One of
the goals of this site is to promote critical discussion and debate on US foreign
policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We want Mondoweiss to be a place
that everyone feels comfortable visiting, to read and comment, regardless of political perspective. People might not always like what we post, but everyone should
feel invited and encouraged to join the discussion, share their opinions, and
engage in debate.
Unfortunately,
more and more we are hearing that people are not comfortable participating in the site
because of the noxious and often abusive language that proliferates in the
comments section. We've tried the hands-off approach, hoping the site would
regulate itself. This hasn't worked.
For this reason we are putting in place the following ground rules:
1. No racist or sexist comments. This includes anti-Arab, Islamophobic
and anti-Semitic comments (and yes, Christian-bashing too). This includes comments that disparage,
intimidate or attack a person based on perceived ethnicity or gender.
2. No gross obscenity. Along with racism and sexism the prevalence of
obscene and scatological comments on the blog has forced people away. This has
to end—though yes, the occasional curse word is alright.
3. No personal attacks. We encourage spirited,
passionate debate, but if you have to resort to vicious personal attack, you're
not advancing the discussion. Stay on the issues.
4. No imposture. You can use any pseudonym you like, but if you represent
yourself as someone you're not, you're outta here.
We'll be implementing this starting today. If we judge that
you have broken one of these rules you will be banned. We will ban the IP
address you are posting from and if you try to post from another IP address we
will ban that as well.
We like to think that this site has become a dynamic and necessary forum. Your help will ensure that it continues
to grow and develop.
Thanks,
Phil & Adam
