Spacing welcomes feedback from our readers but reserves the right to approve, delete, or otherwise block messages that are counter to our Comment Policy.
Spacing editors moderate all comments prior to publishing on all blog posts. Spacing deletes all spam and track-backs. Spacing does not publish every comment submitted and our editors use their discretion to approve/edit/delete comments based on a number reasons, such as, but not limited to:
- is abusive (towards writer, commenter, or person featured in blog post)
- contains ad-hominem attacks on the writer, featured person, or name mentioned
- promotes hate of any kind
- uses excessively foul language
- is blatantly off-topic
- is of poor quality of writing
- is spam
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. I posted a comment. Why can’t I see it on the site?
1. The volume of comments on our blog network continue to grow rapidly, and sometimes Spacing moderators may have trouble approving the comments fast enough for your liking. Comments generally appear within an hour of being posted (or perhaps longer for comments posted between 9pm and 9am).
2. All comments are filtered through spam filtering technology. The spam-filtering technology isn’t perfect, and from time to time it flags legitimate emails (you can email Spacing if you believe this has happened to your comment).
3. Our editors have decided it violates one of the above listed problems or is of poor writing quality
Q. Why am I blocked from commenting on Spacing blogs?
There are a few scenarios in which a comment might be blocked:
1. If a commenter has shown a pattern of posted comments that are abusive, used excessive foul language, or included ad hominem attacks, a moderator may decide to ban the commenter’s IP address and/or email address. We have very good filters.
2. If a commenter shares a computer or IP address with someone who has written abusive comments, it could result in a comment being blocked even if the commenter has never posted anything abusive. Also, making a series of comments in quick succession may convince the server you are spam.
Q. Why do you not publish all comments submitted?
Generally, Spacing approves almost all comments submitted to our blogs. But from time to time Spacing editors will delete a comment because it does not add anything new to a blog post (ie “this post sucks”), does not have anything to do with the general arc of discussion amongst commenters, or the commenter is obviously a troll with a specific axe to grind or is looking to bring down the level of civility our editors desire in a comment section. Spacing often refers to this type of comment moderation as “curation.” Much like a Letters To The Editor page of a newspaper, Spacing wants its comment section to include quality writing and analysis. Spacing editors reserve the right to edit or delete any comments.