I enjoy interacting with you and gladly welcome your comments. To ensure that comments enhance and not detract from the blog, I’ve created a formal comment policy.
Comment moderation
In order to maintain the integrity of the blog and its content, all comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks made to the BuildYourOwnBow blog are moderated. I work to review and approve comments as quickly as possible, but please do not resubmit your comment if it does not appear right away.
Language, length, and format
This blog has a diverse audience with different sensibilities and opinions. Please refrain from harsh language and the use of profanity. Flaming or use of threatening language is not allowed nor will it be tolerated. Comments that are deemed inappropriate will be immediately removed. If an entry gets you fired up, excited, or makes you think so deeply that the words pour from you like an overflowing fountain, consider publishing it as a thought on your own blog and trackback. If trackback is disabled, you are welcome to leave a comment summarizing your entry with a link to continue reading it. Ideally, your comment will be under 200 well-chosen words with paragraphs as necessary; white space makes the content easier to read on a computer screen.
Linking to your site and others
I trust you to contribute links of value and thus, I do not use the rel=”nofollow” attribute by default. If you feel it necessary to link to a bad neighborhood, please add the rel=”nofollow” attribute to the outgoing link (it’s the polite thing to do). Please don’t view this as an opportunity to promote or advertise your website in the BuildYourOwnBow comments. Excessive and/or inappropriate links will be removed.
Some tips for proper linking:
- Please use proper XHTML markup: <a href=”…” title=”…”>Link Anchor Text</a>
- Please use descriptive anchor text
- Bad: <a href=”…”>click here</a>
- Good: <a href=”…” title=”Google Homepage”>google’s homepage</a>
- Please keep the anchor text brief (6 words or less per link)
Double check your links, because any link which returns an error, leads to a site under construction, or cannot be loaded by the browser will be removed.
Signatures in comments
Adding a signature is completely optional. If you decide to include one, please keep it short (two line maximum) and do not include a link to your website. You are welcome to add your website’s link in the designated URL box just below your name and e-mail address and your name will automatically be hyperlinked.
Unacceptable:
Jane Doe Owner of Sample Website http://www.samplewebsite.com/ Please visit sometimeAcceptable:
Jane Doe Owner of Sample WebsiteIf you find it necessary to use anchor text in the name box, please make sure to sign your name at the end of your comment. In the event that I know you, I’ll simply modify your anchor text to include your name, otherwise I might have to delete the reference to your website.
Subscribing to comments via e-mail
In order to receive notification of comments left after yours, it is essential that you provide a valid and working e-mail address. You will not be subscribed to a mailing list as a result of subscribing to the comments and you can have your e-mail address removed at any time by visiting the comment subscription manager. To sign up for comments, make sure to leave the check mark next to “Notify me of follow up comments via e-mail” before submitting your comment.
E-mail addresses
Please use a valid e-mail address when commenting on the blog. It will not be displayed unless you type it in the body of your comment (which I will usually edit out) and you will not be subscribed to any mailing list by leaving a comment. If you use an invalid e-mail address or one which requires any type of human interaction to confirm I’m not a spammer, your comment will be deleted—no exceptions.
Editing comments
I reserve the right to edit or delete comments, as I feel necessary. Blatant spelling and grammatical errors will be edited and serious edits will be notated at the end of the comment. If your comment conveys a coherent thought, it may just be edited; tirades will most likely be deleted. At no time will I attempt to alter the core meaning of a comment.
Special provisions for comment spam
I take comment spam seriously and all IP addresses used for spamming will be reported to the internet blacklists, the ISPs/hosts for the offending domain will be notified, and the owner of the IP block will be notified of the problem. While comment spam continues to proliferate, I can and will do my part to help combat it.
Final words
You, and only you, are responsible for your words. They are yours and you get to keep them, however, by posting your comments to the blog you are granting me the right, in perpetuity, to use, alter, and/or display them however I see fit. Once your comment is submitted, that’s it—you’re immortalized.