Community Guidelines for Kottke.org

This is a list of things for you to keep in mind when participating in comment threads on KDO. I understand the pull of treating this social space just like other online social spaces, but we're trying to do something different here. I appreciate your attention to the spirit of these guidelines when choosing to participate.

• First off: be kind, constructive, curious, and respectful when commenting, especially when disagreeing. Interpret the intentions of others — including those of the authors/creators of whatever is being linked to or discussed — as generously as possible.

• I think about this aspect of improv comedy a lot when I am conversing with other people: aim for "Yes, and..." instead of "No, but..."

• There are three types of feedback I get often via email or social media that I love: 1) when someone sends me a link related to something I've shared (often with a short explanation/summary), 2) when a reader with expertise about something I've posted about shares their knowledge/perspective, or 3) when someone tells a personal story or shares an experience they had related to a post or link. When readers share this sort of constructive feedback, it improves the original post so much...that's what I want to happen with comments on kottke.org.

• The internet is full of places for people to go to express their opinions or argue about others' opinions, so I'd like to steer away from that here. If we can prioritize talking about facts, sharing stories, experiences, and expertise over opinions, it'll make for better, more informative threads. You are always free to express your opinion about KDO posts on your own blog, on social media, etc.

• Think a little bit less about what you might want out of making a comment and a little bit more about how your comment might help improve the community's understanding of the topic at hand.

• Disagreement is fine. Just make sure you keep the other things on this list in mind when doing so. Civil and respectful disagreement is possible and we will practice it here.

• Listening to each other is the invisible work we can do to improve any online discussion space. Sometimes not saying anything is the right thing to add to a thread — and an opportunity to listen and reflect.

• You are not responsible for "setting the record straight" or "weighing in" or "playing devil's advocate". Thinking "this is not for me" and moving on is sometimes the best response.

• Ok, having said all that Very Serious and Earnest Stuff, this isn't, like, grad school. Let's keep it casual and have fun. Joking around is great if a particular thread has that vibe.

• A paid membership is required in order to comment here, but it does not guarantee the right to comment — i.e. you can and will be banned for inappropriate behavior.

• Please read/watch/listen to the post/article/video/podcast in question before commenting — this is table stakes for online discussions. This is a pet peeve of mine, so I'm gonna be watching out for comments that, for instance, ask about something in the 2nd paragraph of a piece that is subsequently covered in the 5th paragraph.

• Likewise, you should also be familiar with what others have previously shared in the thread. I'm not going to go so far as to say you should read all the comments before you post but at least skim through to make sure you're not repeating or starting a new comment when a reply under a previous comment would be more appropriate.

• Linking to your own sites and projects is perfectly fine if it's relevant to the discussion and you disclose your association to what you're sharing — we want to see your cool/weird stuff! However, this is not the place for any kind of PR or sales pitches.

• Moderators will hide comments in threads if they go against the grain of these guidelines. I might lock reply threads if they get out of hand. Having your comment hidden doesn't necessarily mean you've done anything wrong, so don't take it personally. I will be in touch via email if there's an issue we need to address.

• Stay on topic. Ignore inflammatory messages intended to bait — that's an issue for the moderators. Email me directly if you have a question about why I posted a particular link, about the site or how moderation works, or if you notice some poor behavior or a typo.

• When choosing a display name, I encourage you to use your real name (or at least your first name and last initial) but you can also pick something that you go by when you participate in communities online. Choose something durable and reasonably unique (not "Me" or "anon"). Please don't change this often. No impersonation.

• For your profile bio, share a little bit about yourself for the rest of the community, your social media info, personal website, etc. Keep in mind, your profile isn't public, but it can be viewed by any active kottke.org member. Bios are limited to 300 characters and 2 URLs (full URLs, with the http:// or https:// protocols included, will be auto-linked). No HTML allowed. Profile pics can be in jpg, png, or webp format. No obvious obscenity or anything like that — this is a family website for cripes sake.

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have any feedback on any of this — I want this to be a living document that evolves with the needs of the community.