This is the commenting and discussion policy for those engaging with GBH on wgbh.org, social media and other third party platforms. GBH is committed to creating a safe space where open and productive dialogue can happen and therefore are committed to enforcing these guidelines in all spaces where moderation is allowed. Every commenter is encouraged to voice their experiences and opinions regardless of ideology, religion, or political affiliation — provided these opinions advance the conversation in a constructive way. Those violating the following guidelines may have their comments removed or hidden. Repeat offenders will be blocked from posting.
1. Be respectful and civil. Engage points, focus on ideas, debate, and discuss — but avoid profane, racist, sexist, bigoted or otherwise offensive posts, and never abuse another commenter. Please avoid typing in all caps. Respect the fact that others might have different cultural values that you do. Comments that include anything GBH determines to be hate speech, threats, harassment, or anything illegal will be removed and the poster will be blocked.
2. Stay with the topic at hand. Keeping your posts focused contributes to the best possible discussion. “Trolling” or posting disruptive statements in order to hijack a comment thread is not allowed.
3. Before jumping to conclusions in the comment thread, please watch, listen, or read the post that the comments refer to.
4. Comments that contain clear misinformation or disinformation are not allowed.
5. Write your own posts. A link or quote from another source can be a meaningful addition to the discussion; copying and pasting an entire article from elsewhere does not contribute in a meaningful way, and might violate the author’s copyright. Help keep the conversation lively and focused by posting only one link per comment.
6. GBH’s online community is not an appropriate venue for advertisements, promotions, campaigns, solicitations, or proselytizing.
Our guidelines are adapted in part from NPR’s Guidelines for Commenting. Thanks for being part of GBH’s online community!