Comment Policy
OUR COMMENT POLICY is FIVE SIMPLE RULES:
1. No Spam or Promotional Posts
This one is obvious but worth stating. This website has a purpose, and it’s definitely not to serve as a medium for the promotion of another’s business or blog without prior notice or authority.
Anything that takes traffic away from this website and toward competitors or other posters’ websites or pages will be removed.
Spam links do not just annoy other users but also reflect badly on our image and can affect engagement. We must be very clear that no promotional links will be entertained unless prior approval has been authorised.
2. No Personal Insults
It’s a common practice for people to attack the user instead of their views. Women are often attacked for their opinions in heated political debates, are called inappropriate names (by other women and to a lesser degree men to women), and in extreme cases even threatened with violence such as rape. A Pew study from 2014 had found that almost half the women on Twitter had experienced abuse or sexual harassment online.
Some attacks can be disguised, though. Perhaps no obviously foul language is used, but the message is still derogatory. Expert trolls can even make their point without the one being attacked realising it, especially if they are from a different cultural background and if English isn’t their first language.
This website and its associated social media sites are moderated very closely, with unbiased, quick, decisive actions taken as soon as the moderator reads these insults. Depending on the severity of the abuse, we will remove such comments with a warning or in extreme occasions ban the perpetrator the first time this occurs.
3. No Hate Comments
The English Language Teaching and Learning website and its associated Social Media pages are not the places for hate speech – Period. It is one thing to have a debate on sensitive topics, and quite another to use the cover of a debate as an excuse to post pure hate comments. These are easy to spot and will be quickly addressed and removed.
4. No Propaganda Posts
Posts with overt or covert agendas will be flagged and dealt with quickly. Sometimes it takes quite a while to spot someone’s agenda, and it may be difficult to make a case against it. There is nothing wrong with propaganda per se; however, we reserve the right to judge what is acceptable or not in these cases. Usually, though, propaganda simply gets in the way of honest discussion.
5. No Preaching or Proselytization
Unfortunately, religion and politics tend to get blended into the one topic. The injection of religion into political debates can lead to a hot mess of negativity. Attacks against any religion or religious beliefs will not be condoned.
In Case of Policy Violation. The Consequences!
This policy is implemented to the best of our abilities in an unbiased and consistent manner. We attempt to view all the comments objectively and in the light of the policy, regardless of the posters’ gender, ethnicity, nationality, or political affiliations.
Violations will be addressed as a correction or promptly for removal:
- We shall encourage participants to report offensive comments made to themselves or others.
- For minor offences, we shall give the poster a warning.
- For extremely abusive, hateful, sexist, or racist comments, the comment will be deleted and a temporary or permanent ban may be enforced at the discretion of the moderator. If the alleged offender is in disagreement with the action, an email can be sent to us stating their concerns. A review will be conducted with the decision being final. No other communication will be entered into after the review’s outcome.
- For repeat offenders, a permanent ban.
- For past offenders who sign up with new usernames post-permanent ban, we will action an IP address ban.
We live in a world where belittling or competing with others for personal gain at any cost is far too common, absent of any consideration of the whole. This website and it’s associated social media pages are not the place for harsh criticisms or negativity.
T H I N K Before Posting
T – is it Truthful?
H – will it be Helpful?
I – will it be Inspirational?
N – is it Necessary?
K – is it Kind?
Aspire to Foster a Team Spirit where positive interconnectivity is a collective, wanted positive value. We welcome ideas from participants of all walks of life; however, we expect those ideas to be expressed with the utmost respect for one another and if needed, to use of a little humility in order to keep the peace.