Comment Policy

Comments are encouraged if you have something to contribute. However, there are some ground rules for discourse here. Failure to follow them will be met with swift punishment by either me or my moderator, Antagonist:

1) Anyone can have an opinion, but the facts are not up for debate. If you make an assertion and are asked to back it up, you are REQUIRED to do so in a clear and direct manner. If you can’t or won’t prove your assertion, you must retract it. If you don’t, you will be banned and all of your subsequent comments will be deleted. In addition, you are required to back up your assertions in your own words – posting links or quotes in lieu of making your own arguments is NOT acceptable (though obviously, you can use them to supplement your argument).

2) Trolling and sockpuppeting are not allowed. If you want to change your handle, you’re welcome to, but you must make it clear to everyone else. Furthermore, feeding the trolls is not allowed either, and “troll-feeding” comments will be deleted alongside actual troll comments.

3) Duplicate comments will be deleted. Occasionally, the Akismet spam filtering software we use will catch legitimate comments. In particular, if your comment has two or more links, it’s very likely that it will land in the spam filter. If your comment is in moderation or the spam bin, DON’T repost it – one of us will retrieve it for you. In Mala Fide receives hundreds of spam comments a day, meaning it can take time for us to find your comment buried beneath a heap of erectile dysfunction and BBW porn ads, so be patient.

4) Off-topic comments run the risk of being deleted. If you want to bring an unrelated article or something else to my or someone else’s attention, you’re better off emailing me/them than derailing a thread.

5) Copypasting comments of yours from other posts and blogs is not allowed, as is commenting only to plug your blog posts. (If you’ve written relevant articles or comments, you’re welcome to link to them so long as you contribute something new to the discussion.)

6) Attempting to “out” other bloggers or commenters, or even posting information about them that comprises their anonymity, is NOT allowed, with the offending information being scrubbed out of your comment. Neither is harassing and stalking other commenters. Like duh.

7) Racial and anti-Semitic slurs, gratuitous misogyny and TYPING IN ALL CAPS are not allowed. You’re welcome to criticize women, other races and Jews, but comments like “I fucking hate niggers” or “I hope all cunts get raped” are out of line.

8) Personal threats of violence against other commenters, blog authors, the mods or me are NOT allowed and will be met with an instant ban. Internet Tough Guys, stay away.

9) Anklebiting is discouraged. If you’re the sort of person who starts arguments for the sake of arguing or always nitpicking, you’ll find yourself on our shit list in short order.

10) Attacking commenters’ and authors’ spouses, children and family members in general is not allowed. The sole exception is if that person is a public figure in this part of the blogosphere or elsewhere.

11) Longtime commenters, contributors and readers will generally be favored over newcomers in disputes, and are moderated in a more relaxed fashion. Yes, this is playing favorites. No, it isn’t fair. Yes, you have to deal with it.

12) If you break the rules, we will make it clear to you that you have. First-time offenders get warned, repeat offenders will have their comments censored and placed in moderation, and extreme offenders will be banned.

13) If your comments are deleted or censored, don’t go whining to me or the mods. Not only do we not give a shit, your bitching makes us MORE likely to ban you outright. If you TRULY think you’ve been treated unfairly, email me, but you better have an airtight case before you do so.

14) Commenting here is a privilege, not a right. If we don’t like you (because you’re annoying, creepy, a moron, a whiny little bitch, a jackass, or insane), we reserve the right to ban, censor, moderate and delete you at whim. This is a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy.

15) Comments are solely the opinion of the commenter and do not necessarily reflect the authors or editorial policy of In Mala Fide.

16) I reserve the right to modify, add to or subtract from these rules at any time.