The Halifax Examiner’s commenting policy

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In the rush to produce other content for this site, I’ve put off posting the comment policy for the site. Here it is, in all its glory:

Commenting policy

1. Only subscribers to the Halifax Examiner may comment on articles.

2. All commenters must use their first and last name. 

3. Exceptions to policy #2 will be made on a case-by-case basis, at our discretion. Typically these exceptions are granted to protect the identity of the commenter for reasons that go beyond simply wanting to remain anonymous. For example, a government employee may want to make a comment on an article about his or her employer but fears retribution and possible job loss. Or, a person is being stalked on the internet, and full use of his or her name could present problems in that regard. While in such cases the Examiner may grant the use of anonymity or pseudonyms, we will do so only after we have ascertained the true full name of the commenter for our records.

4. All comments are held in moderation until approved. We want comments that are productive and extend the conversation, and will not tolerate or approve name-calling or disrespectful interaction between commenters.

5. We reserve the right to reject or pull down comments at anytime, without explanation.

The point is to avoid adding to the cesspool nature of new site comment sections. Yes, that probably means far fewer comments, but I’m good with that.

Moving forward, there’s a bit of a glitch in that many people have subscribed but used a pseudonym for their user name. If you fall in this category, it would be helpful if on your next comment you append your first and last name; once you do that once, it will pop up automatically. Otherwise, we’ll be contacting you to ask for your name as part of the moderation process.