Unlike much of the Internet, Fire Sanctuary adheres to a very strict policy of member conduct. This page will detail the do’s and don’ts of the site, but overall there’s just one “golden” rule: Don’t be a dick. Dicks will be kicked!
First of all, by using Disqus to communicate with others on posts and pages, you are firstly agreeing to their Terms of Service. The following is a brief look at the Basic Rules for Disqus:
- Targeted harassment or encouraging others to do so
Hate speech and other forms of targeted and systematic harassment of people have no place on Disqus, nor do we tolerate communities dedicated to fostering harassing behavior. - Spam
Examples include 1) comments posted in large quantities to promote a product or service, 2) the exact same comment posted repeatedly to disrupt a thread. 3) following users multiple times - Impersonation
You may not impersonate others in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others. - Direct threat of harm
This covers active threats of harm directed towards a specific person or defined group of individuals. Contact local authorities if you feel a crime has been committed or is imminent. - Posting personally identifiable information
Examples of protected information: credit card number, home/work address, phone number, email address, social security number. Real name isn’t currently covered. - Inappropriate profile content
Graphic media containing violence and pornographic content are not allowed. Profile content allowed by Disqus may not be allowed on all communities, so report such profiles to the site moderator.
Additionally, when commenting via Disqus, please also be aware of their Abusive Behavior Policy.
Can’t see a post you just made? It may have been flagged!
If by chance your comment doesn’t appear shortly after posting, it was likely automatically flagged for review. There are multiple reasons why a post might be flagged, but please be aware of this before contacting the administration about it or posting the same comment multiple times.
Some reasons why your post was flagged:
- You used particular language from the blacklist.
- The use of a Disqus account without a verified email address will automatically flag a comment.
- Sometimes things just don’t work right. It could be that your post was automatically flagged for an undetermined reason.
- It’s possible that other users read your comment and flagged it themselves (also, please do not abuse this feature for comments with which you merely disagree).
Some reasons why your post was deleted:
- Personal attacks against another commenter or the writer of the post/website are strictly prohibited. This can include, but is not limited to: name-calling, derogatory phrases specifically aimed at a person or person(s), phrases such as “people like you”, “I bet you”, or “you must/probably”, etc. Please note that this rule stands for whatever “side” of an argument you’re on.
- Insensitive jokes and/or aggressive, negative comments in general. Please remember the “golden rule”, folks.
- Hate speech or other clearly intentional dickish behavior. This includes, but is not limited to: the use of the word feminazi or a comments which denigrates women, feminism or feminists, the LGBTQ community; broad imprecations or assumptions based on race, including derogatory speech such as “Japs” and “weaboo”; and anything that amounts to “ugh, the gays,” “ugh, liberals,” “ugh, fangirls,” etc.
- Additional comments stemming from a deleted comment or thread may also be removed for overall clarity.
Some things which will get your account banned:
- If you have engaged in any of the aforementioned behaviors consistently and as part of a clear pattern OR presenting a particularly egregious example of one of those behaviors, Disqus grants us the ability to see a commenter’s patterns of behavior on other Disqus-enabled sites as well, and we do not hesitate to consider behavior on other sites when determining whether to ban. We reserve the right to ban those who are clearly intending to be defamatory or overly aggressive against another.
- Hate reading. If you comment on this site merely to start fights or to specifically disagree with us whenever we publish a post involving our core themes, obvious editorial pieces, or for no other reason, we will ban you. Conversely, if you feel the site has changed in a drastic way and no longer appreciate or respect our content but stick around to tell us that every day, we’ll also take that as hate reading. Feel free to keep hate reading, but you’ll not be able to hate comment any more.
- Don’t be a troll. It’s okay to disagree with others, but it’s suggested you find a better way to use your time than to simply be antagonistic or point fingers at people who have differing opinions than you. Please be aware of where the line between constructive criticism and incessant trolling lies. You may or may not receive a warning before getting banned for repeated trollish behavior. If you need a definition of what a “troll” is or what “trollish behavior” entails, please take a look here.
- Sock puppets will be banned.
It is at the editor’s discretion to ban anyone whom they determine to be a detriment to the atmosphere of the comments section, the site in general, and our regular readers. There will be some who look at these rules and think that the moderators here have too much power to shut down conversations. To this, we have two responses:
- This is our site, we get to make the rules. We’re not taking away your freedom of speech by deleting/banning you. You can take your anger elsewhere; we don’t want it. If you threaten, annoy, derail, or in other ways spoil the atmosphere of discussion for others, we reserve the right to not invite you back next time. If that principle is too restrictive for you, there are many other sites out there for you that have more liberal commenting rules.
- We ask everybody who comes to Fire Sanctuary to remember that conversations require listening as well as speaking. And we are firm believers in the fact that banning a commenter only prevents them from speaking, not from listening.
Helpful tips and suggestions to regular readers:
- Please flag inappropriate comments that clearly violate these rules.
- If you’re having a disagreement with another user, consider stepping back from the computer for a while. There is no need to run yourself ragged by trying to convince someone else that they’re wrong, or defending yourself in a personal attack.
If you think these rules are a means of censorship…
Please have a look at this page that Disqus purposely made available for community leaders.
Please note that this policy is subject to change.
Credits:
This Comment Policy is largely based on the structure created and implemented on The Mary Sue web site.