Comments

As of Jan. 9, 2012, SplatF welcomes your comments on posts. This is initially an experiment that could end at any time. But if you impress me, I’ll keep comments indefinitely.

My goal with comments on SplatF is to build a smart, entertaining community. I respect that many of you have perspectives, stories, and jokes that I don’t, and I want to hear them.

However, Internet commenter culture in general is pretty terrible, and I’ve had bad experiences with it in the past.

So, here are the rules:

• Comments will be moderated. As of June 2012, this now happens after a comment is posted. Still, please leave substantive, worthwhile comments.
• If your comment doesn’t make me think, learn, or laugh, it may be removed.
• If it’s hateful, rude, or reckless, you will be banned. This is not a free-speech-for-everyone zone — start your own site for that.
• Please write in solid English and be respectful — comment the way you’d speak to my face. We are all humans with feelings. I will try to keep a thick skin — especially if you’re pointing out somewhere that I’m wrong — but I will not tolerate jerks.
• Please only use profanity when absolutely necessary. Sometimes, it’s funny. Most of the time, it makes you sound stupid.
• Please don’t just comment to promote something you’re working on. You’re more than welcome to buy ads on this site or pitch me by email.
• Real names are not required — I assume many of you would prefer to remain anonymous. But please try to pick a consistent name, register it with Disqus, and stick with it. Familiarity is an important feature of this community.

That’s a good start. This will be a learning experience for all of us, so I may add and remove rules as we go. Have at it!