Having just cleaned up a messy comment thread, maybe now is a good time for a short post on comment etiquette based on recent email conversations between concerned BT permabloggers. Here is the working statement of our forum comment policy:

Comments are reserved for friendly discussion on posted topics.


This is not a difficult concept to grasp. “Friendly discussion” is broad enough to include disagreement, even pointed criticism, as well as pleasant observations and exchanges. What it excludes is insults, tasteless profanity, copyright violations, libel, threadjacking, trolling, commercial promotion, spamming, and similar social or legal transgressions.

If you feel unduly constrained by this policy, I think you are part of a very small minority of commenters. But this is not a serious impediment: All it means is you need to reread your comment and self-edit before hitting the “post this comment” button, a small price to pay for helping to keep this a friendly forum. Our thanks to all who help make BT a successful site by contributing posts and comments.