Commenting Policy

Commenting Policy

School of Doubt is designed from the ground up to generate discussion. Your comments make our site better and we’d love to hear from you if there’s something you’d like to say about any of our posts. In fact, we will often ask direct questions to you, the reader, and it would be fantastic if you took the time to share your thoughts with us.

In order to comment, you will have to register. Once you’ve done that, you can post your first comment. Your first comment will be held in moderation until one of us approves it, at which point you will be free to make any additional comments without having to be moderated. Be aware also that comments containing links or certain kinds of profane or abusive language are an exception to this general rule–they may automatically be sent to moderation regardless of your commenting history.

Language and Behaviour

School of Doubt is a site that is focused around education. For this reason, we aim to make sure that all of our content is accessible in as many educational establishments as possible. Some of these places, particularly schools, have very strict internet content filters. Comments which include particularly strong language may trigger these filters, so please consider this as you’re making them. We’re likely to delete or modify any comments that we think might cause a problem in this area, even if they are well-meaning.

This is a place for rational and civil debate. You’re welcome to agree or disagree with anything that any of us writes and you’re free to explain why you feel this way. This being said, you do not have a “right” to free speech when commenting on this site, since we are not the government. Civil debate–even passionate disagreement–is absolutely fine and is encouraged; personal attacks, sock puppetry, bigotry, or any form of aggression are absolutely not. Any of these offenses will result in deletion of the offending comment and a swift ban. Borderline behavior may result in a warning if we are feeling particularly generous, but it is not our job to police you.

The One Comment Rule

In order to assure that our community remains positive and respectful, please observe the principle of charity when responding to others’ comments. This means that, unless a given commenter is clearly violating this policy or a known troll, it will be considered a bannable offense to accuse someone of trolling, JAQing off, arguing in bad faith, or possessing some kind of ulterior motive on the basis of a single comment. Once the commenter has been afforded the chance to clarify and/or expand upon their initial comment, this rule is no longer in effect.

 

Please get involved with School of Doubt! Comment on posts, agree with people, disagree with people, debate and discuss to your heart’s content. Just be thoughtful and respectful as you do so.

We hope to hear from you soon!