North County Times/Californian Web comment policy

Guidelines for Civil Online Discussion (updated June 2, 2009)

Our growing online community discussion must be a safe place for you to enter, a healthy venue free of invective and personal criticism. So we follow these policies:

1. Only registered users may comment on stories. A valid e-mail address and electronic confirmation will be required to register.
2. Keep the content clean and respectful of other readers. Please speak to the issues rather than attacking fellow commenters, as name-calling and invective are prohibited.
3. Comments containing misleading information, unconfirmed statement of fact, defamatory statements, threats, verbal abuse, harassment, commercial endorsements, offensive language or personal information about other people are not allowed.
4. Comments written in a foreign language that require translation are not allowed. Exceptions will be made for the occasional foreign word or phrase that is generally understood, such as "adios" or "c'est la vie."
5. No attacks against minors.
6. No comments that aren't relevant to the story.
7. Links to appropriate outside Web sites may be posted, but should be done in an effort to enhance the exchange of information.
8. Do not post entire articles into comments. This is a potential violation of 'fair use' copyright laws. Instead, provide a brief summary of the material and link to the complete source.
9. We reserve the right to ban usernames that attempt to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person.
10. We reserve the right to delete or ban, without warning or explanation, comments or usernames considered by the moderators to be engaged in spamming, trolling or flaming.
11. Profile avatar images cannot depict obscenity, nudity, overt racism, commercial logos, gang or criminal activity, copyrighted images or other inappropriate material. Images that are highly objectionable may be removed by moderators without prior notice.
12. Note that e-mail addresses and IP addresses are conveyed with each profile registration, but they are not shared per our privacy policy.
13. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times/Californian or its staff writers.
14. If you read a comment you believe violates the Web comments policy, click the "Report Abuse" link and an e-mail will be sent to the staff.
15. Click here to review our privacy policy.