Teaching basic lab skills
for research computing

Commenting Policy

This version of the site commenting policy was posted in November 2015. We will provide an updated link whenever it is updated. The text was taken from Titus Brown's site policy, which in turn was derived (with significant modifidations) from Captain Awkward's.

We are open to suggestions for additions and removals; please post them in comments. However, this set of policies stands until we change them—thanks for abiding by them!

Mission Statement

The goal of this posting and commenting policy is to help move our blog towards being a more participatory and friendly space.

Much of the value we find in writing blog posts comes from the responses and feedback we receive on the blog posts, and ensuing conversations. This, in turn, depends on people being willing to engage in discussions openly, honestly, and in good faith. The policy below is our current best effort towards defining a policy that encourages an atmosphere supportive of this behavior.

We have so far only deleted about 15 non-spam comments since starting this blog in 2006, so this policy is more to ensure the tone than in reaction to any particular misbehavior.

Copyright and License

The Software Carpentry Foundation owns the copyright to all of the postings by its staff. Guest bloggers retain their own copyright. Quote all of us freely! Link & attribute always!

All writings posted on this blog are posted under the Creative Commons Attribution license unless listed otherwise at the top or bottom of the post. Read more about our license.

Questions

By posting your comments to the blog you grant us the right, in perpetuity, to use, quote, alter, and/or display those questions and comments however we see fit both for commercial and non-commercial distribution. If this concerns you, use a pseudonym and remove identifying details before you send, or simply post a link to your own blog. Alterations will rarely be made and will always be obvious; see this, for example.

We do not share your personal email address or identity, with one exception: people who threaten or harass anyone will have their names, emails, and IP addresses shared with their internet service providers and, if necessary, law enforcement.

Comments Policy

We moderate things in these here parts. Not every point of view deserves to be heard. Unmoderated spaces tend to be full of jerks.

Anonymous posting is allowed. Using a consistent identity is encouraged.

Your comments will theoretically show up immediately, though the spam filter may eat legitimate comments, even by regular posters. Alert us via e-mail at team@carpentries.org if one of your comments doesn't appear.

Of course, sometimes comments don't show up because we delete them. We can delete any comment at any time for any reason, and we have no time for rules lawyers. There may not be a warning or explanation of why your comment was deleted.

Sarcasm, gentle mocking, criticism, and vehement disagreement are generally allowed, as long as the overall spirit is constructive and in good faith. A non-comprehensive list of some common reasons comments are deleted:

  • You're derailing a thread.

  • The discussion has become uncivil and has devolved into personal insults, threats, advocating violence, or turned into a pile-on.

  • You're otherwise being useless, uninformative, or destructive.

Having your comment deleted or being asked to stop commenting in a particular thread or to move on from a topic of discussion is in no way an invitation for you to send us lengthy emails detailing your thoughts.

You can always reach us at team@carpentries.org.

Dialogue & Discussion

You can review our commenting policy here.