The OG Moderation Policy

This site is moderated. A group of volunteer moderators choose which posts to feature and do their best to keep the resulting discussion relevant and civil.

HOW TO COMMENT & DISCUSS

Our guiding principle is this: Be nice when commenting or be deleted.

Really, it's that simple. But if you want to be more specific, here are some guidelines:

Characteristics of a good comment:

Insight/additional information

Intelligent critique
Wit/humor
Calm, courteous, reasoned disagreement, either with the opinions/facts presented in a post itself or with other commenters
Sharing of relevant, personal anecdote (within reason)

Characteristics of a bad comment:

Personal attacks on other commenters or OG authors/moderators
Deliberate provocation/ trollishness/ ad hominem attacks
Vulgarity
Spam or self-promotion ("Visit my website where we're having a real discussion.")
Whining/Complaining: ("Who cares." "Lave Lite sucks." "Everything here is terrible.")
Comments that are intended to "bump" or push the discussion back onto the main page (specific to forum posts).

Politely disagreeing with an author or taking an alternate stance is more than fine. Being argumentative or refusing to back down however is not cool. If you cannot accept differences in a rational, civil manner, please don't comment here.

Some commenting examples

Acceptable:

"I disagree with you, dude. The American lava lamps are inferior. You should really buy a Mathmos when you have the chance."

Unacceptable:

"Typical American bullshit. Who do you think you are? We get these china-made crap bottles shoved down our throats? I hope one explodes in your face."

Um yeah. That last one will be deleted.

When you can't live with this:
When a commenter refuses to back down or complains about their comment being deleted, Oozing Goo moderators may issue them either a public or private warning. If this warning is ignored, the commenter will be suspended from the site. The duration will be commensurate with the offense. Sometimes moderators will ban someone immediately and without warning. Suspensions will be listed in the ongoing Suspensions thread in the forum. At any time, suspended members with a change of heart can ask to be reinstated.

Back to the conversation...

Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting. We hope you enjoy participating in a vibrant, constructive discussion about lava lamps.