolerated. The comment policy that follows is both a final step before I switch to comment moderation and a guide which will be used if this switch is necessary.

Comment Policy

The following comment policy was adapted from Lifehacker, Making Light, and God is for Suckers!, with modification to increase applicability to this blog.

1. Stay on topic (i.e., the post topic).
2. Contribute new information to the discussion.
3. Don't comment just for the safe of commenting.
4. Know when to comment vs. when to e-mail the author. Use e-mail when what you want to say doesn't contribute to the public conversation.
5. Be respectful and remember that nobody likes a know-it-all.
6. Make the tone of your message clear.
7. Own your comment (i.e., anonymous commenting is discouraged and will probably not be allowed much longer).
8. Be succinct and remember that brief comments are more likely to be read.
9. Be courteous and avoid personal insults.
10. Avoid Christianspeak. It makes you look stupid and contributes nothing of value.
11. Do not feed the trolls. They thrive on argument (the less rational, the better) and will keep returning as long as they find folks willing to debate them. If you find yourself tempted to argue with a Christian troll, please read this first.
    

Given the current severity of the troll issue, I will delete offending posts without warning if I feel it is necessary to preserve the value of this blog. I will also ban repeat offenders. If I do not see a significant difference quickly, we go to comment moderation.

Tags: blog, blogging, comment policy, comment, Christian, atheist, troll