Laying Out a Comments Policy

While we encourage and appreciate commentary from readers, we cannot allow the tenor of dialogue to be lowered or debased, or for one individual to ruin an otherwise constructive dialogue. Our general rule is that comments must be substantive and on topic, and must avoid profanity, personal attacks, and hectoring. It is for us to judge who has violated these principles; and if, after a warning, behavior doesn’t change, we reserve the right to moderate comments at our discretion. Our policy is, in general, much the same as that of Carl Zimmer--"light but firm"--though he's more eloquent. But the same basic principles apply. We are not responsible for any comments other than our own. Thank you for reading and participating here at The Intersection.