The WP Tavern Comment Moderation Policy

Those of you who regularly comment on the Tavern may have noticed that your comments don’t show up immediately after submitting them. That’s because about four weeks ago, for the first time in the Tavern’s history, comment moderation for all comments was enabled. I enabled moderation to address concerns raised by members of the community and to sleep better at night.

At the request of a few readers and to be more transparent, I’ve created a comment moderation policy. With the help of at least a dozen people, I’ve crafted a policy that is easy to read and more importantly, easy to follow. It explains our expectations, has a few tips on writing better comments, and lists possible reasons a comment may be deleted.

The policy is CC0 licensed which is the least restrictive license offered by Creative Commons. Feel free to copy and modify it for your own use.

WP Tavern Comment Moderation Policy

We strive to create a fun, friendly, and inviting atmosphere. The ground rules for commenting on WP Tavern are simple. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Try to understand someone else’s perspective and if you disagree, respectfully explain why.

Text is a difficult medium to decipher context. Emoticons and emoji help, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Take a deep breath and assume the commenter has the best of intentions before responding and approach discussions with open minds.

We welcome different perspectives and viewpoints but we all need to clearly communicate them without tearing the opposition down in the process.

Stay on point using concise language. If your comment is more than a few paragraphs long, consider publishing it on your own site instead.

Your comment may be deleted if it matches any of the following criteria:

Advocates an illegal practice

Uses vulgar, profane, or unnecessarily harsh language

Is spam or appears to be written primarily to post a link or advertise

Is written anonymously

Contains copyrighted material not licensed for distribution on the site

Impersonates another user

Contains an affiliate link

Personal insults, including those using racist or sexist terms.

These guidelines are not meant to be an exhaustive list. The deletion of comments is wholly within the discretion of the moderators at WP Tavern and we will err on the side of maintaining a safe and friendly community.

How Do I Report Comments?

If you believe a comment published on WP Tavern violates any of the listed guidelines or that you feel needs special attention, contact us. Please do not publicly report comments using social media such as Facebook or Twitter.

Form submissions are sent to authors with comment moderation capabilities. Include a link to the comment in your email with a short explanation as to why it needs our attention.

The Goal

The goal is to reestablish the comment section as a place where people feel welcome to voice their opinions without the fear of being ripped apart. We encourage criticism, disagreements, and open conversation but it needs to take place in a respectful manner.